Episode · The Book Review · 2025-03-01
Peter Straughan on The Book Review: books mentioned
‘Conclave’ Screenwriter Peter Straughan on a Papal Election, Politics and Power
Gilbert Cruz discussed Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, and Conclave by Robert Harris. Peter Straughan recommended A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel, and discussed The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré is a classic espionage novel that follows veteran British intelligence agent George Smiley as he hunts for a Soviet mole high up in the Circus.
Discussed“he co-wrote the 2011 feature film adaptation of Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy the classic John leer spy novel a screenplay that earned an Oscar nomination”
Where to get it
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Wolf Hall
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel is a historical fiction novel that chronicles the rise of Thomas Cromwell in the court of King Henry VIII.
Discussed“following that he took the first two books in Hillary mantel's Wolf Hall Trilogy about Thomas Cromwell and Henry VII and miraculously adapted them into a six episode TV series”
Where to get it
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Conclave
Conclave by Robert Harris is a compelling thriller that takes readers deep inside the secretive, high-stakes political maneuvering of the Vatican as cardinals gather to elect a new pope.
Discussed“and now his latest conclave a thriller about the minations at the Vatican to elect a new pope based on the novel by Robert Harris has received eight Oscar nominations”
Where to get it
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The Mirror and the Light
Discussed“there's three books by the way for wol fall there's the mirror and the light the third one which we've also adapted”
Where to get it
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A Place of Greater Safety
A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel is an immersive historical novel that traces the intense lives, political ambitions, and tragic fates of key figures during the French Revolution.
Recommended“but it's another book by Hillary Montel which is called place of Greater safety um about the French Revolution which um which he wrote before wol fall and I read long ago”
Where to get it
