大象传媒

Lucasta Miller is a writer fascinated by the Romantic, and the dark excesses of the Gothic. Her latest subject is a poet, Letitia Landon, whose life was scandalous and whose sudden death is like a scene from a detective novel. In her day, Landon was an icon, hailed as a 鈥渇emale Byron鈥� 鈥� and a favourite of the Bront毛 sisters, who were the subject of Lucasta Miller鈥檚 previous book. Both biographies were years in the making, partly because they involved such meticulous research, partly because Lucasta Miller was at the same time writing journalism, editing books, teaching English to refugees, bringing up children and generally holding together a household, the other half of which is the singer Ian Bostridge.

In Private Passions, Lucasta Miller talks to Michael Berkeley about her lasting obsession with the gothic, and about the dark secrets concealed in Letitia Landon鈥檚 life. The theme of dark secrets takes her to the first German Romantic opera, Weber鈥檚 Der Freisch眉tz, and the terrifying Wolf鈥檚 Glen. She discusses too what biographers can bring to our understanding of music and chooses a song by Clara Schumann, written just as she was on the point of marriage to Robert. And in relation to her own husband, Lucasta talks honestly about how difficult the life of a professional musician is, both for them and for their family at home. Does husband Ian Bostridge make it onto the playlist? As she says, she felt she was damned if she chose him, damned if she didn鈥檛. So she does include him in the end, singing a lyrical song by Hans-Werner Henze which was written for Bostridge. Other musical choices include Maria Callas singing from Bellini鈥檚 Norma, and the Bach cello suites played by Stephen Isserlis.

A Loftus production for 大象传媒 Radio 3
Produced by Elizabeth Burke