Sebastian Faulks to examine the British novel
6th October 2009
A major documentary series looking at the power of the British novel is to be screened by the BBC.
The Secret Life Of The Novel will air in 2010 and be presented by bestselling Birdsong novelist Sebastian Faulks.
In the four-part series, the history of the novel will be examined through a series of archetypal characters, with a separate episode dedicated to the hero, the lover, the snob and the villain.
Faulks will journey around the UK and enjoy the occasional trip overseas in his quest to analyse characters such as Jane Austen's Emma Woodhouse from her novel Emma, Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and Martin Amis' John Self of Money.
Mark Bell, arts commissioning editor at the BBC, commented: 'Sebastian is an insider, a novelist with a real understanding of the craft. Booking him to front a four-part series on BBC Two about how characterisation works is really exciting.'
Faulks' latest hardback, A Week In December, is set in the week before Christmas 2007 and examines modern urban life by focussing on the experiences of seven characters.