This week, I’m joined by the writer, Francesca Wade, to discuss Francesca’s group biography, Square Haunting,* which documents the lives of five extraordinary women who all lived in Mecklenburgh Square in Bloomsbury, London at a pivotal point in all of their lives.

Click the play button below to listen to our conversation:

The poet Hilda Doolittle (H.D.), the writer Dorothy L Sayers - famed for her Lord Peter Wimsey mystery books - the classicist and translator Jane Ellen Harrison, the historian and broadcaster Eileen Power and, finally, one of the most famous members of the Bloomsbury group, Virginia Woolf, were all occupants of this single square in Bloomsbury.

Francesca writes engagingly and convincingly of how these women found ‘a room of their own’ in Bloomsbury and how they were trailblazers ahead of their times, forging exceptional careers and seeking to live, work and love on their own terms. 

I sat down with Francesca on a rainy afternoon in Bloomsbury and had a wonderful time chatting about her research into the lives of these remarkable women.

This is a brilliant listen for anyone interested in London’s history, particularly in the inter-war years, and in women’s struggle for equality and intellectual freedom.

Links mentioned in our conversation:

• Square Haunting by Francesca Wade.

• Genius & Ink edited by Francesca Wade.

• David Hockney exhibition.

• Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor.

• Find Francesca Wade on Twitter.

*Please note: affiliate links are used for Blackwells. If you order a book from Blackwells using one of my affiliate links, I may make a small commission from your purchase, at no additional cost to yourself. I like to support Blackwells by linking to their website, as I’m a big fan of their flagship Oxford bookshop, and they offer reasonable overseas shipping. You in turn support my work by shopping through my affiliate link. Thank you!