Arrivals

From A Reading Life, A Writing Life, with Sally Bayley by Sally Bayley, Andrew Smith

October 4, 2025 · 22 min · Episode 88

About this episode

Sally reflects on literary arrivals and character arrangements in L.P. Hartley's novel, The Hireling, while marking the arrival of Autumn.

‘She brought so little personality with her that she seemed scarcely to disturb the air…’ This week, marking the arrival of Autumn, Sally has been thinking about literary arrivals, in particular those in L.P. Hartley’s 1957 novel, The Hireling. Listen for a meditation on the choreography of writing and the arrangement of characters, including those featured in Sally’s forthcoming work, Mrs Parnell. This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen. Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

People in this episode

Hosts: Sally Bayley, Andrew Smith

Topics covered

literary arrivals
writing
character arrangement
L.P. Hartley
autumn

Keywords

literary analysis
character development
L.P. Hartley
The Hireling
autumn

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Hireling, Mrs Parnell