Dorothy Koomson

Dorothy Koomson

From Bookclub by BBC Radio 4

April 5, 2026 · 28 min

About this episode

Dorothy Koomson discusses her novel The Ice Cream Girls and its themes with host James Naughtie.

Led by presenter James Naughtie, the writer Dorothy Koomson takes questions from a Bookclub audience about her 2010 novel The Ice Cream Girls. The novel follows the characters of Poppy Carlisle and Serena Gorringe who are tried for the murder of predatory schoolteacher, Marcus Hansley. Poppy is jailed, while Serena is allowed to walk free, and, among other things, the novel examines how the teenagers' experiences with Marcus have far-reaching consequences. Described by the Independent newspaper as "one of the biggest selling black authors in Britain" Dorothy Koomson has been writing novels since she was thirteen years old. In 2022 she was a judge for the Women's Prize for Fiction. Author image credit: Niall McDiarmid. Producer: Dominic Howell Editor: Gillian Wheelan This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

People in this episode

Host: James Naughtie

Guest: Dorothy Koomson

Topics covered

  • novel discussion
  • murder trial
  • teenage experiences
  • consequences of actions
  • author interview

Keywords

  • Dorothy Koomson
  • The Ice Cream Girls
  • murder
  • teenagers
  • consequences

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Independent, BBC Radio 4, BBC Audio Scotland

Books & works: The Ice Cream Girls

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