A Loving But Unpredictable Mother
- Tyler's mother encouraged books but was unpredictably angry, shaping Anne's childhood sensibility.
From Russian Major To Writing
- At Duke she majored in Russian and joined creative writing after a teacher championed her work.
An Unexpected Meeting Led To Marriage
- Tyler met her husband Taghi through friends, disliked him at first, then married seven months later.
Anne Tyler is a novelist and short story writer. Her 23 novels include the Accidental Tourist, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Breathing Lessons.
Anne was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1941, the oldest of four children. Her parents were Quakers and the family lived in a succession of Quaker communities in the South until they settled in a Quaker commune in Celo, in the mountains of North Carolina in 1948. When she was 11 the family moved to Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina, where Anne attended a mainstream school.
Anne majored in Russian literature at Duke University in North Carolina where she enrolled in a creative writing class run by the author Reynolds Price. After completing her studies she worked as a librarian in the university library.
Anne’s first novel, If Morning Ever Comes, was published in 1964 when she was just 22-years-old. Her writing is widely praised for the way it chronicles the lives of middle-class America and celebrates endurance and the complexities of family relationships.
Anne moved to Baltimore with her husband and children in 1967 and the city has been the setting for her books ever since.
DISC ONE: Darby’s Castle by Kris Kristofferson DISC TWO: This is My Father’s World by Cedarmont Kids DISC THREE: Hearts Of Stone by The Charms DISC FOUR: Darling Dareyne by Shusha DISC FIVE: Un Canadien Errant by Ian And Sylvia DISC SIX: Heart of Glass by Blondie DISC SEVEN: While Sheep May Safely Graze, composed by J.S Bach, performed by Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Richard Hayman DISC EIGHT: Baltimore by Nina Simone
BOOK CHOICE: The Golden Apples by Eudora Welty LUXURY ITEM: A supply of pet food
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: While Sheep May Safely Graze, composed by J.S Bach, performed by Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Richard Hayman
Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley