Lissa Evans - Old Baggage

Lissa Evans talks to James Naughtie and a group of her readers about her novel Old Baggage. Set in 1928, it tells the story of Matilda Simpkin, who was an activist during the Women’s Suffrage Campaign. Jailed five times, Mattie marched, sang, gave speeches and smashed windows, and nothing since then has had the same depth or excitement. After a chance meeting with 15-year-old Ida, she sets out on a new venture, starting a girls’ club to help young women gain and maintain independence. Old Baggage was shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Literature 2019. Presenter : James Naughtie Producer : Dymphna Flynn For details on how to take part in Bookclub email us at bookclub@bbc.co.uk October’s Bookclub Choice : All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (2014)