Write Around the World

Book and travel lover Richard E Grant journeys to southern Italy, in the footsteps of great authors whose work was inspired by the country, its culture and history. In this episode he visits Naples through the eyes of Charles Dickens, Norman Lewis, Elizabeth Gilbert and Elena Ferrante whose bestselling 'My Brilliant Friend' continues to attract visitors to the city.

Richard E Grant continues his journey across Southern Italy in the company of some of the great books that have been inspired by its cities and landscapes. This episode takes him to Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast and the southern town once known as 'the shame of Italy' until its fortunes were transformed by a book.

Richard E Grant travels to the South of France, retracing Robert Louis Stevenson's famous journey across the Cevennes with a donkey, visiting the fortress prison that inspired Alexandre Dumas' 'The Count of Monte Cristo' and the glamorous locations where Scott Fitzgerald wrote and based 'Tender is the Night'.

Richard E Grant continues his journey across the South of France in the company of some of the books that have been inspired by its rich and varied landscapes. This episode sees him visit actor turned writer Carol Drinkwater's olive farm, sample local cuisine and visit the world's perfume capital Grasse, the setting for Patrick Susskind's bestselling novel 'Perfume'.

Richard E Grant travels across Andalucia in southern Spain in the company of some of the writers who were inspired by its cities, landscapes and turbulent history. He visits the Granada of Federico García Lorca, the spectacular town of Ronda beloved by Ernest Hem-ingway and the remote Alpujarras where former drummer Chris Stewart now writes his bestselling books.

Richard E Grant continues his travel across Andalucia in Southern Spain visiting the Al-pujarras where the rich culinary tradition has led to some great food writing, the city of Almuñécar where Laurie Lee ended the journey across Spain he described in: As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning' and the Costa del Sol where J G Ballard set Cocaine Nights.