Jonathan Coe joins Tom’s Book Club to discuss Lessons in Harmony, his new historical novel about the composers Maurice Ravel and Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Set in Belle Époque Paris in 1907, the novel imagines the unlikely friendship between the charismatic French composer and his English counterpart, exploring music, national identity, friendship and the approach of the First World War. Alongside them is Mylo, Ravel’s devoted acolyte, whose story becomes increasingly entangled with their lives.
In this conversation, Jonathan Coe discusses what drew him away from the contemporary Britain of his earlier novels and towards historical fiction, the research behind bringing Ravel and Vaughan Williams to life, and the relationship between music and literature.
We explore the novel’s unusual structure, its fictional manuscript, humour in fiction, and Coe reflects on his own musical interests.
If you enjoy literary fiction, historical novels, contemporary literature, classical music, Maurice Ravel, Ralph Vaughan Williams and conversations about books, writing and the creative process, this episode of Tom’s Book Club is for you.
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