Julia Zemiro walks another batch of notable faces through their former lives, uncovering the people, places and events that shaped them into the people they are today. Tonight, Bill Bryson.
American born writer Bill Bryson came to prominence with his recollections of living in the UK Notes from a Small Island. His books include Downunder, about travelling through Australia and A Short History of Nearly Everything.
We begin this episode at the Holloway Sanitorium, a former psychiatric hospital, where he worked while backpacking through Europe. It is where he met his future wife, then a trainee nurse, and decided to make the UK his home.
From there Julia and Bill catch a classic London Cab to the old News International newspaper offices where Bill became embroiled in the nation-changing Wapping Printers Strike.
Julia and Bill wander through the London Library and discuss the inspiration for his writing before visiting the Royal Society, the oldest national scientific institution in the world, where Bill is an honorary fellow.
It’s been quite a journey for the Thunderbolt Kid from Des Moines, Iowa.
