Hello I'm Kirstie Young and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive.

For Wright's reasons, we've had to shorten the music.

The program was originally broadcast in 1983 and the presenter was Roy Plumley. This week our castaway as a young writer who's having considerable success, the novelist and biographer A.N. Wilson.

Let's get this age thing sorted out first of all.

You are indeed young enough to be included among the 20 young novelist

recent as celebrated by the book Marketing Council but you have in fact passed your

30th birthday. I have I'm 32 years old but I think that the age limit for the so-called young

British novelist is 40 I didn't know that so that I have eight years to go if they

have another campaign so you're young but not very

young. Not to last very young. Why do you choose to call yourself by your

initials and sort of your Christian name Andrew? Well it sounds rather oldy time

or rather like PG Woodhouse or T.S. Elliot or one of those

characters. The reason is that there are about 150 people in the world who

publish books or newspaper articles and who are also called Andrew Wilson.

Now, eight records for a Desert Island. Have you any musical skill?

I can pick out a tune on a penny whistle or a recorder.

I can't to last play the piano. Do you sing? I can sing in tune. I was in a choir when I was a boy. Is music important to your life? I'm rather a hundred best tunes sort of character.

Music is important to me, but I don't know anything about it.

That is to say some music means a lot.

Do you like music while you're working?

Definitely no.

Silence. Now what is the first desk you're working? Definitely no. Right.

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