On a winter's night in 1974, a crime took place that would obsess the nation.

It was an extraordinary news story.

The story of an aristocrat, Lord Lucan, who's said to have killed the family Nanny,

mistaking her for his wife, then somehow just disappeared.

One of the great mysteries in English criminal history. We're still looking for

Lucan. It's honestly one of the most powerful stories of my lifetime. I'm Alex Fontunzelman. This is

the Lucan Obsession. Listen on BBC Sounds. Hello and welcome to Open Book. This week, a celebration of

writing, tackling the big issues as we discuss a new

prize for climate fiction and hear about a book challenging assumptions around race and privilege.

But first, I'm really excited that we start today with one of my own favorite writers, American

author Maggie Nelson. She's hard to pigeonhole and is known for her genre-bending

works of prose, poetry and criticism, including Bluets, on Freedom and award-winning The Argonauts.

Her latest, like love, is a vibrant collection of essays, reviews, profiles and conversations

written over the last two decades. It's a passionate book, bursting

with energy and curiosity, with pieces that touch on art and feminism, transgression and

queerness, the role of the critic, love of course, and friendship, all examined with the critical

rigour and attention to detail her readers admire. The pieces engage with a broad range of artists and writers, from Sarah Lucas to Prince,

Ben Lerner to Kara Walker, Bjork to Karolish Nieman.

And in the book's final conversation, Maggie quotes her friend and mentor, the poet Eileen Miles, saying,

I feel like I'm trying to conceptualize a book that will be a cabinet

that will hold all these other parts. When I spoke to Maggie, I asked her if like love felt like

that kind of book to her. Yeah, it's definitely a different kind of a book for me. And I think in that

...