Alasdair talks about some of the work that influenced his Gothic novel Poor Things - from Thomas Love Peacock's Nightmare Abbey to Mel Brook’s film Young Frankenstein - and explains why he feels the opening of this book may be his best.

You'll hear that I incorrectly credit Gene Wilder as the director of Young Frankenstein in the podcast and Alasdair rightly sounds rather dubious!

I made these recordings in what turned out to be the last year of my uncle's life - so I could spend more time with him and share with you the very great pleasure of sitting quietly at home with Alasdair listening to him read and talk about books.

I couldn't have made these podcasts without the help of my family and friends:  Alasdair Gray  David Thomas - technical advice and support Berniya Hamie – closing piano Matthew Robinson – rereads logos

You can follow @alasdairgrayrereads on Instagram for news, pictures and previews of upcoming episodes. And if you have any questions or thoughts to share I’d love to hear them – so please do leave a comment.