Anne Scott James

Anne Scott James

Author: BBC Radio 4 October 10, 2004 Duration: 37:31

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the journalist and writer Anne Scott-James. Now in her 92nd year, Anne Scott-James came from a line of critics and writers and became one of the first women career journalists, editors and columnists, before embarking on a second career as the author of a series of gardening books. After Oxford she joined Vogue - first as an assistant to a secretary and then went from writing the odd picture caption to proper articles. She became editor of Harper's Bazaar - and during her magazine career she commissioned work from such figures as Cecil Beaton, John Betjemen and Elizabeth David. Her marriage to Macdonald Hastings collapsed and in the early 60s she met the writer and illustrator Sir Osbert Lancaster and they married in 1967. At around the same time she embarked on a new stage in her career - gardening writing. Her first book, Down to Earth, and The Pleasure Garden, which she produced jointly with Sir Osbert, are now being republished as gardening classics.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Double Concerto for Two Violins in D by Johann Sebastian Bach Book: Semi-attached Couple by Emily Eden Luxury: Nightdress made of pure white cotton


The Desert Island Discs: Archive 2000-2005 podcast opens a unique window into a pivotal era, drawing from the BBC Radio 4 archives. This isn't just a collection of interviews about music; it's a deeply personal exploration of life, ambition, and memory through the voices of the early 21st century. Each episode presents a guest from this period-be they an artist, a politician, a scientist, or an activist-facing the program's enduring and revealing premise: selecting the eight pieces of music they would take if stranded alone. The conversation that unfolds around these choices is where the magic happens. The host gently guides them from their selections into stories of childhood influences, career-defining moments, personal triumphs, and profound losses. You'll hear the crackle of a vinyl record lead into a confession, or a symphony cue a tale of resilience. Listening to this podcast feels like uncovering a time capsule of cultural and emotional history, where a pop song can explain a political stance and a classical adagio can frame a love story. It’s an intimate study of character and a testament to how the soundtrack of our lives shapes our identity. These archived conversations, preserved in this podcast, remain compelling because they bypass the superficial, using music as the key to unlock genuine human experience.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Desert Island Discs: Archive 2000-2005
Podcast Episodes
Bill Nighy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:41
This week Sue's castaway is the award winning actor Bill Nighy. Originally from Caterham in Surrey, he left school at 15 without any qualifications and ended up working at his local employment office. He hoped to become…
Sir Gulam Noon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:45
Sue Lawley's castaway this week is a businessman who brought authentic Indian foods to our supermarkets - Sir Gulam Noon. An instinctive businessman, he was brought up in a complex family situation with a step-brother an…
Judith Kerr [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:32
This week Sue's castaway is Judith Kerr - a writer and illustrator known to generations of children both for her charming Mog picture-books and for her careful rendering of the life of a Jewish child fleeing Nazi Germany…
John Cale [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:14
This week Sue Lawley's castaway is John Cale, a classically trained musician who went on to found one of the most influential bands of the 1960s, Velvet Underground. John Cale was brought up in a strict South Wales house…
Sacha Distel [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:52
This week Sue Lawley's castaway is one of France's best known exports - the singer Sacha Distel. Born into a loving family in 1930s Paris, his father was a Russian émigré who'd fled the Red Army in 1917 and walked to Par…
Sister Frances Dominica [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:52
This week Sue Lawley's castaway is a nun and a pioneer of the hospice movement. Sister Frances Dominica says she had always felt she was born to be a nurse and as a child would line up her dolls and teddies in pretend ho…
Rt Hon Lord Sainsbury [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:37
This week Sue Lawley's castaway is David Sainsbury, now Lord Sainsbury of Turville.David Sainsbury who is a grocer and a politician is also one of Britain's richest men and was a multi-millionaire by the time he was in h…
Paul Dacre [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:01
This week Sue Lawley's castaway is one of Britain's most powerful newspaper men - Paul Dacre, editor of the Daily Mail. He was brought up in a household where news, and the coverage of it, was a daily topic of debate - h…
Stephen Frears [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:41
This week Sue Lawley's castaway is the film director Stephen Frears. His film credits include My Beautiful Launderette, When Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, Dangerous Liaisons, High Fidelity and, most recently, Dirty Pretty Th…
Jimmy Tarbuck [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:52
This week Sue Lawley's castaway is the entertainer Jimmy Tarbuck. Originally from Liverpool, he began his career as a redcoat at Butlins holiday camp. He went on to become a compere at the London Palladium and fronted nu…