Some novels are almost literally music, some describe music so well that you can hear it in your head, and some explain what it's like to be a musician with notes bursting out of your head and fingers in harmony or discord. In this bibliotherapy session Ella Berthoud will look at music in fiction, from the composer in Thomas Mann’s 'Doctor Faustus', to the rock band in 'Daisy Jones and the Six'. Taking in the turn of the century New York music scene in Doctorow’s 'Ragtime', the profound quality of music to move and overcome cultural barriers in Ann Patchett’s 'Bel Canto', to Ishiguro’s Nocturnes and the complexities of living as a professional musician in Vikram Seth’s 'An Equal Music'.

How do novels manage to conjure music? Do you need to be musical to appreciate these novels? If you lived on a desert island, would these novels replace the music you have lost? Join Ella and bring your own literary musical musings to the session.