Summary: Edward St Aubyn’s first novel, Never Mind, was published back in 1992. Over the next four years he released Bad News and Some Hope, creating a trilogy of works centring around the semi-autobiographical character of Patrick Melrose and the rather long shadow of his father. In 2006 he revisited this world in Mother’s Milk, now focused on Patrick’s own young family and his difficult relationship with his mother. Now, 20 years after the first book, the story reaches another conclusion, with the death of Eleanor Melrose, Patrick’s mother, whose attempts at charity have led her to ignore her own family and inflict upon Patrick the mistakes of her own past. The series is a perfect exemplar of British writing. Caustically arch, deeply intelligent and remarkably funny it balances internal turmoil with external equanimity. Edward St Aubyn joined Sky Kirkham to discuss the story's completion, the gradually lessening unpleasantness of writing and revisiting the past. Originally broadcast on 28/02/2013. At Last is available through Pan Macmillan.
