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Celebrated writer Francis Spufford talks about his first novel, Golden Hill, a story of intrigue and adventure set in the early days of New York.

The novel follows the story of an amiable and charming stranger Mr Smith, who lands in Manhattan in 1746 with an order for one thousand pounds in his pocket. Spufford harks back to the 18th-century beginnings of the novel with a story that twists and turns with every chapter. He paints a picture of New York in its early days where a young man could invent himself and find a whole lot of trouble.

‘Francis Spufford has one of the most original minds in contemporary literature.’ Nick Hornby

‘This is a dazzlingly written novel.’ Peter Kemp, Sunday Times

‘There are single scenes here more illuminating, more lovingly wrought, than entire books.’ Sophie Elmshirst, Financial Times

Spufford has written five celebrated books of non-fiction that have been longlisted or shortlisted for prizes in science writing, historical writing, political writing, theological writing, and writing ‘evoking the spirit of place’. He teaches creative writing at the University of London. Here he talks to Peter Kemp, chief fiction reviewer of The Sunday Times.

Sponsored by University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education.