Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

The Emperor's New Clothes

Jane Austen, Dickens, Aldous Huxley and Jenny Joseph bring us ball gowns, wedding dresses, purple, and creases with music from Prokofiev, Strauss, Anoushka Shankar and PJ Harvey.

Jane Austen鈥檚 Catherine in Northanger Abbey wonders what she should wear to the ball, while Dickens鈥� Miss Havisham still wears her wedding clothes years after she was ditched. Aldous Huxley considers the folds in his trousers, and Diogenes folds his cloak in two for summer. Jenny Joseph threatens to wear purple when she is old, and the Emperor parades without any clothes at all. And in London Fashion Week we celebrate the wild and wonderful life and work of the late Vivienne Westwood. There鈥檚 music from Prokofiev鈥檚 Cinderella, Richard Strauss鈥� Salome, Anoushka Shankar, PJ Harvey and JS Bach. Our readers are Julia Winwood and Jonathan Keeble.

Producer in Salford: Nick Holmes

1 hour, 14 minutes

Last on

Sun 20 Jul 2025 18:00
蜜芽传媒 Radio 3

More episodes

Previous

Intoxication, addiction and ecstatic states

Next

The Aeneid

See all episodes from Words and Music

Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • Jane Austen

    Northanger Abbey. Read by Julia Winwood

  • Charles Dickens

    Great Expectations. Read by Jonathan Keeble

  • 00:06

    A Hawk and a Hacksaw

    Bury Me in the Clothes I was Married In

    Performer: A Hawk and a Hacksaw.
    • LM Dupli-cation 鈥� LM 5.
    • 11.
  • 00:09

    JS Bach

    Sonata No. 2 for violin solo in A minor, BWV 1003 - Andante

    Performer: Sigiswald Kuijken.
    • Deutsche Harmonia Mundi GD77043.
    • 15.

  • Anne Carson

    Father's Old Blue Cardigan. Read by Julia Winwood

  • Gertrude Stein

    Tender Buttons (A Long Dress). Read by Julia Winwood

  • 00:15

    Jay Livingston

    Buttons and Bows

    Performer: Dinah Shore.
    • Memoir Records 669910292952.
    • 16.
  • 00:17

    Arthur Bliss

    The Lady of Shalott

    Orchestra: 蜜芽传媒 Concert Orchestra. Conductor: Martin Yates.
    • Dutton CDLX7387.
    • 1.

  • Alfred Lord Tennyson

    The Lady of Shalott. Read by Jonathan Keeble

  • 00:21

    Anoushka Shankar

    Naked

    Performer: Anoushka Shankar.
    • Angel Records.
    • 4.

  • Martin Jenkins

    Diogenes the Cynic. Read by Jonathan Keeble

  • Kahlil Gibran

    On Clothes. Read by Jonathan Keeble

  • 00:25

    David Bowie

    Fashion

    Performer: Joey Negro. Performer: The Sunburst Band.
    • Z Records 鈥� ZEDDCD013.
    • 5.

  • Hadley Freeman

    Vivienne Westwood, Read by Julia Winwood

  • Veronica Horwell

    Vivienne Westwood.Read by Julia Winwood

  • Billy Collins

    Taking off Emily Dickinson's Clothes. Read by Jonathan Keeble

  • 00:30

    Richard Strauss

    Salome: Dance of the Seven Veils

    Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Composer: Andris Nelsons.
    • Orfeo C803091A.
    • 23.

  • Katherine Mansfield

    A New Hymn. Read by Julia Winwood

  • 00:39

    Erik Satie

    Les Valses distinguees du precieux degoute no.2; Son binocle

    Performer: Alan Marks.
    • Decca 425208-2.
    • 8.
  • 00:41

    Lee Hazlewood

    These Boots Were Made for Walkin'

    Performer: Emilie鈥怌laire Barlow.
    • Empress Music Group EMG445.
    • 7.

  • Benjamin Zephaniah

    Vegan Steven's Vegan Clothes. Read by Jonathan Keeble

  • 00:45

    Bryn Terfel (bass baritone), Annette Bryn Parri (piano)

    La Boh猫 me; Act 4; Vecchia Zimarra, Senti

    • SAIN SCD 9099.
    • 13.

  • Hans Christian Andersen

    The Emperor's New Clothes . Read by Jonathan Keeble

  • 00:51

    Ottorino Respighi

    Three Botticelli Pictures: The Adoration of the Magi

    Orchestra: City of London Sinfonia. Conductor: Richard Hickox.
    • Collins Classics 13492COL.
    • 5.

  • Aldous Huxley

    The Doors of Perception. Read by Jonathan Keeble

  • L. M. Montgomery

    Anne of Green Gables. Read by Julia Winwood

  • 01:01

    Cole Porter

    Silk Stockings

    Singer: Don Ameche. Ensemble: Silk Stockings Orchestra. Conductor: Herbert Greene.
    • Masterworks Broadway G010003103140V.
    • 12.

  • Robert Herrick

    Upon Julia's Clothes. Read by Jonathan Keeble

  • 01:04

    PJ Harvey

    Dress (demo)

    Performer: PJ Harvey.
    • UMC (Universal Music Catalogue) 00602508901997.
    • 3.
  • 01:06

    William Walton

    As You Like It: The Forest of Arden

    Ensemble: English Serenata. Conductor: Guy Woolfenden.
    • Meridian Records 191018140649.
    • 23.

  • William Shakespeare

    As You Like It, Act I Scene III. Read by Julia Winwood

  • Jenny Joseph

    Warning. Read by Julia Winwood

  • 01:12

    Gogol Bordello

    Start Wearing Purple

    Performer: Gogol Bordello.
    • SideOneDummy Records AWD397095.
    • 9.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 19 Feb 2023 17:30
    蜜芽传媒 Radio 3
  • Sun 20 Jul 2025 18:00
    蜜芽传媒 Radio 3

The hidden history of plant-based diets

The hidden history of plant-based diets

Forget social media influencers - the meat-free movement started with the Victorians.

Books website

Get closer to books with in-depth articles, quizzes and our picks from radio & TV.