On The Book Show this week, Sinead Gleeson is joined in studio by critic Yvonne Nolan and Dani Gill, the Artistic Director of Galway’s Cúirt International Festival of Literature, to explore the writing of Italian novelist Elena Ferrante. Her novels, set in post-war Naples, chronicle the lives and friendships of young women. They are enormously popular and have been translated into many languages.

The author herself is something of a mystery, however. She has never appeared at literary festivals or done any book signings and we’ve never seen a photograph of her. It’s an unusual stance in this age of the writer-star and has led to much speculation about the true identity of Elena Ferrante.

On a recent visit to Bath in the UK, Zoe Comyns searched for Jane Austen’s links with the city. They weren’t difficult to find. Jane Austen lived in Bath for a number of years and some of her novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, are set there. While we know something about the life of Austen we’re not entirely sure what she looked like. On hand, to throw light on the life, work and appearance of this most popular writer, are a group of tour-guides at The Jane Austen Centre in Bath. They show us several portraits of the writer as well as a writing desk and an ink pot where we can so easily picture the woman at her work.

Nigerian novelist Ben Okri shot to fame when his novel, The Famished Road, won the Booker Prize in 1991. His latest novel, The Age of Magic tells the story of a group of film-makers who are journeying to the region in Greece known as Arcadia. It is set in a small town in Switzerland where the film crew are resting and where the ghosts of the town join the demons, real or imagined that follow the crew.

Okri discusses the influence of Goethe’s Faust on the novel and tells Sinead about his interest in African spirituality and hidden realities. He also outlines an interesting practice called ‘eviling’ which features in the novel.

Our Footnote pays tribute to Sir Terry Pratchett who died earlier in the week.