Those of us not at the Franschhoek Literary Festival this weekend are missing out on the delight that is author, historian and film-maker Sam Dalrymple. He’s there to chat about his vaunted new book, Shattered Lands (Jonathan Ball), which is at the top of the Currency “to be read” pile.
Not to miss out, we asked the Delhi-raised Scotsman to answer our usual eight questions. Unsurprisingly, his answers are excellent. Once you’ve perused them, also check out his historically flavoured travel Substack, Travels of Samwise. He’ll have you gripped by the synagogues of Kolkata, memories of Isfahan and much more.
What’s the best book you’ve read in the past year. And why?
The top spot has to go to Sceptred Isle by Helen Carr. What a brilliant and irreverent history of England’s calamitous 14th century. It’s the epoch when everything went wrong at once – Edward II’s doomed love affair with Piers Gaveston that tore the country apart, the start of the Hundred Years’ War, the Peasants’ Revolt and the Black Death. Carr writes with such verve that you forget you’re reading history at all, and I’m now itching to plough through her backlist
How do you keep fit?
These days it’s a mix of running, yoga and bouldering. The last has been my particular obsession over the past four years. It’s a wonderfully sociable sport, and a great way to make friends in a new city.
Week-night, lowkey restaurant go-to?
Depends whether I’m in Delhi or London. In Delhi, it has to be Alkauser – the legendary kebab counter in Chanakyapuri; its kakori practically melts on the tongue. In London, I’ll head for a simple pho.
What is the one artwork you’ll always love, and why? You needn’t own it!
My mother, the artist Olivia Fraser, paints meditative works rooted in the Indian miniature tradition. As a child I asked her for one of her unsold paintings, and it has hung on my wall ever since. It keeps me grounded during difficult moments and is a small daily reminder of stillness.
Do you have a hobby? What is it?
Exploring cities on foot, hunting out forgotten monuments. I’ll happily spend an entire afternoon tracking down an old Armenian church that showed up somewhere in my research.
The one unusual item you can’t live without?
My Redstone Diary. They are these beautiful diaries filled with gorgeous art, and I spend all my time scribbling away in mine. Without it, half my best ideas would have vanished by lunchtime.
Who was your high school celeb crush?
Emma Watson in the Harry Potter films. Growing up in the early 2000s, the main Hogwarts trio felt like they were ageing in real time alongside us and it felt like we were all growing up together.
Three songs that you’d take to a desert island?
I’d want three quite different moods. I’ve recently come back to Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin, so that would be one. Then something Celtic and folky – Lough Erne Shore by Andy Irvine and Paul Brady, which I never tire of. And finally, a band called 1 Giant Leap, who made an album called What About Me? back in the 2000s. It was on constant rotation when I was a kid, and Under a Stormy Sky from that album hits differently every time I come back to it.
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- Currency’s guide to great books to read right now
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Top image: supplied.
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