Ruskin Park: Sylvia, Me and the BBC

Written by Rory Cellan-Jones

Narrated by Rory Cellan-Jones

'A captivating family detective story and a poignant social history of Britain.' - Observer

After an isolated childhood of silence and secrets, Rory Cellan-Jones (broadcaster, Parkinson's podcaster and Sophie-the-rescue-dog owner) began a journey of discovery. Although he knew he was the child of a love affair between colleagues at the BBC, it wasn’t until his mother died and left him a file labelled 'For Rory' that he understood the true scandal and sadness of his parents' relationship, and the reasons for his fatherless upbringing.

A compelling, tender and emotive memoir of his difficult but ultimately heroic mother, Ruskin Park is also a tribute to an entire generation of women who were never given the chance to realise their potential.

'Ruskin Park is so much more than a memoir. It is a tribute to an individual woman and a whole generation and class.' - Justin Webb, Sunday Times

'Ruskin Park is Rory Cellan-Jones's touching tribute to both his parents, but particularly to the mother he came to know more fully from the letters she left behind' - Daily Mail

• Language: English
• Publisher: Duckworth Books
• Release date: Sep 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9781914613586

Rory Cellan-Jones

Rory Cellan-Jones is the BBC's chief technology correspondent reporting on the biggest developments and news stories in the field. He has interviewed countless visionaries from Jeff Bezos to Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk to Tim Berners-Lee. He hosts the BBC weekly podcast Tech Tent and is the author of Dot.Bomb: The Strange Death of Dot.Com Britain and Always On: Hope and Fear in the Social Smartphone Era. @ruskin147