List of Desert Island Discs episodes (1991–2000)

The BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs invites castaways to choose eight pieces of music, a book (in addition to the Bible – or a religious text appropriate to that person's beliefs – and the Complete Works of Shakespeare) and a luxury item that they would take to an imaginary desert island, where they will be marooned indefinitely. The rules state that the chosen luxury item must not be anything animate or indeed anything that enables the castaway to escape from the island, for instance a radio set, sailing yacht or aeroplane. The choices of book and luxury can sometimes give insight into the guest's life, and the choices of guests between 1991 and 2000 are listed here.

1991 DateCastawayBookLuxuryMoreinfoLord GoodmanWho's Who moreAdelaide HallA book about American historyBox of seeds moreFred ZinnemannWar and Peace by Leo TolstoyVery large self-renewing bottle of scotch moreBrian EnoContingency, Irony, and Solidarity by Richard RortyRadio telescope moreA book of Greek poetryDice to test the luck of a ship rescuing him morePaddy Ashdown MPThe collected works of John DonneLaptop computer moreDame Ninette de ValoisA collection of poemsAn everlasting bottle of sleeping pills moreRonald EyreA talking book by Judi DenchSupply of flower bulbs moreRaj Quartet by Paul ScottSatellite dish and TV moreJeffrey BernardThe Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle moreCollected Plays of J. B. Priestley moreMarti CaineDo-it-yourself manual moreNaomi MitchisonBook of modern poetryEndless supply of writing materials moreBrewer's Dictionary of Phrase and FableSupply of cigars and matches moreDr Jonathan SacksThe TalmudLarge supply of pencils moreDame Shirley PorterSAS Survival ManualLarge Swiss Army Knife moreCecil LewisSagittarius Surviving by C. S. LewisFax machine moreJohn SimpsonAnything in French by Marcel ProustFlute moreJohn SmithAnthology of poemsCase of champagne moreMarco Pierre WhiteMa Gastronomie by Fernand PointPicture of his daughter moreDerek WalcottUlysses by James JoyceCarton of cigarettes moreA. S. ByattA la recherche du temps perdu by Marcel ProustLarge filing cabinet full of A4 paper and pens moreJohn HegartyThe Crock of Gold by James Stephens moreRon ToddThe collected works of Robert Burns moreLord ShawcrossThe Way We Live Now by Anthony TrollopeCD player/solar-powered radio moreAlan BleasdaleCatch-22 by Joseph Heller moreMaxwell HutchinsonFour Quartets by T. S. Eliot morePoems For Joy and Sermons For Solace by John Donne moreJohn BanhamThe collected works of A. E. Housman moreKlaus Tennstedt moreDavid BaileyVoices of Silence by MalrauxNelson's Column moreImran KhanBang-E-Dara by IqbalShotgun and clay pigeon trap moreJohn SchlesingerDictionary of QuotationsMagimix (battery powered) moreElizabeth Esteve-CollFour Quartets by T. S. EliotExpensive perfumed hand cream moreAlan AldaRobinson Crusoe by Daniel DefoeItalian pasta moreE. P. ThompsonSongs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake moreLord Delfont1515–1985 British Music Theatre BookCigars and matches moreJames LovelockThe Golden Treasury by Francis PalgravePen and paper moreDilys PowellOliver Twist by Charles DickensMouth organ with instructions moreFred DibnahBound volumes of the Engineer magazineSteamroller moreSue TownsendLucky Jim by Kingsley AmisSwimming pool of champagne moreGorden KayeA clock given to him for turning on the Oxford lights more

1992 DateCastawayBookLuxuryMoreinfoSteven BerkoffPiano moreReverend David JenkinsThe Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan DoyleBinoculars moreJohn MajorThe Small House at Allington by Anthony TrollopeThe Oval cricket ground replica and bowling machine moreJ. G. BallardMoby Dick by Herman MelvilleUnicycle moreRobbie ColtraneThe Lady in the Lake by Raymond ChandlerPencils and paper moreSir Roger BannisterAnthology of Russian, American and English storiesSolar-powered receiver to receive BBC Radio 4 moreElvis CostelloSelected Works of James ThurberUpright piano moreValley of Bones by Anthony PowellStuffed body of the Minister of Education moreJocelyn StevensOther Men's Flowers by Lord WavellOne mile stretch of the River Test in Hampshire moreSir Isaiah BerlinWorks, prose and verse by Aleksandr PushkinLarge armchair stacked with cushions moreLady SoamesMemories from Beyond the Grave by ChateaubriandSupply of fine Havana cigars moreSir Ernst GombrichGoethe's Poems by Johann Wolfgang GoetheBathtub with an endless supply of hot water moreAnthony Rolfe JohnsonParquet floor and tap shoes moreHistory of the English-Speaking Peoples by Winston ChurchillTriangular pillow moreWill CarlingThe Hobbit by J. R. R. TolkienFlotation tank moreMichael GradeThe Wind in the Willows by Kenneth GrahameSports results moreWar and Peace by Leo TolstoyPiano morePrunella Scales moreDuncan GoodhewThe Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. TolkienWig moreRobert LindsaySons and Lovers by D. H. LawrenceComputer chess set moreTerry WaiteComplete Cambridge Histories moreVivienne WestwoodMulti-lingual dictionary moreClare Short MPGeometry tutorPiano more Life of John F. Kennedy Satellite dish and television set moreVile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh moreDavid MellorThe Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas HardyTelephone (disconnected) moreBob GeldofThe Diary of Samuel PepysMetropolitan Museum in New York morePenelope LeachThe Complete Works of Sigmund FreudCoffee moreRaymond BlancThe Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-ExupéryA good luck stone (from his wife) moreChad VarahOwn bathroom run by solar power with hot and cold water and a video player attached moreJuliet StevensonThe Complete Works of W. B. YeatsMasaccio Frescos in the Brancacci Chapel moreLord SainsburyBed moreJulie AndrewsThe Once and Future King by T. H. WhitePiano moreGavin LairdThe Diary of Samuel PepysYear's recording of the Today programme moreGeneral H Norman SchwarzkopfThe Prophet by Kahlil GibranHis dog, Bear moreWar and Peace by Leo TolstoyA comfortable chair moreJohn Eliot GardinerMemoirs by Hector BerliozSancerre moreLord TebbitHistory of the English-Speaking Peoples by Winston ChurchillDrinking fountain with taps for sancerre and claret moreCarmen CallilMaurice Guest by Henry Handel Richardson moreThe Natural History of Selborne by Gilbert White morePaul SmithNotebook and pencil moreStephen HawkingMiddlemarch by George EliotCreme brulee more

1993 DateCastawayBookLuxuryMoreinfoElizabeth JenningsThe New Oxford Book of American Verse moreBarbara Mills QCHistory of the Crusades by Steven RuncimanTennis court, balls, racket and wall moreDervla MurphyThe Diary of Samuel PepysA still to distill berries, etc., into drink moreEvelyn GlennieWay of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan MillmanChocolate moreAnthony StorrA la recherche du temps perdu by Marcel ProustPiano moreSir Robin ButlerRise and Fall of the Great Powers by Paul Kennedy moreElijah Moshinsky moreKen Livingstone MPThe Myths of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley moreDavid CroftCollected Poems of Sir John BetjemanPiano moreRichard GregoryAn astronomy book by Patrick Moore moreMr Mulliner's Memoirs by P. G. WodehouseCargo of champagne moreAnton EdelmannTibetan Book of Living and Dying by Rainer Maria RilkeWok moreBaroness BlackstoneMiddlemarch by George EliotTennis balls and racket moreJohn BoormanMemories, Dreams and Reflections by Carl JungTelescope moreJohn ColeTypewriter moreEva BurrowsFaber Book of Religious VerseGame of Scrabble with paper and pencil moreLord WeinstockIf This Is a Man by Primo LeviPhotograph album of family, friends and colleagues moreKaye WebbPoetry of Naomi LewisVery big photograph album on a wheeling table moreFrank BrunoRobinson Crusoe by Daniel DefoePicture of his family moreBetty Boothroyd MPA Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth moreJoan BaezThe Diary of Anne FrankPersonal pouch with a silver lion on it moreSir Leon BrittanThe collected works of Chaucer morePeter MayleThe Leopard by Giuseppe di LampedusaThe menu from his favourite Parisien restaurant moreNicholas HytnerThe collected works of Samuel Taylor ColeridgeLarge supply of total block suncream moreIsabel AllendeAll correspondence between her and her motherPaper and pencils morePaul MertonBed moreOn the Road by Jack KerouacTelescope moreVirginia Bottomley MPNorton's Star Atlas moreLesley GarrettPhotograph albumTightrope moreRaymond SeitzOxford Anthology of Modern PoetryBig box full of family albums moreKenny EverettEagle annualBathroom suite moreJudge Stephen TumimTristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne moreSybil MarshallHuckleberry Finn by Mark TwainInexhaustible supply of Swiss lawn handkerchiefs moreShirley Anne FieldReader's DigestLarge Chippendale mirror moreDoris LessingMagic carpet moreTakiEssential Hemingway by Ernest Hemingway morePhil CollinsPiano moreLord Ashley of StokeA book about warfareSmoked salmon and wine more

1994 DateCastawayBookLuxuryMoreinfoOliver SacksDictionary of Musical Themes moreIan HislopCivilisation by Kenneth Clark moreSir Harrison BirtwistleChainsaw moreWilly RussellEnglish meadow with an oak tree moreOxford Dictionary of QuotationsPen and paper moreDouglas AdamsOmnibus of Golfing Stories by P. G. WodehouseMartin D28 left-handed guitar moreRosemary VereyA Celebration of Gardens by Sir Roy StrongWaterproof pens, paper and folders moreKenneth Clarke MPThe Life of Lord Melbourne by Lord David CecilTenor sax moreFrances PartridgeMemoirs by Duc de Saint-SimonFlower press moreChristina DodwellThe Prophet by Kahlil GibranPen and paper moreConrad BlackOxford Book of English VerseModel of HMS Hood moreSir Ranulph FiennesGormenghast by Mervyn PeakeAntisan for insect bites moreRoger McGoughBlack cab moreAlan HackerMiddlemarch by George EliotHovercraft wheelchair with cappuccino machine moreTrevor McDonaldAnthology of poetryBox of paints, brushes and paper moreGarrison KeillorRoget's ThesaurusSet of china (four place settings) moreSir John WilsonA chess strategy book (in Braille)A sonic probe moreKate AdieThe Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer moreBritt EklandRecent editions of magazines, e.g. Vanity Fair, VogueCase of Evian water and champagne morePeter ScudamoreBook of verse by Rudyard KiplingSnorkeling equipment moreMilton ShulmanThe Cookery Book by Constance SpryTennis racket and ball machine moreZoë WanamakerGreek Myths by Robert GravesSamson tobacco and liquorice Rizla papers moreBrian SewellSongs from the 1880s with piano accompaniment by SchubertSculpture by Michelangelo moreJohn DrummondEncyclopaedia of all the well-known operasSmall theatre moreDerek JamesonThe Grapes of Wrath by John SteinbeckWord processor moreBiography of Churchill by Martin GilbertA parking space moreJoanna TrollopeOxford Book of English VerseBed and white Egyptian sheets moreJohn TavenerApophthegmata Patrum (early writing of Egyptian fathers)Upright piano moreMary StottThe Act of Creation by Arthur KoestlerWatercolours for painting moreThe Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri moreJeanette WintersonFour Quartets by T. S. Eliot moreSir George ChristieOrigin of Species by Charles Darwin moreLynda La PlanteFairy Stories by Honoré de BalzacMouth organ moreKathleen HaleA la recherche du temps perdu by Marcel ProustA gilabra (cloak of gold) moreArchbishop Desmond TutuParting the Waters by Taylor BranchIce-cream maker (especially for rum and raisin flavour) moreBerthold GoldschmidtJoseph and His Brothers by Thomas MannVanity case including metal mirror and shaving kit moreGlenys KinnockAtlas of the Third WorldToilet bag full of skin-barrier creams moreSir Howard HodgkinJournal De Eugène Delacroix by Eugène DelacroixMayonnaise – permanent supply moreMargaret ForsterA House For Mr Biswas by V. S. NaipaulUnlimited supply of A4 white paper and cartridges for fountain pen morePenelope HobhouseThe Golden Bowl by Henry JamesLaptop computer moreDavid JasonA complete carpenter's toolbox more

1995