Peter Carey in New York. Photograph: Eamonn McCabe

The world's most celebrated Australian novelist talks about his surprise at finding himself taken to the heart of the literary establishment, with a forthcoming appearance on Desert Island Discs crowning a career that's won him two Bookers and an audience with the Queen.

Reading from new novel His Illegal Self, Carey recalls the personal experience informing his portrayal of fugitive American radicals on the run in Queensland in the early 70s; his abiding preoccupation with Australian identity; and the subjects he still doesn't feel able to touch.

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