Simon Garfield The Pen: A Human History

The pen is our oldest tangible connection between an individual mind and the world at large, but the pen’s own story is just as eventful as anything it has written. The prolific and acclaimed writer on everything from typefaces to maps tells the story of how the simplest tool has shaped our lives, going on a journey from a reed on the Nile to the home of Montblanc and Bic, via the desks of everyone from Jane Austen to Sigmund Freud.

Talking to Deirdre Shields