Elizabeth Gilbert is best known as the author of Eat, Pray, Love, which was made into a film starring Julia Roberts.
Her new novel is City of Girls, a story of New York City showgirls in the 1940s.
The book's protagonist, Vivian Morris, becomes involved in that world when she is kicked out of college at 19 and sent to live with her aunt in New York, who runs a burlesque theatre.
Elizabeth says she wanted to write something that challenged the trope of "the ruined woman".
"I've wanted for years to write a novel about promiscuous girls who do not have their lives ruined by their sexual misadventures and romantic mistakes."
She joined us on The Last Word to discuss the book, maintaining creativity, and the rejection that writers have to face.
Listen to the interview in full by pressing the play button on this page.
