Self-Help, Dodgy Marriages And The Siren Call Of Australia: David Copperfield Part 2 Secret Life Of Books podcast

1:04:03

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes, wrote the Roman poet Juvenal two thousand years ago. And just in case your Latin isn’t up to scratch, we’ll translate it for you: Who watches the watchmen? That line provided inspiration to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen - arguably the first graphic novel to join the ranks of classic literature. Published as a stand-alone comic in twelve issues between 1986 and 1987, and compiled later that year, Watchmen did for comics what Sergeant Pepper’s did for pop music, legitimising them as a serious artform in the eyes of many. Watchmen is influenced by Friedrich Nietzsche, Thomas Pynchon and Jorge Luis Borges as much as Superman and Batman. It tells the story of a group of morally-dubious, has-been superheroes, who are being picked off one-by-one by a mysterious killer against the backdrop of nuclear threat. These are the ‘watchmen’ of the title, but - as the quote from Juvenal suggests - pity the society that is looked after by these guys. Sure, they fight crime, but they also commit a lot of it - and even they aren’t sure if the world is a better place for their existence. While the book isn’t short on action, its characters also discuss philosophy, analyse the history of the comic as an art-form and engage in commercial ventures to capitalise on their own story. Some time ago, when TIME Magazine listed the 100 most important books of the past century, Watchmen was on the list, wedged somewhere between Lolita and Things Fall Apart (in this case you really do have the watch the watchmen because one of the people responsible for the list and, in particular, for Watchmen’s inclusion, was Sophie’s husband Lev). To discuss the book, Sophie and Jonty are joined by Andy Miller - writer, performer and one-half of the power duo behind the brilliant Backlisted podcast. In fact, when we asked Andy to come on the show and what book he wanted to do, Watchmen was the first thing he said. In this episode, Andy, Sophie and Jonty discuss how Watchmen predicted the 21st Century, changed the shape of comics and literature, and why Alan Moore can’t stand the term ‘graphic novel’. BOOKS REFERRED: Watchmen (1986-7) by Alan Moore Providence (2015-17) by Alan Moore Jerusalem (2016) by Alan Moore Maus: A Survivor’s Tale (1991) by Art Spiegelman The Dark Knight Returns (1986) by Frank Miller American Psycho (1991) by Bret Easton Ellis Paradise Lost (1667) by John Milton Tristram Shandy (1767) by Laurence Sterne The Prisoner (TV series) (1967-8) Revelations In the Wink of An Eye (2024) by Jeffrey Lewis -- To join the Secret Life of Books Club visit: www.secretlifeofbooks.org -- Please support us on Patreon to keep the lights on in the SLoB studio and get bonus content: patreon.com/secretlifeofbookspodcast -- Follow us on our socials: youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@secretlifeofbookspodcast/shorts insta: https://www.instagram.com/secretlifeofbookspodcast/ bluesky: @slobpodcast.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

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SLoB's Secret Life of Pets 58:07

9 days ago58:07

58:07

From Macavity to Samuel Johnson’s Hodge, Buck to Rochester’s Pilot, what is classic literature without its pets? One of the most affecting scenes in The Odyssey, that foundation stone of western literature, occurs when Argos, Odysseus’ aged dog, dies at the moment of reunion with his long lost owner. Not even the knowledge of his afterlife as a shopping catalogue can relieve the pathos of the moment. In this episode, Sophie and Jonty make amends for slaughtering Boxer the carthorse in their episode on Animal Farm with a celebration of their favourite pets in literature. We make the case that the early 18th Century was the Golden Age for Pet Lit, that Dickens was so masterful at characterisation even the animals in his books are unforgettable, that Jane Austen was - on the basis of her books - no animal lover, while the Bronte sisters very much were. Finally, Jonty accidentally uncovers Sophie’s deep, repressed love for Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books. Like a match to gunpowder, just mentioning the books sends Sophie into a long homily to Timmy the dog. Note: No animals were harmed in the production of this episode. BOOKS DISCUSSED My Dog Tulip (1956) by JR Ackerley Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats (1939) by TS Eliot The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791) by James Boswell Rape of the Lock (1717) by Alexander Pope Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat (1747) Thomas Gray Jubilate Agno (1759-63) by Christopher Smart The Nun’s Priest Tale (1390s) by Geoffrey Chaucer Oliver Twist (1838) by Charles Dickens David Copperfield (1850) by Charles Dickens Gulliver’s Travels (1726) by Jonathan Swift Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte Bronte The Odyssey Sense and Sensibility (1811) by Jane Austen Mansfield Park (1814) by Jane Austen Five Go To Smuggler’s Top (1945) by Enid Blyton Gilead (2004) by Marilynne Robinson Rivals (1988) by Jilly Cooper The Call of the Wild (1903) by Jack London Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1958) by Truman Capote -- To join the Secret Life of Books Club visit: www.secretlifeofbooks.org -- Please support us on Patreon to keep the lights on in the SLoB studio and get bonus content: patreon.com/secretlifeofbookspodcast -- Follow us on our socials: youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@secretlifeofbookspodcast/shorts insta: https://www.instagram.com/secretlifeofbookspodcast/ bluesky: @slobpodcast.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

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George Orwell 6: What's in Room 101? 1984 Part 2 55:49

12 days ago55:49

55:49

As Shakespeare almost wrote: Orwell That Ends Well. While our six-part series on George Orwell comes to a triumphant end, Orwell’s life - alas - did not. He died too young and deeply pessimistic about the future of the world. In this last episode, Sophie and Jonty look at the bright side of life in Airstrip One, speculate what really lies within Room 101, and - REFORMATION ALERT - take a deep dive into the possible influence of 16th Century theological revolution on Winston Smith’s life (and betrayal). Finally, we step away from 1984 to reflect on this Orwell series as a whole: how do we feel about Orwell now, knowing what we do about his life, his triumphs and failures, and the controversy surrounding his treatment of his wife and women in general? Books referenced, quoted, or mentioned: Orwell: The New Life (2023) by DJ Taylor WIFEDOM (2023) by Anna Funder The Ministry of Truth: A Biography of George Orwell’s 1984 (2021) by Dorian Lynskey Essays by George Orwell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

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George Orwell 5: Sex crime, anyone? 1984 pt1 57:41

15 days ago57:41

57:41

Newspeak, Big Brother, the Thought Police, Room 101, doublethink, sex crime, the Ministry of Truth. Few books have generated quite as many outlandish yet unforgettable concepts as George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. So much so that Orwell’s name is now an adjective - Orwellian - which, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary means ‘relating to or suggestive of the dystopian reality depicted in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four . Published in 1949, Nineteen Eighty-Four is a nightmare from start to finish. It follows the demise of Winston Smith - a desk-worker in a totalitarian regime called Airstrip One - as he navigates his way through daily life in a version of London ravaged by nuclear war, makes the great error of falling in love and is finally tortured and brainwashed into a state of pathetic subservience and adoration of the fictional leader of Airstrip One: Big Brother. Part of the enduring impact of Nineteen Eighty-Four is the way Orwell successfully, but regretfully, identified emerging trends in our culture. And although Britain did not become Airstrip One - other countries in the world did, including North Korea and Turkmenistan, arguably did. Reading Orwell’s novel is still one of the best ways of understanding life in such regimes. In this episode, Sophie and Jonty discuss the way that Nineteen Eighty-Four both compels and repels us as readers and chart the long road to the book’s creation at the end of another long road - the track leading to Barnhill house in the Scottish island of Jura, where Orwell spent much of his last years. For anyone concerned this might be too heavy as an episode, we lean into the unacknowledged strain of comedy that runs through the book, as well as the hope implicit in the so-called Appendix Theory (the idea that the book is narrated by somebody after the fall of the regime). Anyone interested in numerology will note that this is episode 49 of Secret Life of Books and that 1949 was the year Nineteen Eighty-Four was published. We did not plan this, but just as fate draws Winston Smith to O’Brien and Room 101, so we are drawn into Orwell’s dystopian vision… Books referenced, quoted, or mentioned: Orwell: The New Life (2023) by DJ Taylor WIFEDOM (2023) by Anna Funder The Ministry of Truth: A Biography of George Orwell’s 1984 (2021) by Dorian Lynskey Essays by George Orwell Gulliver’s Travels (1726) by Jonathan Swift The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) by Margaret Atwood The Sleeper Awakes (1899) by HG Wells The Iron Heel (1908) by Jack London We (1921) by Yevgeny Zamyatin Anthem (1938) by Ayn Rand Lolita (1955) by Vladimir Nabokov Lord of the Rings (1955) by JRR Tolkien Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

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George Orwell 4: Come on, Eileen! Anna Funder, Mrs Orwell and Wifedom 1:00:06

19 days ago1:00:06

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George Orwell is one of the most famous names in classic literature, thanks to his novels Animal Farm and 1984, both dystopian fables of worlds gone mad, ruled over by autocratic pigs and authoritarian governments who monitor their citizens– or barnyard companions – every move. And yet for all his commitment to political and social justice, or at least the calling out of injustice and repression, Orwell’s private relationships were troubled and difficult, particularly his relationship with his wife Eileen O’Shaughnessy. In 2023, the internationally celebrated historian and novelist Anna Funder published Wifedom to instant acclaim. It’s a beautifully crafted biography of Eileen, re-assessment of Orwell, and polemical memoir of Anna’s own life as a writer, mother and wife. The book has had a huge impact on wives and women all over the world and has changed the way we think about Orwell. Anna’s home turf as a writer is the challenge of staying human under repressive regimes. She is the author of the brilliant Stasiland a documentary history of life in East Germany under the Stasi secret police in the aftermath of world war 2, and All That I Am, an historical novel about Nazi Germany and Hitler’s atrocities. Anna joins Sophie and Jonty in the studio to talk about Eileen, Eric Blair, early 20thC British history, and the experience of publishing Wifedom . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

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George Orwell 3: Murder in the Barnyard: Animal Farm 1:20:13

22 days ago1:20:13

1:20:13

Animal Farm is George Orwell’s micro masterpiece, an animal fable that offers a devastating critique of Stalinist Russia and the rise of totalitarianism. Orwell described it to a friend as a “little squib,” but it’s much more than that: a tiny atom bomb that lands a structurally perfect hit on mid-20th century political authoritarianism and communism’s failure to protect the people it purported to serve. Written over the winter 1943/1944, Animal Farm is the closest Orwell came to a piece of collaborative writing, as Orwell and Eileen revised the book together, huddled in bed to stay warm in chronically cold houses. Animal Farm was rejected by 4 publishers (including TS Eliot at Faber & Faber) before it was snapped up by Secker and Warburg and published in 1945 and became an instant hit, hugely popular ever since. As Sophie and Jonty tell the history of the novella, they also retrace the early years of Orwell’s marriage to Eileen O’Shaugnessey when they lived together on a smallholding farm in Wallingford Hertfordhsire, complete with a farm-shop; Orwell’s flirtation with violent revolution during the years of the Second World War; and, less dramatically, his time as a producer at the BBC. Sophie and Jonty also sing Beasts of England in its entirety (to the tune of Darling Clementine), discuss how to make the perfect cup of tea, and Jonty’s bad experiences at a prestigious London restaurant, and why - in many ways - Animal Farm really is just about the animals. Books referenced, quoted, or mentioned: Orwell: The New Life (2023) by DJ Taylor WIFEDOM (2023) by Anna Funder Orwell’s Roses (2021) by Rebecca Solnit Darkness at Noon (1940) by Arthur Koestler Essays by George Orwell Gulliver’s Travels (1726) by Jonathan Swift The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer Leviathan (1651) by Thomas Hobbes The Social Contract (1762) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau The Communist Manifesto (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

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World Poetry Day Double-Bill: Can poetry change the world? The War Poems of Siegfried Sassoon 54:19

25 days ago54:19

54:19

Together, Siegfried Sassoon’s The Old Huntsman (1917) and Counter-Attack and Other Poems (1918) are among the greatest examples of protest art in British history. Sassoon was a decorated war hero, who took a stand - when few others dared - on the moral emptiness, institutional corruption and brutality of the First World War. Alongside his poetry, Sassoon took the shocking measure of writing an open letter, which was read out in parliament, in which he accused the British government and military of deception, of deliberately prolonging an ‘evil and unjust’ war, and the complacency of the British public for not holding the government to account. As a consequence, he faced a court-martial and certain imprisonment, but his friend - the fellow poet Robert Graves - intervened and persuaded the authorities that Sassoon was mentally ill. Instead, Sassoon was sent to Craiglockhart Hospital, under the care of pioneering psychoanalyst WHR Rivers, where he wrote many of his finest poems, before returning to the frontline for the final months of the war. In this episode, Sophie and Jonty are joined by historian and Sassoon biography Max Egremont, who explains the extraordinary circumstances that led to Sassoon - an officer so brave that his men nicknamed him Mad Jack - turning against the war and embracing the tiny, fringe movement that was pacifism in the 1910s. We’ll find out about his friendships with fellow poet Wilfred Owen and psychologist WHR Rivers at Craiglockhart Military Hospital, which inspired Pat Barker’s best-selling Regeneration trilogy. Finally, the question is asked - can poetry ever change the world? Siegfried Sassoon: A Biography (2005) by Max Egremont. Regeneration Trilogy by Pat Barker (1991-1995) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

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George Orwell 2: The Revolution SHOULD NOT be televised: Homage to Catalonia 1:23:03

29 days ago1:23:03

1:23:03

War is boring; revolution is boring; politics is boring. That’s the message of George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia. But, somehow, Homage to Catalonia itself is NOT boring. Published in 1938, it charts Orwell’s experience on, behind and beyond the front line of the fight against Fascism in the Spanish Civil War. Through the course of his narrative, written in the weeks immediately following his return to England, adrenalin still pumping in his veins, Orwell takes us through the complexity of internecine factionalism in Republican Barcelona, derring-do raids on General Franco’s trenches, his own experience of being shot in the throat by a fascist sniper, and the narrow escape by himself and his wife Eileen when they became political targets of the Soviet Union with a warrant out for their arrest. Homage to Catalonia was a massive flop - think Betamax video, New Coke, or Michael Jackson’s Invincible album - selling less than a thousand copies, but it has become recognised as a masterpiece of reportage. Most importantly, it contains the political awakening and many of the ideas leading directly to Animal Farm and 1984. In these pages, we see Orwell’s horror of totalitarianism, his fear of rats, the betrayal of workers by their supposedly revolutionary leaders, of newspaper censorship rewriting the past with alternative facts. And, in anarchist Barcelona, we even see a glimpse of Airstrip One - a crumbling post-revolutionary city with blue-overall wearing citizens, gradually succumbing to Stalinist mind-control. This is the second episode in our four-part series on George Orwell. The first, following Orwell’s early life was about the impact of the First World War, the moral abyss of the British Empire and the Great Depression on his first book Down and Out in Paris and London. In this, Sophie and Jonty look at the rise of fascism in Europe through Orwell’s front row seat of the Spanish Civil War, taking us up to brink of the Second World War. Content warning: mild bad language Books referenced, quoted, or mentioned: Orwell: The New Life (2023) by DJ Taylor WIFEDOM (2023) by Anna Funder Essays by George Orwell The Road to Wigan Pier (1937) by George Orwell Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) by George Orwell People of the Abyss (1904) by Jack London Tropic of Cancer (1934) by Henry Miller Memoirs of an Infantry Officer (1930) by Siegfried Sassoon For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) by Ernest Hemingway Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

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World Poetry Day Double-Bill: Elizabeth Bishop's Geography III with Rachel Cohen 51:10

5 weeks ago51:10

51:10

Elizabeth Bishop is one of those poets who’s often referred to as a writer’s writer, but this doesn’t mean her poems are hard to read. On the contrary: as one of the most loved and admired twentieth-century poets, Bishop has the rare ability to do high-low. She’s enjoyable and accessible and also intensely artful and complex, not to mention very funny. In this special episode, Sophie and Jonty chat to American writer and critic Rachel Cohen about her decades-long admiration for Bishop and deep appreciation for her art. Bishop was born in New England and spent a significant amount of her childhood in Nova Scotia, Canada. Her writing is infused with the austerity and beauty of Northeast America. But Bishop has another side too, a flamboyance and lushness of texture that came from living in Key West Florida and Brazil. She struggled with alcoholism and depression and had intense lifelong friendships with several of the most important writers of her generation, including the great poets Robert Lowell and Marianne Moore. We talk about the paradoxes and contradictions of Bishop and her last published collection, Geography III , with the brilliant Rachel Cohen, whose books, essays and occasional observations are, like Bishop’s poems, beautiful, meticulous, and expansive all at once. Rachel has written about Bishop in her fabulous book A Chance Meeting . Further Reading: Elizabeth Bishop, Geography III Rachel Cohen, A Chance Meeting -- To join the Secret Life of Books Club visit: www.secretlifeofbooks.org -- Please support us on Patreon to keep the lights on in the SLoB studio and get bonus content: patreon.com/secretlifeofbookspodcast -- Follow us on our socials: youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@secretlifeofbookspodcast/shorts insta: https://www.instagram.com/secretlifeofbookspodcast/ bluesky: @slobpodcast.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

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George Orwell 1: The Best Gap Yah, great food writing and Paris hotels: Down and Out in Paris and London 1:20:03

5 weeks ago1:20:03

1:20:03

In the winter of 1927, George Orwell dropped his aitches, pulled on his distressed tailored trousers, and took the first of many trips to the underbelly of London society. Over the following years, he spent long stints amongst the homeless and starving people of both Paris and London. He collected these experiences into his first book Down and Out in Paris and London (1933), conveniently leaving out the weekends and kitchen sups with mater and pater. Orwell’s intention was partly to draw attention to the appalling social inequality of France and England after the First World War, but also simply to allow his imagination to wallow in scenes of surreal vividness and black humour. In this - the first in a four-part series about Orwell’s life, work and times - Sophie and Jonty look at the circumstances that lead to his first, and still one of his best-loved, books. They focus on two of his most famous essays that provide unique insights into his early years. In Such, Such Were the Joys, Orwell wrote about his experience of English boarding school, where he developed an ineradicable sense of himself as intrinsically doomed and disgusting, of a world where bullies will always triumph and where the underdog can never win. In Shooting an Elephant, Orwell recounts his years working for the Indian Police in the 1920s and his realisation that the British Empire was a corrupt, murderous regime. Finally, Sophie and Jonty follow Orwell into the mean streets of Paris’ 5th arrondissement and London’s Whitechapel, the scenes of brutality that follow and a truly bizarre encounter with another Old Etonian in a slum lodging-house. -- To join the Secret Life of Books Club visit: www.secretlifeofbooks.org -- Please support us on Patreon to keep the lights on in the SLoB studio and get bonus content: patreon.com/secretlifeofbookspodcast -- Follow us on our socials: youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@secretlifeofbookspodcast/shorts insta: https://www.instagram.com/secretlifeofbookspodcast/ bluesky: @slobpodcast.bsky.social Content warning: mild bad language Books mentioned: Orwell: The New Life (2023) by DJ Taylor WIFEDOM (2023) by Anna Funder Essays by George Orwell The Road to Wigan Pier (1937) by George Orwell Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) by George Orwell David Copperfield (1850) by Charles Dickens New Grub Street (1891) by George Gissing Nadja by (1928) Andre Breton Paris Peasant by (1926) Louis Aragon Tom Jones (1749) - as ever - by Henry Fielding Gulliver’s Travels (1726) - as ever - by Jonathan Swift Tales of Mean Streets (1894) by Arthur Morrison People of the Abyss (1904) by Jack London Tropic of Cancer (1934) by Henry Miller Kitchen Confidential (2000) by Anthony Bourdain The Tramp Ward (1904) by Mary Higgs Autobiography of a Super-Tramp (1908) by WH Davies Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

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International Women's Day Bonus: Was Shakespeare a Woman? Jodi Picoult says yes! 49:44

6 weeks ago49:44

49:44

Legendary bestseller Jodi Picoult is also a graduate of the Princeton English Department, and this week she came back to teach class! Sophie recorded a live episode at the Princeton Public Library in front of a packed house of Jodi fans who were delighted to hear why she believes that when it comes to Shakespeare's best plays, a women was holding the quill! Jodi's newest novel "By Any Other Name," tells an intense, gripping story about a real-life woman who might just have written many of Shakespeare's most famous works, including Hamlet, Merchant of Venice and Romeo and Juliet, leaving the Bard himself to run his theatre, make money, and have extra-marital affairs. Emilia Bassano, Jodi's heroine, is a brilliant but under-appreciated writer in the precarious world of the Renaissance court. In real life, Emilia Bassano was a self-made author, lover, mother, and an all-round Elizabethan bad-ass. She published the first collection of poems by a woman in England, and in this live conversation we get a fascinating glimpse of an extraordinary women in an extraordinary time. Jodi takes us through the evidence of of Emilia's "fingerprints" in Shakespeare's plays, and she explains her own original discovery of a sizzling connection between Emilia and the hottest man at court, the Earl of Southampton! "Bardolatry" was a term George Bernard Shaw came up with to describe people who love Shakespeare too much, and Jodi is leading a new vanguard of Bardoloclasts — skeptics who are breaking the myth of Shakespeare to reveal hidden histories behind the legend. Special thanks to Janie Hermann, Becky Bowers and the Princeton Public Library for their support. -- To join the Secret Life of Books Club visit: www.secretlifeofbooks.org -- Please support us on Patreon to keep the lights on in the SLoB studio and get bonus content: patreon.com/secretlifeofbookspodcast -- Follow us on our socials: youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@secretlifeofbookspodcast/shorts insta: https://www.instagram.com/secretlifeofbookspodcast/ bluesky: @slobpodcast.bsky.social Producer: Boyd Britton Digital Content Coordinator: Olivia di Costanzo Designer: Peita Jackson Our thanks to the University of Sydney Business School. Content warning: moderate swearing and sexual content Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

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Magnetic chemistry, social anxiety, and the in-laws from hell: Pride & Prejudice (aka Meet The Bennets) 1:24:39

6 weeks ago1:24:39

1:24:39

By many reckonings, this is the most famous novel in English. It’s also the book Jane Austen described as her own “Darling Child.” As we head to the milestone of Jane’s 250th Birthday in December (get ready for the minced chicken and negus party) Sophie and Jonty dig into one of the most joyful, funny, sexy stories ever told. In this episode we ask why this small novel of village life exploded into a global cultural icon, inspiring retelling upon retelling, and catapulting Mr. Darcy and Lizzie Bennet’s romance into a modern myth. You’ll hear about some lesser-known experiences from Jane Austen’s life that informed the writing, and why it took her so long (aspiring writers, take heart). Sophie tries to shoehorn four historical secrets at the start of the episode, but Jonty only lets her share two of them on air. And he dings her for being too interested in legal history. Instead, the duo argue about why mismatched attraction, or mistaking steamy passion for implacable dislike, is such an evergreen literary trope, and how much Elizabeth’s love of Darcy depends on seeing his enormous house. Both hosts give favorite jokes another outing – listeners can decide if repetition make them more funny. Not as funny as Austen, that’s for sure. Tune in for a tune-up about the original Meet the Parents , a tale of colliding families, ghastly mothers in law, and male bonding activities. -- To join the Secret Life of Books Club visit: www.secretlifeofbooks.org -- Please support us on Patreon to keep the lights on in the SLoB studio and get bonus content: patreon.com/secretlifeofbookspodcast -- Follow us on our socials: youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@secretlifeofbookspodcast/shorts insta: https://www.instagram.com/secretlifeofbookspodcast/ bluesky: @slobpodcast.bsky.social Books Mentioned or Used as Sources: Rachel Cohen, Austen Years: A Memoir in Five Novels , 2020. Claudia L. Johnson and Clara Tuite, 30 Great Myths About Jane Austen , 2020. Sandra MacPherson, “Rent to Own, or, What’s Entailed in Pride and Prejudice ,” Representations , 2003. Claire Tomalin, Jane Austen: A Life , 1999. Fay Weldon, Letters to Alice: On First Reading Jane Austen , 1985. Hilary Davidson "Reconstructing Jane Austen's Silk Pelisse," Costume , vol 49, no. 22, 2015. Producer: Boyd Britton Digital Content Coordinator: Olivia di Costanzo Designer: Peita Jackson Our thanks to the University of Sydney Business School. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

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Self-Help, dodgy marriages and the siren call of Australia: David Copperfield Part 2 54:17

7 weeks ago54:17

54:17

In Part 2 of David Copperfield, we pick up David where we left him, sobbing at the door of Betsey Trotwood’s house in Dover. From this low, David’s life changes - he is no longer a victim, but embarks on a (very long) journey towards self-reliance, re-encountering old friends like Micawbers and Steerforth, but also new characters like Uriah Heep and the simpering Dora. To make sense of this long, rambling journey of redemption, Sophie and Jonty reveal the influence of the emerging self-help movement on Dickens’ world-view and how his side-hustle as the director of a Home for Homeless Women inspired him to send many of the characters in David Copperfield off to Australia at the end of the book - and the inevitable happy ending this suggests. BOOKS MENTIONED OR USED AS SOURCES: Charles Dickens: A Life (2011) by Claire Tomalin Self-Reliance (1841) by Ralph Waldo Emerson Self-Help (1859) by Samuel Smiles 1848: The Revolution of the Intellectuals (1944) by Lewis Namier Demon Copperhead (2022) by Barbara Kingsolver Rivals (1988) by Jilly Cooper Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

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‘Umble beginnings, childhood neglect, and did Dickens steal from Charlotte Bronte: David Copperfield 1:01:58

7 weeks ago1:01:58

1:01:58

David Copperfield is the name of an American illusionist, whose feats included levitating over the Grand Canyon, walking through the Great Wall of China and making an airplane disappear. It’s also the name of novel by Charles Dickens. Published in serial form between 1849 and 1850, David Copperfield charts the degradation and eventual success of its narrator - a figure based closely on the author himself. So much so that Dickens later referred to the book as a ‘favourite child’, which considering his self-proclaimed habit of ‘slaughtering’ his child characters is fortunate for Copperfield. David Copperfield is very much A Tale of Two Stories - a literary pun which Jonty is very pleased with. The first story is that of David’s neglect as a child, the second of his adult life as he aspires to a state of self-reliance. In this episode, Sophie and Jonty look at the mid-life crisis that precipitated the writing of Copperfield as Dickens suffered a minor breakdown, excavated memories from his unhappy childhood and distributed increasingly silly names to his many children. We discover the literary innovations that resulted from Dickens choosing to adopt first person narrative for his child star, how he ripped off Charlotte Bronte without acknowledging it, and the vast cast of unforgettable characters like the Micawbers, Betsey Trotwood, and Uriah Heep that carry his story along. Finally, we leave listeners on a cliff-hanger as poor David, homeless and destitute, walks from London to Dover and flings himself at the mercy of his long-lost aunt. What will happen to David? Will he rise to success and levitate across the Grand Canyon? Listen to part 2 to find out. -- To join the Secret Life of Books Club visit: www.secretlifeofbooks.org -- Please support us on Patreon to keep the lights on in the SLoB studio and get bonus content: patreon.com/secretlifeofbookspodcast -- Follow us on our socials: youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@secretlifeofbookspodcast/shorts insta: https://www.instagram.com/secretlifeofbookspodcast/ bluesky: @slobpodcast.bsky.social Producer: Boyd Britton Digital Content Coordinator: Olivia di Costanzo Designer: Peita Jackson Our thanks to the University of Sydney Business School. Content warning: moderate swearing and sexual content BOOKS MENTIONED OR USED AS SOURCES: Charles Dickens: A Life (2011) by Claire Tomalin Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne Tom Jones by Henry Fielding Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

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BONUS: SLoB's Secret Crushes and Clandestine Encounters pt 2 43:48

8 weeks ago43:48