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

Secret Life of Books

#Arts #History #Sophie Gee and Jonty Claypole #Jonty Claypole #Sophie Gee #Literature #Authors #Great Books #Writers #Novels #Books #Podcasting Education #Classical

28:24

In our second installment of the Small Business Starter Kit series - we’re tackling a topic that’s sometimes tricky, sometimes confusing, but ever-present: taxes. Hosts Austin and Jannese have an insightful conversation with entrepreneur Isabella Rosal who started 7th Sky Ventures , an exporter and distributor of craft spirits, beer, and wine. Having lived and worked in two different countries and started a company in a heavily-regulated field, Isabella is no stranger to navigating the paperwork-laden and jargon-infused maze of properly understanding taxes for a newly formed small business. Join us as she shares her story and provides valuable insight into how to tackle your business’ taxes - so they don’t tackle you. Learn more about how QuickBooks can help you grow your business: QuickBooks.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

about a year ago 54:17

MP3•Episode home

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.

49 episodes

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

Secret Life of Books

published about a year ago

MP3•Episode home

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.

49 episodes

#Arts #History #Sophie Gee and Jonty Claypole #Jonty Claypole #Sophie Gee #Literature #Authors #Great Books #Writers #Novels #Books #Podcasting Education #Classical

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Secret Life of Books

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

2 days ago1:00:06

1:00:06

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.…

Secret Life of Books

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

5 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.…

Secret Life of Books

1
World Poetry Day Double-Bill: Can poetry change the world? The War Poems of Siegfried Sassoon 54:19

9 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.…

Secret Life of Books

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

12 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

16 days 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.…

Secret Life of Books

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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

19 days 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

22 days 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.…

Secret Life of Books

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

26 days 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. 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.…

Secret Life of Books

1
Self-Help, dodgy marriages and the siren call of Australia: David Copperfield Part 2 54:17

4 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.…

Secret Life of Books

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

5 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.…

Secret Life of Books

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

5 weeks ago43:48

43:48

In part 2 of SLoB's Valentine's special, more heroes and heroines from the world of classic books get the brutal Tinder treatment as Sophie and Jonty assess the romantic moves of your literary faves. They are in full agreement concerning the lead characters of Sense & Sensibility and Go Tell It On The Mountain, but the conversation turns fractious as they lock horns over whether Frankenstein or his monster is the greatest lover in Mary Shelley's famous novel. Fortunately, Dracula - that great peacemaker - is on hand to elicit full agreement that he, the Prince of Darkness, is the ideal date. -- 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.…

Secret Life of Books

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Free love in Paris, male wrestling and murder: Giovanni's Room 1:19:48

6 weeks ago1:19:48

1:19:48

It's Black History Month and Sophie and Jonty are bringing their analytical chops once again to the giant of 20th-century literature, James Baldwin. In his debut novel, Go Tell It On the Mountain , Baldwin had captured the experience of growing up in 1930s Harlem. In his second novel, Giovanni’s Room , published in 1956, he focused instead on his experiences as a gay man, living in Paris. But, unlike Baldwin, the narrator of this novel is white. The hero David is torn between two desires - his burgeoning love for an Italian barman called Giovanni, and the imperative to marry his girlfriend Hella. He struggles to choose, but the casualty is Giovanni rather than David. Baldwin wrote Giovanni’s Room while wrestling with his own homosexuality - and his fears about the life of loneliness it condemned him too - and developing new theories about white and black experience in America. Sophie and Jonty talk about the unique experiences behind the writing of this novel, the powerful expression of homosexual desire, and why Paris isn’t all it’s meant to be. Content warning: mild sexual content -- 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. Further Reading Notes On A Native Son (1956) by James Baldwin James Baldwin: Living in Fire (Pluto Books, 2019) by Bill V Mullen The Ambassadors by Henry James (1903) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Secret Life of Books

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BONUS: SLoB's Secret Crushes and Clandestine Encounters pt 1 49:20

6 weeks ago49:20

49:20

It's Valentine's Day and love is quite literally in the air as the Secret Life of Books beams, via a complex network of satellites and data banks, to your ears. In this Bonus Episode, Sophie and Jonty reflect on what they've learnt about love from the classics, and rank the leading men and ladies of the books covered so far as lovers. St Valentine first appears in English literature in Geoffrey Chaucer's Parliament of Fowls and weaves his way via Jane Austen and Charles Dickens through to the present day. In this first part of 2, Sophie and Jonty revisit Picnic at Hanging Rock, which begins with a Valentine's Day picnic gone wrong, and spend far too much time talking about Jane Eyre's Rochester, who somehow - despite driving one woman mad, giving another false teeth as a gift, and getting himself up in drag to woo Jane - is one of literature's great sex symbols. Gullver - of 'Travels' fame - gets a look in, as do Lockwood, Cathy, Hareton and the rest of the kids from Wuthering Heights. Part 2 of this conversation is available on Patreon and will join the main feed on Friday February 21, 2025. Content warning: moderate sexual content and bad language. -- 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Secret Life of Books

1
Shakespeare does 'Succession': Rory Stewart on King Lear 58:58

7 weeks ago58:58

58:58

“Now, gods, stand up for bastards!” King Lear is the Mount Everest of Theatre - a sprawling masterpiece of political turmoil, personal betrayal, horrifying gore and great poetry. It makes ‘Succession’ look like The Midsomer Murders. Lear is the pagan king who decides to divides his kingdom between two daughters (and banishing a third), only to find himself outcast, succumbing to madness, adrift in a world collapsing into civil war. Who better to tackle this cautionary tale of domestic and political crisis than Rory Stewart, host of The Rest is Politics, who has watched the downfall of several rulers, in one way or another. For Rory, King Lear is ‘THE’ play. He fell in love with it at school and becomes only more seduced by Lear, as a character, the older he gets. While Sophie and Jonty, in predictable style, try to tie the play to the Reformation and Shakespeare’s personal life respectively, Rory shames them by making the case that some works of art can’t be explained purely by the world around them; that something magic, and beyond Shakespeare’s own control, took place when he booted up his Quill 2.0 and started writing. Rory also admits that, during his political career, he sometimes felt like Goneril to Boris Johnson’s King Lear; and rather yearns to be Lear himself, raging and shouting in the rain. Content warning: the f-word is used thrice. -- 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Secret Life of Books

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Wizards, Hobbits and WWII: Dominic Sandbrook on The Lord of the Rings 1:18:47

8 weeks ago1:18:47