What does feel like to live helplessly in a world that is coming undone? If you're alive in 2025, you are probably very familiar with this feeling - and if you'd been alive in the age of Victorian literature, you might have felt that way too. In this episode, Jacke talks to author Nathan K. Hensley about his book Action without Hope: Victorian Literature aft ... Show More
Jul 3
713 The Odyssey (with Daniel Mendelsohn) | The History of Literature Podcast Tour!
Homer's Odyssey is one of the oldest surviving works of literature - and yet, somehow, it can also feel like one of the newest. The inventive narrative structure, complex hero, and surprisingly modern themes still feel fresh, thousands of years after the poem's genesis. In this e ... Show More
1h 34m
Jun 30
712 Shakespeare's Greatest Love (with David Medina) | New Play About Shakespeare's Collaboration with Marlowe
He might be the greatest writer about love that the world has ever known. But as is so often the case with Shakespeare, the biographical record raises as many questions as it answers. How often did Shakespeare fall in love, and with whom, and what happened? Who was Shakespeare's ... Show More
59m 46s
Dec 2024
Sex Life & Scandal of Charles Dickens
Like it or not, there's no escaping Charles Dickens at this time of year.
But who was the man behind classics such as A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist and of course, A Christmas Carol?
His life is as rich as many of the characters' stories in one of his books, including a bruta ... Show More
48 m
Nov 2023
The Master Of Fiction: Ken Follett
This week, Anthony talks with one of the world’s best-loved authors, Ken Follett about his latest book The Armor of Light. Having sold over 188 million copies of his books worldwide, Ken reflects on his decades-long career, sharing why storytelling remains the “core” of his life. ... Show More
41m 31s
Apr 23
Close Readings: 'Vanity Fair' by William Makepeace Thackeray
Thackeray's comic masterpiece, 'Vanity Fair', is a Victorian novel looking back to Regency England as an object both of satire and nostalgia. Thackeray’s disdain for the Regency is present throughout the book, not least in the proliferation of hapless characters called George, ye ... Show More
33m 7s
Apr 15
Il voulait faire du jazz : il a vendu 6 millions de livres, avec David Foenkinos
Écrivain multi-primé, scénariste, réalisateur, David Foenkinos est aussi l’un des auteurs les plus lus en France aujourd’hui. Mais derrière le succès de La Délicatesse ou de Charlotte, se cache une trajectoire marquée par la solitude, les doutes, une expérience de mort imminente… ... Show More
1h 21m
Sep 2024
The Assassination of Philip and the Rise of Alexander the Great
Philip of Macedonia was a towering figure, and if he had been succeeded by anyone other than Alexander the Great, he would be far better known today. But in 336 BC, at the peak of his powers, Philip was assassinated, and it became Alexander's kingdom to expand. He would do so bey ... Show More
37m 25s