Rushing forward in time (and genre), we read H.G. Wells' terrifying 1896 novella, The Island of Dr Moreau. In this episode, we discuss features of early 19th to early 20th-century science fiction, the biological theories of Darwin and Huxley, the morality of religion and science, the ethics of pain, the evolution of social hierarchy, figures of monstrosity, and how scared we were reading this book!
If you haven't read this book, stop what you're doing and get yourself a copy NOW. This is by far our favourite book as a collective and we loved talking about the manly wonder that is Adam, the kindness and compassion that governs these characters and the plot, the circular nature of country life in the eighteenth century, and, weirdly, sniffing Sam Heughan.
If you love Wuthering Heights you may not want to listen to this episode, because we... don't. Regardless of our opinions, we delve into this novel with somewhat open minds to explore love, stroppy women, abusive men, rolling hills, the 19th century servant class, the gothic, and baboons(weirdly). Finally, we question why this book is in the canon at all!
Probably our favourite episode ever exploring Grace's favourite book, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. No, it's nothing like the Disney movie. It's so much better and so much more gruesome than you could ever imagine. In this episode, we explore the role of architecture as a literary device, lust and sin, disability and morality, parent and child dynamics, passive and active female characters, and 15th century Paris to name a few.
Another year, another Dickens Christmas story... sort of. Don't expect Dickens' Christmas Carol joy from The Chimes: A Goblin Story of Some Bells that Rang an Old Year Out and a New Year In. Rather, in this episode, we explore ghostly traditions, gothic revisions, morals, merriness, and more.
We didn't expect a novella from 1741 to be so scandalous, yet in this episode we find ourselves down a rabbit hole of sexual innuendo, prostitution, manipulative women, idiotic and aggressive men, and a whole lot of Mr Booby. An Apology for the Life of Mrs Shamela Andrews by Henry Fielding turns Samuel Richardson's Pamela on its head, and we can't quite believe just how raunchy it gets.
Murder, doubling, the limits of the human psyche, secret doors, spooky alleyways, Jack the Ripper, Deacon Brody, Frankenstein (as always), and weirdly, Love and Joe from Netflix's You. On this Halloween-themed episode, we explore Robert Louis Stevenson's famous novella, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Another Dickens, but one unlike any you've read before. This month, we explore Dickens' representation of the French Revolution and find ourselves delving into the role literature plays in developing empathy and understanding, alongside all the usual good stuff: historical interpretations, contextual analysis, gender norms, cultural perspectives, and more!
Despite being Thomas Hardy's first successful novel, we think this is absolutely Hardy at his best. This month, we discuss the pastoral, male characters, the fallen woman, and how much we love Farmer Oak.
For part two, we explore our favourite topic: women. What are the differences between women in the public and private spheres, how do Russian female roles differ from British, and to who is the heroine of the novel? Not Anna K, that's for sure!
Our first delve into literature outside of the UK and Ireland brings us face to face with a lot of wonderful questions: how different is English lit to Russian? Are descriptions of mental health cultural or purposeful? And what's up with Tolstoy? Join us this month for part one of our deep dive into the world of Russian Literature.
This month we discuss The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by, perhaps the lesser known sister, Anne Brontë. We delve into representations of masculinity, the Byronic hero, romanticism versus realism, the marriage plot and a whole lot more.
What do we know and what do we think we know about Ireland and Irish history and culture? Syndey Owenson must have asked herself this question whilst writing The Wild Irish Girl, which came to define Irish national identity in 1806. We discuss this novel in relation to history, politics, religion, and more, forcing us to ask: do we know as much about Ireland as we should? Technical issues: apologies about Michelle's audio!
If you've seen or read Outlander, you already have a good working knowledge of the Scottish Jacobites in the mid eighteenth century. However, this pinnacle novel by Sir Walter Scott was one of the first lengthy literary explorations of these historical Scots, and it's a book we can't put down.
One of Austen's more underrated novels, Northanger Abbey mimics Austen's Gothic predecessors such as Ann Radcliffe. In fact, Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho is referenced throughout! This episode continues our January discussion in which we explore the extent to which Northanger Abbey is Gothic, satirical, or just plain silly!
Known as the archetypal Gothic, Radcliffe's 1794 novel follows a young French noblewoman through more than just a spooky castle adventure. In this episode, we explore the influence of the picturesque, female authorship and, of course, the Gothic, in our modern interpretations of this classic story.
Nothing screams Christmas more than this classic Dickens story. In this Christmas special we (although a man-down without Grace) explore the role of religion in this ghostly story, and how Dickens' own experiences growing up in the industrial revolution impacted his emphasis on good-will during the festive season.
We've dedicated an entire episode to Middlemarch's women because there just that much to say... In this episode we explore how George Eliot thought and wrote about women and marriage, influenced female writers that followed, and joined a century-long discussion on feminism that (arguably) began with Mary Wollstoncraft.
Because it's known as the one of the great books of British literature there was no way we were going to squeeze all 880 pages of Eliot's iconic novel into one episode! Check out part one of our two part special in which we explore the contextual information that inspired Eliot's study of provincial life.