The History Of Literature

Since its publication in 1908, E.M. Forster's classic novel A Room with a View, which tells the story of a young Englishwoman who finds a romantic adventure during a trip to Florence, has inspired countless travelers to expand their minds and warm their hearts with a tour through Italy. In this episode, Jacke talks to historical and romance novelist Gina Buonaguro about her love for Forster's work, her own use of Italy as a setting, and her most recent novel The Virgins of Venice. Additional listening suggestions: 43 Seeing Evil (with Professor Rebecca Messbarger) 131 Dante in Love (with Professor Ellen Nerenberg and Anthony Valerio) The Distance of the Moon by Italo Calvino Help support the show at patreon.com/literature. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at historyofliterature.com or www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1886, the twenty-six-year-old Anton Chekhov was practicing medicine, supporting his family, falling in and out love, writing pieces for newspapers at a furious pace - and gradually becoming one of the greatest short story writers the world has ever seen. In this episode, Jacke talks to Bob Blaisdell, author of Chekhov Becomes Chekhov: The Emergence of a Literary Genius, about the two-year period in which Chekhov went from a virtual unknown to a promising literary star admired by Tolstoy himself. Bob Blaisdell is Professor of English at the City University of New York’s Kingsborough College and the author of Creating Anna Karenina. He is a reviewer for the San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Review of Books, The Christian Science Monitor, and the editor of more than three dozen Dover literature and poetry collections, including a collection of Chekhov's love stores. He lives in New York City. Additional listening suggestions: 150 Chekhov's "The Lady with the Little Dog" "Gooseberries" by Anton Chekho

In 2022, T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land turned 100 years old - and it's hard to imagine a poem with a more explosive impact or a more enduring influence. In this episode, Jacke talks to Professor Jed Rasula about his book, What the Thunder Said: How The Waste Land Made Poetry Modern. Jed Rasula is the Helen S. Lanier Distinguished Professor at the University of Georgia. He is the author of nine scholarly books and three poetry collections and the coeditor of two anthologies. His recent books include Destruction Was My Beatrice: Dada and the Unmaking of the Twentieth Century and History of a Shiver: The Sublime Impudence of Modernism. Additional listening suggestions: T.S. Eliot | The Waste Land 438 How Was Your Ulysses? (with Mike Palindrome) 165 Ezra Pound Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your

When novelist Kurt Vonnegut died in 2007, the planet lost one of its most creative and compelling voices. In this episode, Jacke talks to Vonnegut scholar Christina Jarvis (Lucky Mud & Other Foma: A Field Guide to Kurt Vonnegut's Environmentalism and Planetary Citizenship) about Vonnegut's ethical, environmental, and planetary teachings. CHRISTINA JARVIS is Professor of English at State University of New York at Fredonia, where she teaches courses in sustainability and twentieth-century American literature and culture, including several major author seminars on Kurt Vonnegut. She is the author of The Male Body at War: American Masculinity during World War II, and has published in journals such as Women’s Studies, The Southern Quarterly, The Journal of Men’s Studies, and War, Literature, and the Arts. She lives near the shores of Lake Erie in Western New York. Additional listening suggestions: 362 Kurt Vonnegut (with Tom Roston) 141 Kurt Vonnegut (with Mike Palindrome) 436 The Lorax by Dr Seuss (with Mesh L

Game theory as a mathematical discipline has been around since the Cold War, but as Professor Josiah Ober (The Greeks and the Rational: The Discovery of Practical Reason) points out, its roots stretch back to Socrates, if not before. In this episode, Jacke talks to Professor Ober about the Greek discovery of practical reason - and how literature plays a special role in helping us to understand what the Greeks thought, how they organized their society, and how we might apply those lessons today. Josiah Ober is Mitsotakis Professor of Political Science and Classics at Stanford University and Senior Fellow (Courtesy) at the Hoover Institution. He is author or editor of eighteen books, including The Rise and Fall of Classical Greece and Demopolis: Democracy before Liberalism in Theory and Practice. Additional listening suggestions: 155 Plato 374 Ancient Plays and Contemporary Theater - A New Version of Sopocles' Oedipus Trilogy (with Bryan Doerries) 5 Greek Tragedy  Help support the show at patreon.com/lite

Following up on Episode 446 Percy Bysshe Shelley - The Early Years, Jacke takes a look at the final five years of Percy Bysshe Shelley's life, from 1817-1822, as the poet turned away from hands-on political action in favor of attempting to transform the world through his art. Works discussed include the Preface to Frankenstein; "Stanzas Written in Dejection, Near Naples"; "Ozymandias"; "Ode to the West Wind"; "The Cloud"; "To a Skylark"; "Adonais, or an Elegy on the Death of John Keats"; Prometheus Unbound; "Music When Soft Voices Die"; "The Waning Moon" and "Art Thou Pale for Weariness." Additional listening: 446 Percy Bysshe Shelley - The Early Years 451 Mary Shelley John Keats More John Keats Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sigmund Freud once said of the philosopher and cultural critic Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) that "he had a more penetrating knowledge of himself than any man who ever lived or was likely to live.” Well known for his iconoclastic views and intoxicating prose style, Nietzsche went from near obscurity in his lifetime to dominating the ideas of philosophers, novelists, politicians, intellectuals, and artists. In this episode, Jacke talks to Ritchie Robertson, author of Friedrich Nietzsche (Critical Lives), about one of the most influential thinkers and writers of the past century. Ritchie Robertson is a fellow of the Queen’s College, Oxford, and the Emeritus Schwarz-Taylor Professor of German at the University of Oxford. His books include Goethe: A Very Short Introduction and The Enlightenment: The Pursuit of Happiness, 1680–1790. Additional listening suggestions: 164 Karl Marx 392 Sigmund Freud 117 Machiavelli and The Prince Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop.

The question stopped Jacke in his tracks. "Dear Jacke," said the emailer. "What do you want your "last book" to be? This will be the last book you will ever read..." And so, he set about determining what his "last book" should be, with help from dozens of guests (and counting). In this special episode, Jacke talks to super guest Laurie Frankel (Goodbye For Now, One Two Three) about her choice for the "last book" she will ever read. With special cameos from Dinitia Smith, Saikat Majumdar, Isaac Butler, and Anna Beer. Additional listening suggestions: 332 Hamlet (with Laurie Frankel) 360 FMK Shakespeare! (with Laurie Frankel) 414 The Golden Bowl by Henry James (with Dinitia Smith) 447 Lady Chatterley's Lover (with Saikat Majumdar) 449 Method Acting and "Bad Hamlet" (with Isaac Butler) 459 Eve Bites Back! An Alternative History of English Literature (with Anna Beer) Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Ra

Pulitzer-Prize-winning literary biographer Megan Marshall joins Jacke to discuss the book that was twenty years in the making: The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism. This "stunning work of biography," as the New York Times labeled it, tells the story of Elizabeth, Mary, and Sophia Peabody, the nineteenth-century New England women who made intellectual history. MEGAN MARSHALL is the winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize in Biography for Margaret Fuller, and the author of The Peabody Sisters, which won the Francis Parkman Prize, the Mark Lynton History Prize, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2006. She is the Charles Wesley Emerson College Professor and teaches narrative nonfiction and the art of archival research in the MFA program at Emerson College. For more, visit www.meganmarshallauthor.com. Additional listening suggestions: 120 Emily Dickinson 356 Louisa May Alcott 296 Nathaniel Hawthorne 111 The Americanest American - Ralph Waldo Emerson Help support the show at p

In this episode, Jacke takes a look at the life and works of the legendary Bengali writer Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941). Central to what became known as the Bengali Renaissance, Tagore's poetry, short stories, songs, essays, paintings, and plays earned Tagore widespread praise from Indians and non-Indians alike. Among many other awards and accolades, in 1913 Tagore became the first non-European to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. Additional listening suggestions: 381 C. Subramania Bharati (with Mira T Sundara Rajan) 323 Salman Rushdie 35 Ronica Dhar Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacke talks to author Anna Beer about her new book Eve Bites Back! An Alternative History of English Literature, which tells the stories of eight women (Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe, Aemilia Lanyer, Anne Bradstreet, Aphra Behn, Mary Wortley Montagu, Jane Austen, and Mary Elizabeth Braddon) who were warned not to write - but who did anyway. If you enjoyed this topic, you might also like our Forgotten Women of Literature series: 261 Enheduanna (with Charles Halton) 263 Cai Yan (Wenji) 265 Aemelia Lanyer 268 Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz 340 Constance Fenimore Woolson 359 Eliza Haywood Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For many Russian writers and readers, Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837) holds a special place: his position in Russian literature is often compared to Shakespeare's in English, Dante's in Italian, and Goethe's in German. In this episode, Jacke talks to Pushkin translator Robert Chandler (Peter the Great's African: Experiments in Prose) about the life and works of Russia's "greatest poet and founder of modern Russian literature." Additional listening suggestions: 169 Dostoevsky 150 "The Lady with the Little Dog" by Anton Chekhov Chekhov and "Gooseberries" Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thomas Wentworth Higginson (1823-1911) has become famous as the man who in 1862 encouraged young contributors to submit to his magazine - and who received in reply four poems from an unknown woman in Amherst, who asked whether he thought her verses were alive. Her name, of course, was Emily Dickinson, and Higginson recognized her genius immediately. But there was more to the Higginson story than just his relationship with one of America's greatest poets. He was also a member of the antislavery group known as "The Secret Six," and during the Civil War, he was colonel of the First South Carolina Volunteers, a regiment consisting of former slaves. In this episode, Jacke takes a look at the two sides of this unassuming but astonishing man. PLUS Jacke is visited by Eve Yohalem and Julie Sternberg (hosts of the podcast Book Dreams), who are working to fund a bookmobile that will deliver free books to children in need this holiday season. Learn more about how you can help at https://www.bookdreamsinc.org. Additional

Best known for her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), Maya Angelou (1928-2014) was a woman of many talents and accomplishments. In this episode, Jacke takes a look at the life and works of this incredible singer, dancer, songwriter, activist, poet, actor, director, documentary producer, and of course, memoirist. Additional listening: Learn more about one of Angelou's inspirations in Episode 300 Frederick Douglass and Episode 311 Frederick Douglass Learns to Read. Professor Farah Jasmine Griffin joined us last year for a great discussion about her book in Episode 358 The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature. We looked at the debate between James Baldwin (who later encouraged Angelou to write her autobiography) and William Faulkner in Baldwin v. Faulkner. Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterat

Perhaps contemporary critic James Wood put it best: "Novelists," he wrote, "should thank Flaubert the way poets thank spring." In this episode, Jacke takes a look at the life and major works of Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880), the Frenchman from Rouen who redefined what realism - and prose fiction - could do. Additional listening: For the story of Jacke's trip through Tibet, with Emma Bovary as his trusty companion, try Episode 79 Music That Melts the Stars - Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. To wallow in the muck with Flaubert's birth-year brother, check out Episode 274 Baudelaire and the Flowers of Evil or Episode 352 Charles Baudelaire (with Aaron Poochigian). To distinguish yourself with some of Flaubert's illustrious predecessors, try Episode 390 Victor Hugo, Episode 152 George Sand, or Episode 420 Honoré de Balzac (with Carlos Allende). Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate N

Happy Halloween! In this episode, producer Emma selects a classic Victorian ghost story for Jacke to read: "Eveline's Visitant" by the publishing powerhouse Mary Elizabeth Braddon. Additional listening suggestions: 270 "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe 450 "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe 116 Ghost Stories! Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacke talks to Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant about her journey to becoming a wildlife ecologist and two classic works from the 1960s that helped inspire her: The Autobiography of Malcolm X (as told to Alex Haley) and Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. Be sure to check out Dr. Wynn-Grant's podcast Going Wild, brought to you by PBS Nature. Journey deep into the heart of the world’s most remote jungles, savannas, tundras, mountains, and deserts with wildlife biologist Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant as she studies wild animals in their natural habitats. Rae and her teams spend years studying these animals – in order to protect their futures. Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant takes you inside their hidden worlds – and the action-packed, suspense-filled adventures of the wildlife conservationists who track them. Hear what it takes to find and save some of the world’s most intriguing and endangered creatures. Explore more at www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/podcasts/going-wild/. DR. RAE WYNN-GRANT received her B.S. in Environmental Studies from Emory

In this episode, Jacke takes a look at two topics. First, the story of Charles and Mary Lamb, whose children's book Tales from Shakespeare (1807) was published more than two hundred years ago and has never been out of print. Part of the literary circle that included Romantic-era luminaries like Hazlitt, Wordsworth, and Coleridge, the siblings dedicated their lives to looking after one another, even as they each experienced periods of madness that led, one horrific night, to the murder of their mother. After that, Jacke talks to bestselling author Carolyn Hays about her new book A Girlhood: Letter To My Transgender Daughter, which tells the story of raising a transgender child in today's highly politicized environment. Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For more than two centuries, the author Mary Shelley (1797-1851) has been eclipsed by others: her famous parents William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, her even more famous husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, and even her own creations, the "modern Prometheus" Victor Frankenstein and the creature that often (and erroneously) bears his name. But Mary Shelley deserves more attention than just as the young woman who married a Romantic poet and happened to write an indelible novel. In this episode, Jacke takes a look at the life and career of one of the great literary figures of her era. Additional listening suggestions: 446 Percy Bysshe Shelley - The Early Years 351 Mary Wollstonecraft (with Samantha Silva) 65 Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (with Professor James Chandler) Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more abo

It's October! Time for dead leaves, spooky twilight, and little goblins running around in search of candy. And of course, the OG Mr. October, Edgar Allan Poe. In this episode, Jacke (finally!) accommodates the voluminous requests for an episode on Poe's classic story of guilt, madness, and horror, "The Tell-Tale Heart." Additional listening suggestions: 278 The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe (with Evie Lee) 276 Edgar Allan Poe Invents the Detective Story | "The Purloined Letter" 270 Edgar Allan Poe - "The Black Cat" Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices