The History of Literature

Jacke takes a look at the life and works of eighteenth-century novelist Charlotte Lennox, whose poetry, plays, novels, and criticism earned her the approbation of the best literary minds of her day. Best known for The Female Quixote, a parody of Cervantes that later inspired Jane Austen, and Shakespear Illuminated, a pioneering feminist critique of Shakespeare's use of his sources (and frequent diminishment of his female characters), Lennox combined an active intelligence with an unusual fearlessness. PLUS Jacke talks to Camus scholars Laura Marris and Alice Kaplan, co-authors of States of Plague: Reading Camus in a Pandemic, about their choices for the last book they will ever read. Help support the show atpatreon.com/literatureorhistoryofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more atwww.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just who was F. Scott Fitzgerald? How do we make sense of his many different sides? In this episode, Jacke talks to biographer Arthur Krystal about his new book Some Unfinished Chaos: The Lives of F. Scott Fitzgerald. PLUS Jed Rasula (What the Thunder Said: How The Waste Land Made Poetry Modern) stops by to discuss his choice for the last book he will ever read. Help support the show atpatreon.com/literatureorhistoryofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more atwww.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hardly anyone knows Ursula Parrott today, but not long ago she was close to being a household name. As a bestselling novelist of the Roaring Twenties and beyond, Parrott's life was filled with literature, celebrity, and scandal. In this episode, Jacke talks to Parrott's biographer Marsha Gordon (Becoming the Ex-Wife: The Unconventional Life & Forgotten Writings of Ursula Parrott) about this fascinating figure, whose racy novel Ex-Wife reads like a Jazz Age forerunner to Bridget Jones, Sex and the City, and the works of authors like Erica Jong and Nora Ephron. Help support the show atpatreon.com/literatureorhistoryofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more atwww.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacke talks to Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro about his new book, Shakespeare in a Divided America: What His Plays Tell Us About Our Past and Future, which looks at eight contentious periods in American history to see how Shakespeare plays and performances illuminated the concerns of each era. PLUS Jacke continues his journey through Emily Dickinson's poems with Poem 165 ("I have never seen 'Volcanoes' - "). Help support the show atpatreon.com/literatureorhistoryofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more atwww.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacke talks to author William Egginton about his new book Borges, Heisenberg, Kant, and the Ultimate Nature of Reality, which uses the examples of three profound thinkers to explore the differences between reality "out there" and reality as we experience it. PLUS Jacke continues his journey through the poetry of Emily Dickinson with a look at Poem 138 ("To fight aloud is very brave - "). Help support the show atpatreon.com/literatureorhistoryofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more atwww.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacke talks to Professor Maaheen Ahmed, editor of The Cambridge Companion to Comics, about the popular, multifaceted, and dynamic art form of manga, graphic novels, and other comics. PLUS Elizabeth Winkler (Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies: How Doubting the Bard Became the Biggest Taboo in Literature) selects her choice for the last book she will ever read. Help support the show atpatreon.com/literatureorhistoryofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more atwww.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacke talks to author Ed Simon about his new book Heaven, Hell, and Paradise Lost, which considers Paradise Lost within the scope of Simon's alcoholism and recovery. PLUS Jacke continues his journey through the poetry of Emily Dickinson with a look at Poem 134 ("Did the Harebell loose her girdle"). Help support the show atpatreon.com/literatureorhistoryofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more atwww.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Jacke and Mike discuss Disgrace, J.M. Coetzee's stunning 1999 novel about sex, violence, salvation, and ruin in post-apartheid South Africa. Telling the story of David Lurie, a fiftysomething professor who has fallen from grace after a sexual misconduct case involving one of his students, the novel explores themes of guilt, isolation, and the inescapability of history. PLUS a look at Emily Dickinson's Poem #129 ("Our lives are Swiss"). Help support the show atpatreon.com/literatureorhistoryofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more atwww.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rome! The Eternal City! It's a place for celebrating lives both present and past - and in addition to all the art and culture and architecture and food, it's a place to think deeply about the meaning of life. In this episode, Jacke talks to author Scott Samuelson about his new book Rome as a Guide to the Good Life: A Philosophical Grand Tour, which offers a thinking person's guide to the pleasures of Rome. Help support the show atpatreon.com/literatureorhistoryofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more atwww.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacke begins with a look at Emily Dickinson's poem #122, then continues (and concludes) his reading and analysis of the Henry James masterpiece, "The Altar of the Dead." Help support the show atpatreon.com/literatureorhistoryofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more atwww.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices