The History of Literature 769 The European Byron (with Jonathan Gross) | The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (#3 GBOAT)
Jan 22, 2026
In this engaging discussion, Professor Jonathan Gross, an expert on Byron, unpacks the Romantic poet's unique blend of mobility and identity. He highlights Byron's restless spirit and chameleon-like qualities, shaped by a tumultuous upbringing and a desire to engage with diverse cultures. Gross also explores Byron's impact on contemporaries, including the Shelleys, and how his work educated readers about European landscapes and histories. Their conversation reveals Byron's enduring relevance and invites listeners to delve into his captivating poetry.
01:05:32
Gatsby As Trimalchio
- Fitzgerald originally wanted to title The Great Gatsby "Trimalchio in West Egg," linking Gatsby to Petronius's satirical nouveau-riche figure.
- The Trimalchio parallel reframes Gatsby as performative wealth and social excess rather than pure romantic tragedy.
Petronius' Banquet Mirrors Gatsby
- Petronius's Trimalchio is a former slave turned ostentatious host whose banquet showcases vulgar wealth and cruelty.
- Fitzgerald drew on this satirical model to expose nouveau-riche manners and performative luxury in Gatsby.
Satyricon Trial Echoed Fitzgerald
- A 1921 translation of the Satyricon faced an obscenity trial that highlighted Petronius as satire of vulgar wealth.
- That judicial framing resonated with Fitzgerald's critique of America's worship of wealth and sensual excess.
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Intro
00:00 • 25min
Introducing Jonathan Gross and His Byron Book
25:23 • 37sec
First Encounter with Byron
26:00 • 2min
Defining Mobility in Byron's Work
28:16 • 2min
Mobility's Emotional Cost
30:20 • 4min
Byron's Upbringing and Personal Mobility
33:55 • 2min
Mobility Compared to Other Romantics
36:19 • 3min
Why Byron Traveled So Much
39:07 • 4min
Ad break
42:51 • 1min
Byron's Self-Image Abroad
44:03 • 5min
Byron Learning from Local Literatures
49:28 • 2min
Byron's Influence on Shelley and Mary Shelley
51:29 • 59sec
What Contemporaries Loved About Byron
52:28 • 3min
Byron as Bestseller and Educator
55:28 • 2min
Byron's Accessible Voice and Moral Insight
57:16 • 3min
Where to Start Reading Byron
59:56 • 4min
Byron Inspires Travel and Further Reading
01:03:34 • 29sec
Outro
01:04:03 • 2min
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Ovid's Heroides
Paul Murgatroyd
Ovid
Sarah Parker
Bridget Reeves
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The Deformed Transformed
Lord Byron
The Deformed Transformed is a dramatic poem by Lord Byron, published in 1824.
The play explores themes of physical deformity, identity, and the search for acceptance.
The story follows Arnold, a hunchbacked outcast, who makes a pact with a mysterious stranger and is granted the ability to transform his appearance.
However, with each transformation, Arnold loses a part of his humanity and grapples with the consequences of his choices.
The play is a complex and introspective exploration of the human condition, reflecting Byron's own struggles with physical and emotional pain.
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Hebrew melodies
Lord Byron
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Trimalchio
F. Scott Fitzgerald
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On a voiceless shore
Stephen Minta
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Trimalchio in West Egg
F. Scott Fitzgerald
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The European Byron: Mobility, Cosmopolitanism, and Chameleon Poetry
Jonathan Gross
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#9479
• Mentioned in 5 episodes
Prometheus Unbound
Shelley
#2738
• Mentioned in 15 episodes
Ivanhoe
Sir Walter Scott
Published in 1819, 'Ivanhoe' is a historical novel that takes place in England in the 1190s, after the Norman Conquest.
The story revolves around Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe, a Saxon knight who returns from the Crusades to find his homeland under the corrupt rule of Prince John.
Ivanhoe must navigate his forbidden love for Rowena, his father's ward, while also fighting against injustice and supporting King Richard the Lionheart.
The novel includes elements of chivalric romance, medievalism, and the struggles between Normans and Saxons, as well as the persecution of Jews.
It culminates in a trial by combat where Ivanhoe defends Rebecca, a Jewish woman accused of witchcraft, and ultimately leads to the reconciliation of Ivanhoe with his father and his marriage to Rowena.
#4721
• Mentioned in 9 episodes
Y the Last Man
Pia Guerra
Brian K. Vaughan
The series follows Yorick Brown and his monkey Ampersand as they navigate a world where all male mammals have died.
Yorick's mother, a U.S.
Representative, commissions Agent 355 to protect Yorick as they travel to meet Dr. Allison Mann, a geneticist working to discover why Yorick survived and how to save humanity.
The story explores themes of survival, identity, and the future of humanity in a world without men.
#1152
• Mentioned in 30 episodes
Aeneid
Virgil
James Howard Mantinband
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An Ideal Husband
Oscar Wilde
The play revolves around the marriage of Sir Robert Chiltern and Lady Chiltern, which is threatened by the arrival of Mrs. Laura Cheveley, who possesses evidence of Sir Robert's past misdeed.
The story involves Lord Goring, a friend of Sir Robert, who must navigate the complexities of blackmail, social hypocrisy, and the idealization of marriage.
The play highlights the human frailty and the impossibility of achieving an 'ideal' in relationships, as seen through the contrasting marriages of the Chilterns and the eventual union between Lord Goring and Mabel Chiltern.
#26053
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
Disgraced
Suzanna Krivulskaya
Suzanna Krivulskaya's "Disgraced" explores the intersection of religion, scandal, and sexuality in American history.
The book examines how sex scandals involving American clergy shaped journalistic practices, church responses, and public perception.
Krivulskaya's research delves into both well-known and previously undocumented cases, revealing how these events influenced the relationship between religion and the media.
The narrative spans from the 19th to the 20th centuries, highlighting the evolving strategies employed by religious institutions to manage their public image amidst crises.
The book offers a critical analysis of the complexities surrounding religious authority, media representation, and the lasting impact of scandal on American society.
#28082
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
Waverly
Amelia Elizabeth Walden
#18650
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
The Vampire
John Polidori
string
#85591
La Nouvelle Louise
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
#705
• Mentioned in 43 episodes
Heart of Darkness
Joseph Conrad
Heart of Darkness, written by Joseph Conrad, is a novella that examines the horrors of Western colonialism.
The story is narrated by Marlow, who recounts his journey as a riverboat captain for a Belgian trading company in the Congo.
Marlow's journey takes him deep into the African jungle, where he encounters the enigmatic and brutal ivory trader Kurtz.
The novella delves into themes of power dynamics, morality, and the psychological impact of colonialism on both the colonizers and the colonized.
It is a landmark of modern fiction, known for its narrative and symbolic power, as well as its acute psychological penetration.
#15788
• Mentioned in 3 episodes
The Satyricon
Petronius
The Satyricon, written in Latin, is a Menippean satire that combines prose and verse to depict the lives of three young men—Encolpius, Ascyltos, and Giton—as they engage in various outlandish and often perverse adventures in southern Italy during the mid-1st century AD. The novel is renowned for its vivid portrayal of everyday Roman life, exposing the vulgarity and pretentiousness of the wealthy.
It includes the famous 'Cena Trimalchionis' (Dinner of Trimalchio), which satirizes the excesses and pretensions of the Roman elite.
The work is considered one of the gems of Western literature and a precursor to the modern novel form.
#36
• Mentioned in 252 episodes
Frankenstein
Mary Shelley
Written in epistolary form, the novel tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant and ambitious scientist who, driven by Enlightenment-era ideas of progress and science, creates a living being from dead body parts.
However, upon seeing the creature come to life, Frankenstein is horrified and abandons it.
The creature, shunned by society due to its appearance, seeks revenge against its creator, leading to a series of tragic events.
The novel explores themes of guilt, loss, and the emotional and moral consequences of scientific hubris, blending elements of Gothic and Romantic literature.
#4194
• Mentioned in 10 episodes
This Side of Paradise
F. Scott Fitzgerald
This Side of Paradise chronicles the life of Amory Blaine from his childhood through his early twenties.
The novel is divided into three sections: 'Book One: The Romantic Egotist,' 'Interlude,' and 'Book Two: The Education of a Personage.
' It follows Amory's experiences at Princeton University, his service in World War I, and his subsequent struggles with love, identity, and social class.
The book is known for its experimental narrative structure, which includes poetry, letters, and stream-of-consciousness sections.
It reflects the themes of the 'Lost Generation,' exploring the disillusionment and moral ambiguity of the post-war era.
#75
• Mentioned in 192 episodes
The great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Published in 1925, 'The Great Gatsby' is a tragic love story, a mystery, and a social commentary on American life during the Jazz Age. The novel is narrated by Nick Carraway, who moves to Long Island and becomes entangled in the lives of his wealthy and mysterious neighbor, Jay Gatsby, and Gatsby's obsession to win back his first love, Daisy Buchanan.
The story delves into themes of honesty, the temptations of wealth, and the struggle to escape the past, ultimately reflecting on the disintegration of the American Dream.
#87593
Christabel
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Christabel, di Samuel Taylor Coleridge, è una poesia incompiuta pubblicata nel 1816.
La poesia narra la storia di una giovane donna che incontra una misteriosa figura femminile nella foresta.
La poesia è caratterizzata da un'atmosfera oscura e inquietante, con elementi di suspense e mistero.
Christabel ha avuto una grande influenza sullo sviluppo del genere gotico e ha ispirato numerosi altri autori.
#6166
• Mentioned in 7 episodes
Don Juan
Molière
Molière's "Don Juan" is a comedic play exploring themes of deception, hypocrisy, and the nature of morality.
The play follows the libertine Don Juan as he engages in various amorous adventures.
Molière's witty dialogue and satirical portrayal of societal norms make the play a classic of French comedy.
The play's exploration of free will and the consequences of one's actions continues to resonate with audiences today.
Don Juan's character has become a symbol of rebellious individualism and a subject of ongoing interpretation.
The Romantic poet Byron (1788-1824) was more than just the scandal-ridden celebrity who was famously dubbed "mad, bad, and dangerous to know"--he was also a restless seeker of an identity to match his personal and artistic sensibilities. In this episode, Jacke talks to Byron scholar Jonathan Gross about his book The European Byron: Mobility, Cosmopolitanism, and Chameleon Poetry, which explores Byron's literary disguises, borrowings, and transformations, inspired by wide variety of European writers. PLUS Jacke takes a look at the ancient underpinnings of F. Scott Fitzgerald's most famous creation, as he explores The Great Gatsby as the #3 Greatest Book of All Time.
Join Jacke on a trip through literary England! Join Jacke and fellow literature fans on an eight-day journey through literary England in partnership with John Shors Travel in May 2026! Scheduled stops include The Charles Dickens Museum, Dr. Johnson's house, Jane Austen's Bath, Tolkien's Oxford, Shakespeare's Globe Theater, and more. Learn more by emailing jackewilsonauthor@gmail.com or masahiko@johnshorstravel.com, or by contacting us through our website historyofliterature.com. Act soon - there are limited spots available!
The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at gabrielruizbernal.com.
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