The TLS Podcast

Frances Wilson gets implausibly angry about the hypocrisy of Patrick O’Brian; Michèle Roberts makes the case for the forgotten author of the nineteenth century, George Sand; Miranda Seymour turns literary detective to identify a new work by Ada Lovelace. And Roz Dineen fails to be enticed by cakes.Romans 1 & 2 George Sand; Edited by José-Luis Diaz and Brigitte DiazPatrick O’Brian – A very private life Nikolai Tolstoy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Edmund Gordon discusses whether Hilary Mantel's final Cromwell novel lives up to its billing - and whether, at 900-odd pages, it is the right length; Muriel Zagha looks at the female gaze in French cinema, with respect to the new film Portrait of a Lady on Fire; Irina Dumitrescu talks about how to write well, and when to break the rulesThe Mirror & the Light, by Hilary MantelPortrait of a Lady on Fire, by Céline SciammaWhy They Can't Write, by John WarnerWriting to Persuade, by Trish HallEvery Day I Write the Book, by Amitava Kumar  First You Write a Sentence, by Joe MoranMeander, Spiral, Explode, by Jane Alison Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the TLS is running an extract from The Mirror & the Light, the long-awaited third and final volume of Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell novels. In 1538 Thomas Cromwell, Lord Privy Seal, questions Geoffrey Pole, the youngest son of a great family. Pole is accused of conspiring against Henry VIII and attempting to bring back the old religion and reinstate the Pope as head of the Church. (The Mirror & the Light will be published on March 5 by Fourth Estate. The audio book is published by W F Howes and narrated by Ben Miles.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Shapiro, the author of Shakespeare in a Divided America, discusses the history of West Side Story, the most popular and successful Shakespeare musical of all time, and Ivo van Hove's flawed Broadway adaptation; Toby Lichtig reviews Tom Stoppard's new play Leopoldstadt and talks us through a selection of Jewish-focused pieces in this week's issue of the TLS; David Horspool, the TLS's history editor and a keen consumer of audiobooks, tells us what he has been listening to this monthWest Side Story, directed by Ivo van HoveLeopoldstadt by Tom Stoppard, Wyndham's Theatre, London, until June 13 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rebecca Langlands on lessons learnt in the only known ancient Roman brothel; Caroline Moorehead reviews Elena Ferrante's latest novel; Rory Waterman reads a new poem, "Defences" ("'Crikey!' you say. 'It’s gorgeous!'...")Books: The Brothel of Pompeii: Sex, class, and gender at the margins of Roman society, by Sarah Levin-Richardson La vita bugiarda degli adulti, by Elena Ferrante Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Irish novelist reads an extract from her new novel, published in this week's TLS, in print, app and online  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is it the best of times or the worst of times to be a satirist? Madeleine Brettingham, a writer on the BBC's News Quiz, joins us to discuss; Toby Lichtig on a new production of Endgame and the constraints imposed on Samuel Beckett adaptations; founded in the 1960s, the Oulipo was – and remains – a group of writers and scientists striving for "potential literature". Anna Aslanyan considers the movement's legacyMarch of the Lemmings: Brexit in print and performance 2016–2019, by Stewart LeeThe Joke is On Us: Political comedy in (late) neoliberal times, edited by Julie A. WebberEndgame / Rough For Theatre II, at the Old Vic theatre, LondonThe Oulipo and Modern Thought, by Dennis DuncanAll that is Evident is Suspect: Readings from the Oulipo 1963–2018, edited and translated by Daniel Levin Becker and Ian Monk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of Germany's most acclaimed novelists talks to Maren Meinhardt about his new novel, Tyll, a vivid account of a seventeenth-century trickster's journey through a Europe ravaged by the Thirty Years’ War. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Caryl Emerson on Tolstoy’s art, ideas and life, and the extent to which these came together; Benjamin Markovits returns to a treasured childhood book: The Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook; Eve Babitz – a “fizzy”, “fabulous” chronicler of 1960s and 70s Los Angeles – is mid revival. Megan Marz fills us in.Lives and Deaths: Essential stories by Leo Tolstoy, translated by Boris DralyukLeo Tolstoy: A very short introduction by Liza KnappLeo Tolstoy by Andrei ZorinThe Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Players Handbook by Gary GygaxI Used To Be Charming: The rest of Eve Babitz, edited by Sara J. KramerHollywood’s Eve: Eve Babitz and the secret history of L.A., by Lili Anolik Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucy Dallas reports on theories, developments and disputes in the world of science fiction; Lawrence Douglas adds crucial historical context – stretching back to the Middle Ages, in fact – to the current US presidential impeachment; the poet Hannah Sullivan emerges from Princeton University Library with fresh insight into T. S. Eliot's love letters   The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction by Ursula Le GuinThe Expanse, Volumes 1–8, by James S. A. Corey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.