

Close Readings
London Review of Books
Close Readings is a new multi-series podcast subscription from the London Review of Books. Two contributors explore areas of literature through a selection of key works, providing an introductory grounding like no other. Listen to some episodes for free here, and extracts from our ongoing subscriber-only series.How To SubscribeIn Apple Podcasts, click 'subscribe' at the top of this podcast feed to unlock the full episodes.Or for other podcast apps, sign up here: https://lrb.me/closereadingsRUNNING IN 2025:'Conversations in Philosophy' with Jonathan Rée and James Wood'Fiction and the Fantastic' with Marina Warner, Anna Della Subin, Adam Thirlwell and Chloe Aridjis'Love and Death' with Seamus Perry and Mark Ford'Novel Approaches' with Clare Bucknell, Thomas Jones and other guestsALSO INCLUDED IN THE CLOSE READINGS SUBSCRIPTION:'Among the Ancients' with Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones'Medieval Beginnings' with Irina Dumitrescu and Mary Wellesley'The Long and Short' with Mark Ford and Seamus Perry'Modern-ish Poets: Series 1' with Mark Ford and Seamus Perry'Among the Ancients II' with Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones'On Satire' with Colin Burrow and Clare Bucknell'Human Conditions' with Adam Shatz, Judith Butler, Pankaj Mishra and Brent Hayes Edwards'Political Poems' with Mark Ford and Seamus Perry'Medieval LOLs' with Irina Dumitrescu and Mary WellesleyGet in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.ukHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 21, 2025 • 17min
Fiction and the Fantastic: ‘The Hearing Trumpet’ by Leonora Carrington
Leonora Carrington was a prodigious artist closely associated with major surrealists of the 1930s. Though only sporadically in print until recently, her writing has helped cement her cult status, not least The Hearing Trumpet (1974).
Before her family consign her to an old-age facility, nonagenarian Marian Leatherby is gifted a hearing trumpet with almost magical capabilities. Her institutionalisation leads to much eavesdropping, a Grail quest, descent into the underworld and an apocalyptic ice age.
Joyous, disturbing and subversive, The Hearing Trumpet is full of themes and images that populate Carrington’s artwork and other writing. Both Marina and Chloe knew Leonora Carrington, and in this episode they reflect on the ways her personality inflected her work. Their reading of The Hearing Trumpet reveals her humour, her visionary imagination and her attention to the boundaries between inner and outer realties.
Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen to the full episode, and all our other Close Readings series, subscribe:
Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/applecrff
In other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/closereadingsff
Further reading in the LRB:
Chloe Aridjis: A Leonora Carrington A to Z
https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2017/april/a-leonora-carrington-a-to-z
Alice Spawls: On Leonora Carrington
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v37/n08/alice-spawls/at-tate-liverpool
Edmund Gordon: Save the feet for later
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v39/n21/edmund-gordon/save-the-feet-for-later
Next episode: Marina and Chloe discuss J.G. Ballard’s The Atrocity Exhibition and Angela Carter’s The Passion of the New Eve.

Sep 15, 2025 • 16min
Conversations in Philosophy: 'The Ethics of Ambiguity' by Simone de Beauvoir
Dive into the philosophical depths of human existence with a focus on Simone de Beauvoir's exploration of ambiguity. The discussion highlights the dual nature of identity, blending internal perception with external realities. Unpack the challenges of freedom, responsibility, and moral choices in the face of uncertainty. As they navigate through de Beauvoir's influential works, including her readings of literary giants like Virginia Woolf, the speakers emphasize the vital connection between individuality and interconnectedness. It's a fascinating journey into the ethics of existence!

Sep 7, 2025 • 17min
Novel Approaches: ‘The Last Chronicle of Barset’ by Anthony Trollope
Dinah Birch, Emerita Professor of English Literature at the University of Liverpool, dives deep into Anthony Trollope’s 'The Last Chronicle of Barset,' which showcases his unique blend of comedy and social commentary. The discussion revolves around the intriguing mystery of Reverend Crawley's misadventures with a mysterious cheque. Birch and her co-hosts highlight Trollope’s storytelling prowess and the novel’s relevance as a standalone piece, while reflecting on the intertwined fates of Barsetshire’s characters and the broader implications of inequity within the church.

Aug 31, 2025 • 14min
Love and Death: ‘Poems of 1912-13’ by Thomas Hardy
Without Emma Gifford, we might never have heard of Thomas Hardy. Hardy’s first wife was instrumental in his decision to abandon architecture for a writing career, and a direct influence – possibly collaborator – on his early novels. Their marriage, initially passionate, defied family expectations and class barriers, but by the time of Emma’s death, it had deteriorated into hostility and bitterness. Out of grief, regret and ambivalence, Hardy produced the work Mark Ford considers to be among ‘the greatest poems in any language’: Poems of 1912-13.
Mark and Seamus discuss the collection in the light of what Hardy called ‘strange necromancy’: the reconfiguring of Emma as ghost, critic, corpse and mythic lover. They pay close attention to the tight structure and novelistic detail in these poems, which exemplify Hardy’s gift for mixing the lyrical with realism.
Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen to the full episode, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe:
Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/applecrld
In other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/closereadingsld
Read the poems:
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2863/2863-h/2863-h.htm
Further reading and listening from the LRB:
On Mark’s book, Woman Much Missed:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n19/matthew-bevis/i-prefer-my-mare
Hugh Haughton on Hardy’s ghosts and Emma’s diary:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v07/n21/hugh-haughton/ghosts
Dinah Birch on the letters of the two Mrs Hardies:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v18/n22/dinah-birch/defence-of-the-housefly
Mark and Seamus on Hardy for Modern-ish Poets:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and-videos/podcasts/close-readings/modern-ish-poets-thomas-hardy
Mark and Mary Wellesley discuss A Pair of Blue Eyes:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and-videos/podcasts/the-lrb-podcast/thomas-hardy-s-medieval-mind

Aug 24, 2025 • 14min
Fiction and the Fantastic: Stories by Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Luis Borges was a librarian with rock star status, a stimulus for magical realism who was not a magical realist, and a wholly original writer who catalogued and defined his own precursors. It’s fitting that he was fascinated by paradoxes, and his most famous stories are fantasias on themes at the heart of this series: dreams, mirrors, recursion, labyrinths, language and creation.
Marina and Chloe explore Borges’s fiction with particular focus on two stories: ‘The Circular Ruins’ and ‘The Aleph’. They discuss the many contradictions and puzzles in his life and work, and the ways in which he transformed the writing of his contemporaries, successors and distant ancestors.
Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen to the full episode, and all our other Close Readings series, subscribe:
Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/applecrff
In other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/closereadingsff
Further reading in the LRB:
Michael Wood on Borges’s collected fiction:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v21/n03/michael-wood/productive-mischief
Colm Toíbìn on Borges’s life:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v28/n09/colm-toibin/don-t-abandon-me
Marina Warner on enigmas and riddles:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v29/n03/marina-warner/doubly-damned
Daniel Wassbeim on Sur and Borges’s circle:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v10/n05/daniel-waissbein/dying-for-madame-ocampo
Next episode: Marina and Chloe discuss The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington.

Aug 17, 2025 • 16min
Conversations in Philosophy: 'Sketch for a Theory of the Emotions' by Jean-Paul Sartre
Dive into Sartre's intriguing take on emotions as actions of consciousness, rather than mere reactions. The discussion highlights his challenge to Freud's theories and explores the concept of self-invention within existentialism. The speakers also unpack the interplay of freedom, identity, and narrative in literature, revealing how emotive experiences shape our perceptions. With a twist on traditional psychology, they argue for conscious responsibility in our emotional responses, making you rethink how you engage with your feelings.

8 snips
Aug 11, 2025 • 18min
Novel Approaches: 'Our Mutual Friend' by Charles Dickens
Tom Crewe, a contributing editor at the LRB and author of the Orwell Prize-winning novel 'The New Life', joins the discussion on Dickens's last completed work, 'Our Mutual Friend'. They explore its compelling opening, where a body is dredged from the Thames, and delve into themes of identity and societal absurdities. The conversation highlights how Dickens's personal struggles and criticisms colored his prose, creating a rich tapestry that reflects the complexities of mid-Victorian Britain. The shifting perspectives in the novel also hint at the emerging cynicism of the late century.

Aug 3, 2025 • 15min
Love and Death: Family Elegies by Wordsworth, Lowell, Riley and Carson
Delve into the poignant exploration of family elegies spanning from Wordsworth to Carson. Discover how Wordsworth's nuanced tribute to his brother grapples with grief, contrasting with Denise Riley's innovative approach to mourning. Uncover Lowell's candid vignettes that reject typical elegiac conventions. Finally, Anne Carson challenges narrative coherence, weaving together fragments to capture the essence of loss. This thought-provoking discussion reveals how different poets confront the complexities of love and death.

19 snips
Jul 28, 2025 • 33min
Fiction and the Fantastic: ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley
Adam Thirlwell, a talented writer and cultural critic, dives deep into Mary Shelley's groundbreaking novel, examining its themes of birth, death, and monstrosity. The conversation highlights the emotional complexities of the creature and his creator, revealing how their fates intertwine. Thirlwell discusses the philosophical implications of creation and the limits of scientific ambition. Through the lens of rejection and longing, he explores the societal prejudices faced by the creature, ultimately showcasing the timeless relevance of Shelley's work.

Jul 21, 2025 • 16min
Conversations in Philosophy: 'The Thing' by Martin Heidegger
Dive deep into Martin Heidegger's exploration of what it means for a jug to truly be a jug. The conversation highlights the essence of ‘thingness’ and how it goes beyond mere objectification. Discover the interplay between technology and authentic human experience, as well as the philosophical implications of Heidegger's poetic style. Engage with thought-provoking themes that challenge traditional perceptions of existence, all while reconsidering the dynamic relationship between revelation and concealment.