Close Readings

London Review of Books

Episodes

Mentioned books

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Dec 24, 2025 • 34min

Novel Approaches: 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens

Did Dickens ruin Christmas? He was certainly a pioneer in exploiting its commercial potential. A Christmas Carol sold 6,000 copies in five days when it was published on 19 December 1843, and Dickens went on to write four more lucrative Christmas books in the 1840s. But in many ways, this ‘ghost story of Christmas’ couldn’t be less Christmassy. The plot displays Dickens’s typical obsession with extracting maximum sentimentality from the pain and death of his characters, and the narrative voice veers unnervingly from preachy to creepy in its voyeuristic obsessions with physical excess. The book also offers a stiff social critique of the 1834 Poor Law and a satire on Malthusian ideas of population control. In this bonus episode from ‘Novel Approaches’, part of our Close Readings podcast, Colin Burrow and Clare Bucknell join Tom to consider why Dickens’s dark tale has remained a Christmas staple. Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, sign up: Directly in Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/applecrna⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ In other podcast apps: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/closereadingsna⁠⁠ AUDIO GIFTS Close Readings and audiobooks: https://lrb.me/audiogifts
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Dec 22, 2025 • 17min

Love and Death: Samuel Johnson, Gerard Manley Hopkins and Mick Imlah

Samuel Johnson’s doctor, Robert Levet, had piecemeal medical knowledge at best, was described as an ‘an obscure practiser in physick’ by James Boswell and was only paid for his work with gin. Yet for Johnson this eccentric man deserved a poetic tribute for demonstrating ‘the power of the art without show’, a phrase that could as much describe the poem itself. In this episode, Seamus and Mark close their series by looking at the ways in which Johnson’s elegy, 'On the Death of Dr Robert Levet', rejects the pastoral heroism of the poem they started with, Milton’s ‘Lycidas’, and compare it to two poems that offer their own kinds of unsentimental, eccentric portrait: 'Felix Randal' by Gerard Manley Hopkins and 'Stephen Boyd, 1957-99' by Mick Imlah. Seamus and Mark will be back in January to start their new series, 'Narrative Poems'. 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 Find tickets to Seamus's LRB Winter Lecture in London here: https://lrb.me/perrywlpod Further reading in the LRB: Freya Johnston on Samuel Johnson: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v41/n09/freya-johnston/i-m-coming-my-tetsie! Patricia Beer on Hopkins: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v14/n11/patricia-beer/what-he-meant-by-happiness
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Dec 18, 2025 • 16min

Fiction and the Fantastic: A Taxonomy

Join Edwin Frank, editorial director at New York Review Books and author of Stranger Than Fiction, as he dives into the thrilling world of fantastic literature. The discussion explores the flexible definitions of the fantastic, proposing categories like changes in physics and language. Edwin and the panel investigate ghostly apparitions, the chilling ambiguity in Henry James's The Turn of the Screw, and the surge of ghost stories in the 19th century. They also unveil how demonic figures can serve as sharp social critiques in fiction.
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Dec 8, 2025 • 19min

Conversations in Philosophy: 'To the Lighthouse' by Virginia Woolf

Exploring Virginia Woolf's revolutionary vision, the discussion dives into 'To the Lighthouse' as a philosophical masterpiece. The hosts analyze the vivid characters, highlighting Mr. Ramsay's satirical reflection of Woolf's father and Lily Briscoe's artistic journey. They ponder the book's tripartite structure, depicting family life, war's impact, and eventual return. With a focus on creative expression and the nature of reality, listeners are invited to consider the deep connections between art, conversation, and human experience.
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Dec 1, 2025 • 14min

Novel Approaches: ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’ by Thomas Hardy

After drunkenly selling his wife and child at auction, a young Michael Henchard resolves to live differently – and does so, skyrocketing from impoverished haytrusser to mayor of his adoptive town. Every unexpected disaster and sudden reversal in The Mayor of Casterbridge stems from its opening, in a plot which draws as much from realist fiction as Shakespearean tragedy and the sensation novel. Mary Wellesley and Mark Ford join Clare Bucknell to unpick the many strands in Thomas Hardy’s first Wessex novel. They explore how the novel – at once ‘algorithmic’, theatrical and fatalistic – is suffused with Hardy’s class anxieties, affinity with Dorset and fascination with pagan England. Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, sign up: Directly in Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/applecrna⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ In other podcast apps: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/closereadingsna⁠⁠ Further reading and listening from the LRB: Mary and Mark discuss Hardy’s medievalism on the LRB Podcast: ⁠⁠https://www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and-videos/podcasts/the-lrb-podcast/thomas-hardy-s-medieval-mind⁠⁠ Mark discusses Poems of 1912-13 with Seamus Perry in Love and Death: ⁠⁠https://www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and-videos/podcasts/close-readings/love-and-death-poems-of-1912-13-by-thomas-hardy⁠⁠  James Wood on Hardy’s life:⁠⁠ ⁠ ⁠https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v29/n01/james-wood/anxious-pleasures⁠⁠ Hugh Haughton on Hardy’s ghosts: ⁠⁠https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v07/n21/hugh-haughton/ghosts⁠⁠ Next episode: New Grub Street by George Gissing.
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Nov 29, 2025 • 17min

Next Year on Close Readings: Realism, Nature, Narrative Poems and a history of London

Meehan Crist is a writer exploring the intersection of science, politics, and culture, while Peter Godfrey-Smith is a philosopher focusing on biology and mind. They discuss the urgent themes of their 'Nature in Crisis' series, including landmark environmental texts like 'Silent Spring' and the relevance of ecofascism. Crist and Godfrey-Smith also delve into how literature and philosophy can illuminate contemporary ecological challenges, mapping the landscape of environmental discourse and its profound implications for society.
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Nov 24, 2025 • 18min

Love and Death: Thom Gunn and Paul Muldoon

Explore the poignant elegance of Thom Gunn’s poetry, deeply influenced by the AIDS crisis and his experiences in California. Discover his unique blend of Elizabethan style and contemporary themes, as well as his rejection of confessional poetry. The discussion shifts to Paul Muldoon’s playful and rich elegies, where form and depth collide. Delve into the emotional landscape of ‘Talbot Road’ and how Gunn intricately weaves allusions to his life and relationships, creating powerful portraits through verse.
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Nov 17, 2025 • 14min

Fiction and the Fantastic: Two Novels by Ursula K. Le Guin

Chloe Ridges, a novelist and short story writer, joins to explore Ursula K. Le Guin's innovative contributions to literature. They delve into Le Guin's rebellion against genre limitations and her radical political vision. The discussion highlights the Taoist influences in her writing and the impact of her anthropologist parents on her work. Ridges distills key concepts from *The Left Hand of Darkness* and *The Dispossessed*, examining themes of gender roles and societal structures, providing insights into how Le Guin's narratives challenge conventional norms.
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Nov 10, 2025 • 14min

Conversations in Philosophy: 'The Sovereignty of Good' by Iris Murdoch

Dive into Iris Murdoch's exploration of morality, where she encourages moral labor through an anecdote about a mother learning to accept her son’s wife. Discover her rebellion against Oxford’s analytic philosophy, advocating instead for a Platonic view of morality akin to mathematics. Murdoch's concept of 'unselfing' serves as a fresh alternative to divine guidance, challenging traditional beliefs while critiquing modern self-portrayals. A fascinating intersection of philosophy and literature unfolds, revealing her unique vision of goodness.
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Nov 3, 2025 • 17min

Novel Approaches: ‘Kidnapped’ by Robert Louis Stevenson

In this engaging discussion, novelist Andrew O’Hagan and author Tom Crewe dive into the world of Robert Louis Stevenson and his classic, Kidnapped. O’Hagan shares insights on the historical Appin murder and its political implications, while Crewe offers a glimpse into Stevenson’s fascinating upbringing and literary journey. The duo also explores Stevenson’s innovative narrative techniques and the profound social themes woven throughout the adventure tale, revealing how it transcends simple storytelling to address complex human experiences.

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