The History of Literature

Elizabeth Gaskell had only written one novel when Charles Dickens started publishing her work in his journal Household Words. But soon she would become famous as the author of Cranford and North and South, two of the best novels of the Victorian era. Dickens proved to be a generous and artist-friendly editor, offering suggestions but allowing Gaskell to have the final say over her work (with one exception). In this episode, Jacke looks at the ghost story that Dickens asked Gaskell to write, along with the alternative ending that Dickens first suggested and then wrote for her consideration. Additional listening ideas: Like Dickens? And Christmas ghost stories? Try our episode on Ebeneezer Scrooge (#293).. Mad about the Victorians? We talked about Middlemarch with Yang Huang in Episode 330 and Forbidden Victorian Love with Mimi Matthews in Episode 382.. Did you know that Mrs. Gaskell wrote a famous biography of Charlotte Brönte? We did our own deep dive into the Bröntes back in 2019. Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Novelist Beverly Gologorsky joins Jacke for a discussion of the tumultuous years from 1967 to 1971, which provides the background for her new novel. In Can You See the Wind?, a working-class family in the Bronx struggles to make a better world, even as the world spins into chaos. Columbia professor (and friend of the podcast) Farah Jasmine Griffin says "Beverly Gologorsky brings a clarity of vision and purpose to this extraordinary novel—a story about the complexities and love that both bring families, lovers and comrades together and tears them apart. Can You See the Wind? renders the urgency of political movements as well as moments of individual contemplation. That she does so in breathtaking prose is a testament to her brilliance and artistry." Additional listening suggestions: Episode 358 - The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature (with Farah Jasmine Griffin) Episode 382 - Forbidden Victorian Love (with Mimi Matthews) Episode 158 - "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien Music Credits: “⁠Handel – Entrance to the Queen of Sheba⁠” by Advent Chamber Orchestra (From the ⁠Free Music Archive⁠ / ⁠CC by SA⁠). Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The nineteenth-century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) is well known as the father of existentialism and one of the great Christian thinkers of all time. But it is in his relationship with Regine Olsen - his love for her, their brief engagement, and the horrible breakup, in which he left her for a life devoted to the pursuit of knowledge - where we see his true literary gifts. In this episode, Jacke looks at Kierkegaard's life and writing, with a special focus on the agonizing relationship with a young woman that perhaps brought out his truest self.Additional listening suggestions: Episode 169 - Dostoevsky Episode 95 - The Runaway Poets - The Triumphant Love Story of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning HOL Episode on Albert Camus Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Robin Hemley joins Jacke for a discussion of Kafka, writerly ambition, and his new novel Oblivion: An After Autobiography, which tells the story of a midlist author who finds himself in the posthumous world where authors fade from obscurity into the world of Oblivion...unless they can manage to write their way out. Additional listening suggestions: Episode 349 - Kafka's Metamorphosis (with Blume) Episode 139 - A Hunger Artist by Franz Kafka Episode 134 - The Greatest Night of Franz Kafka's Life Music Credits: “⁠Handel – Entrance to the Queen of Sheba⁠” by Advent Chamber Orchestra (From the ⁠Free Music Archive⁠ / ⁠CC by SA⁠). Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mysteries! In this best-of episode, Jacke revisits conversations with three guests for three different angles on this popular and enduring literary genre. First, Jonah Lehrer (Mystery: A Seduction, A Strategy, A Solution) discusses what exactly makes mysteries so compelling. Then, novelist Christina Kovac, author of the mystery The Cutaway, joins Jacke for a discussion of setting a mystery in the world of television news. Gillian Gill, author of Agatha Christie: The Women and Her Mysteries, stops by next for a discussion of the Queen of Mystery and her mysterious disappearance. And finally, Jonah Lehrer returns for a discussion of mysteries as they play out in Hamlet, Harry Potter, and human beings. Enjoy!Additional listening ideas: Episode 350 - Mystery! (with Jonah Lehrer) Episode 109 - Women of Mystery (with Christina Kovac) The History of Literature Podcast - Agatha Christie (with Gillian Gill) Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Literature enthusiast Jacke Wilson journeys through the history of literature, from ancient epics to contemporary classics. Find out more at historyofliterature.com and facebook.com/historyofliterature. Support the show by visiting patreon.com/literature or paypal.me/jackewilson.New episodes every Monday and Thursday wherever you listen to podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After being given $700 in Spanish gold by some newspapers, a 25-year-old Stephen Crane set out for Florida, where he planned to travel by boat to Cuba and cover the impending Spanish-American War as a war correspondent. But the steamship he boarded capsized after hitting some sandbars, forcing Crane and 28 shipmates - most of them arms runners friendly to the Cuban insurrectionists - into lifeboats and head into the open sea. Crane was one of the last to leave, and he wound up sharing a dinghy with the ship's captain and two others. While he didn't get to cover the war, the story of the four men, who struggled for days to survive without being rescued, helped add to Crane's growing literary fame. In this episode, Jacke explores (and reads in its entirety) the classic Stephen Crane story of shipwreck, "The Open Boat."Additional listening suggestions: Episode 90 - Mark Twain's Final Request Episode 101 - Writers at Work Conflict Literature (with Matt Gallagher) Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacke takes a look at the first work of literature by an African American author, courtesy of Fictions of America: The Book of Firsts by Uli Baer and Smaran Dayal. Then he turns things over to Storybound, a Podglomerate podcast, for a conversation with author Melissa Chadburn and excerpts from her essay "The Throwaways." Melissa Chadburn’s writing has appeared in The LA Times, NYT Book Review, NYRB, Longreads, Paris Review online, and dozens other places. Her essay on food insecurity was published in “Best American Food Writing 2019.” She’s done extensive reporting on the child welfare system and appears in the Netflix docuseries “The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez.” Her debut novel, A Tiny Upward Shove, is forthcoming with Farrar, Straus, & Giroux. She is a Ph.D. candidate at USC’s Creative Writing Program.  Storybound is a radio theater program designed for the podcast age. Storybound is hosted by Jude Brewer and brought to you by The Podglomerate and Lit Hub Radio. Music Credits: "Casa Bossa Nova" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Celebrating 400 episodes of The History of Literature, Jacke and Mike respond to a listener poll and choose the Top 10 Episodes We Must Do in the Future.Additional listening suggestions: Episode 83 - Overrated! Top 10 Books You Don't Need to Read Episode 149 - Raising Readers (aka the Power of Literature in an Imperfect World) Episode 92 - The Books of Our Lives Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stephen Crane (1871-1900) lived fast, died young, and impressed everyone with his prose style and insight into the human condition. While he's best known today for his novels The Red Badge of Courage and Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (along with some classic short stories like "The Open Boat," "the Blue Hotel," and "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky"), his literary fame during his life was supplemented by his notorious exploits. Shipwrecks, romance, scandal, and high-profile court cases - and he somehow also found time to befriend literary lions like H.G. Wells, Ford Madox Ford, Henry James, and Joseph Conrad. In this episode, Jacke talks to Crane's biographer Linda H. Davis, whose new book Badge of Courage: The Life of Stephen Crane goes deep into the life and mind of the man whose own powers of empathy made him a staple of twentieth-century bookshelves and syllabi. Additional reading suggestions: Episode 110 - Heart of Darkness - Then and Now Episode 316 - Willa Cather (with Lauren Marino) Episode 275 - Hemingway and the Truth (with Richard Bradford) Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices