Let’s listen to Edgar Allan Poe’s “A Tale of the Ragged Mountains” – an eerie narrative about a man who takes a walk in the hills and comes back with a story to tell. It’s a new one to me, so I’ll be sharing my candid reactions along the way. Let me know what you think of it!
Links:
“A Tale of the Ragged Mountains” by D. T. McGregor at LibriVox (public domain)
It’s October again: that time of year when you reach for a chunky sweater, a spicy latte, and, of course, a spooky book to read. In this episode, I share nine of my favorite Victorian short stories by authors such as Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker, and H. G. Wells. You probably don’t want to read these at night…
This week, I revisit Rudyard Kipling and his famous feral child Mowgli. The Jungle Book is one of my favorite Disney stories, but I did not like the book as a child. How does it read now that I’m older? (And when is that new movie coming out?!)
Sources / Further reading:
My Boy Jack (2007) – Biopic
“The White Man’s Burden” – Kipling’s poem
“The Black Man’s Burden” – H. T. Johnson’s response
Mowgli (2019) – Trailer
We kick off Season 3 with two giants of 19th-century science fiction: Jules Verne and Albert Robida. Both French authors, Verne and Robida crafted futuristic novels set in the 20th century, predicting changes in technology and society. Join me in this trip to the past, which at times feels amazingly reminiscent of the digital world we live in today.
Links / Further reading:
Paris in the Twentieth Century by Jules Verne
The Twentieth Century by Albert Robida
In A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf takes us through a history of women in fiction, from the unknown poets of Elizabethan times to 18th and 19th-century writers like Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë. This little book is not only for feminists, but for anyone interested in the life and classic writings of female authors.
Apologies for the intermittent background noise, near the beginning of the episode. It was probably me leaning on my “lectern” – i.e. a white cabinet on wheels, which may not be the most stable setup… I’ll be taking extra precautions in the future!
Sources / Further Reading:
“Virginia Woolf Was More Than Just a Women’s Writer” – Humanities magazine
Virginia Woolf’s suicide note (Wikisource)
Napoleonic Code (Encyclopedia Britannica)
