Explore every episode of the podcast Lost Ladies of Lit
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women Diarists with Betsy Rubiner | 29 Sep 2026 | 00:44:17 | |
Chronicles, confidantes, confessionals. Diaries have historically served all these purposes and more, allowing women to speak out in a world that sometimes preferred they keep mum (just ask Mrs. Samuel Pepys). But where should these very personal recollections end up once the lives they document cease? We explore the options this week with author Betsy Rubiner, whose new book Our Diaries, Ourselves explores the phenomenon of diary-writing and its importance. Along the way, we’ll explore some of the “lost lady” diarists whose private records are worth reading. Mentioned in this episode: Lost Ladies of Lit “Become A Patron” Our Diaries, Ourselves: How Diarists Chronicle Their Lives and Document Our World by Betsy Rubiner James Boswell’s London Journal The Extraordinary Work of Ordinary Writing by Jennifer Sinor. Anais Nin Virginia Woolf Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard Based on Her Diary, 1785 to 1812 by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon Emilie Davis' Civil War: The Diaries of a Free Black Woman in Philadelphia 1863 to 1865 edited by Judith Geisbert Notes from a Colored Girl: The Civil War Pocket Diaries of Emilie Francis Davis by Karsonya Wise Whitehead. The Reconstruction Diary of Frances Anne Rollin edited by Jennifer Putzi Candida Royalle and the Sexual Revolution: A History from Below by Jane Kamensky Secret Voices: A Year of Women's Diaries edited by Sarah Gristwood. The Assassin's Cloak: An Anthology of the World’s Greatest Diarists edited by Irene and Alan Taylor The Diaries of Girls and Women: A Midwestern Sampler edited by Suzanne L. Bunkers. A Day at a Time: The Diary Literature of American Women From 1764 to Present edited by Margo Culley Revelations: Diaries of Women edited by Mary Jane Moffat and Charlotte Painter Life Notes: Personal Writings by Contemporary Black Women edited by Patricia Bell-Scott We Are Your Sisters: Black Women in the 19th Century edited by Dorothy Sterling For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| The Gospel of Mary with Sarah Parkhouse | 15 Sep 2026 | 00:52:27 | |
First surfacing in 1896 at a marketplace in Cairo, scraps of ancient papyrus left scholars gobsmacked by the discovery: a fragmented account of Mary Magdalene in conversation with Jesus and his disciples. The codex’s circuitous path to publication in the mid-20th century is almost as compelling a tale as the gospel itself, which redefines the role of women in early Christianity and features a salvation that’s rooted in individual agency. Religious historian Sarah Parkhouse joins us from the University of Manchester to discuss the reclamation of Mary’s words and historical reputation, as well as how newly unearthed Greek fragments lend credence to this long-lost gnostic text. Mentioned in this episode: Read The Gospel of Mary Eschatology and the Savior: The ‘Gospel of Mary’ among Early Christian Dialogue Gospels by Sarah Parkhouse The Gospel of Mary Magdala by Karen L. King The concept of Entanglement in the Gospel of Mary The Dark Tower by Stephen King The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown Sophia: The Wisdom of God by Sergei Bulgakov History of The Acts of Paul and Thecla Read The Acts of Paul and Thecla The Girl Who Baptized Herself: How a Lost Scripture About a Saint Named Thecla Reveals the Power of Knowing Our Worth by Meggan Watterson “Has a Missing Fragment of the Gospel of Mary Been Discovered?” from The Bible and Beyond Podcast Discussion on Mary Magdalene’s influence on the songs of Tori Amos Video clip from The Gospel of Mary opera by Mark Adamo For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Celia Fremlin — The Hours Before Dawn with Emily Midorikawa | 01 Sep 2026 | 00:43:39 | |
“Things that go bump in the night…?” Try sleep-deprived mothers, for starters. British author Celia Fremlin recognized the terrors of trying to hold it together while caring for young children, earning her an Edgar Award for her 1959 debut novel The Hours Before Dawn. Having recently published her own suspense-filled novel, returning guest Emily Midorikawa joins us to discuss Fremlin’s ability to cast a dark shadow on domesticity. This page-turning tale of a beleaguered mum facing inner doubts and outward threats will also kick off the first “Lost Ladies of Lit” online reading group, generously hosted by The Sitting Room Library. Mentioned in this episode: Reading Group for The Hours Before Dawn hosted by The Sitting Room Library. The Hours Before Dawn by Celia Fremlin A Tiny Speck of Black and Then Nothing by Emily Midorikawa Out of the Shadows: Six Visionary Victorian Women in Search of a Public Voice by Emily Midorikawa A Secret Sisterhood: The Literary Friendships of Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot and Virginia Woolf by Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 85 on Mary Taylor Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 286 on Mary Elizabeth Braddon The Seven Chars of Chelsea by Celia Fremilin Appointment With Yesterday by Celia Fremlin Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| ENCORE: Mary MacLane — I Await the Devil's Coming with Cathryn Halverson | 18 Aug 2026 | 00:33:55 | |
We're concluding our own "Hot Girl Summer" with the writer Mary MacLane, a defiant and wildly egotistical 19-year-old resident of Butte, Montana, whose confessional diary implored the “kind devil” to deliver her from a life of bourgeois boredom. Professor Cathryn Halverson joins us to discuss MacLane’s life, angst and the reading public’s reaction to her adolescent intensity. Mentioned in this episode: I Await the Devil’s Coming/The Story of Mary MacLane by Mary MacLane (Project Gutenberg) MTV’s “My So-Called Life” Kate Chopin’s The Awakening Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume “Men Who Have Made Love to Me” I, Mary MacLane by Mary MacLane Faraway Women and the Atlantic Monthly by Cathryn Halverson Maverick Autobiographies: Women Writers and the American West by Cathryn Halverson Playing House in the American West: Western Women’s Life Narratives by Cathryn Halverson For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| ENCORE WITH UPDATE: Brigid Brophy — The King of a Rainy Country | 04 Aug 2026 | 00:31:07 | |
If Brigid Brophy’s The King of a Rainy Country had a soundtrack, it might include the soft patter of rain on a garret window, jazz drifting from a smoky cafe, the hum of a Vespa on narrow cobblestone streets … and the obnoxious griping of a few dozen uncultured Americans! As the description suggests, Brophy’s 1956 novel has a little bit of everything — atmosphere, nostalgia and poignancy mixed with subversive wit and madcap antics. Kim and Amy play “tour guide” examining Brophy’s life and accomplishments, including this wonderfully quirky book, recently reissued by McNally Editions. Mentioned in this episode: Pilgrimage online Reading Group with The Sitting Room library Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 116 on Dorothy Richardson Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 270 on The Sitting Room Pilgrimage by Dorothy Richardson McNally Editions The King of a Rainy Country by Brigid Brophy Marginalia article about Brigid Brophy and Iris Murdoch by Maria Popova Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 51 on Rosamond Lehmann Dusty Answer by Rosamond Lehmann Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 150 on Elizabeth Smart By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept by Elizabeth Smart Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 184 on Elizabeth Taylor Vs. Elizabeth Taylor BBC program “Take it Or Leave It” In Transit by Brigid Brophy Hackenfeller’s Ape by Brigid Brophy The Snowball by Brigid Brophy Fifty Works of English Literature We Could Do Without by Brigid Brophy, Michael Levey and ?? The Crown Princess and Other Stories by Brigid Brophy “Spleen” by Beaudelaire Death in Venice by Thomas Mann “As You Like It” by William Shakespeare For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| ENCORE: Lucy Irvine — Castaway with Francesca Segal | 21 Jul 2026 | 00:36:57 | |
Our "sweltering summer" series continues this week with a re-play of a truly wild desert-island memoir. When Lucy Irvine answered a classified ad to play Girl Friday to a real-life Robinson Crusoe on a remote tropical island, she embarked on an enthralling—and at times harrowing—year-long adventure. The result was her bestselling 1983 memoir, Castaway, a beautifully-written tale of survival. We’re diving into Irvine’s unforgettable story with special guest Francesca Segal, whose own island-centric novel, Welcome to Glorious Tuga, was recently optioned for TV by See-Saw Films. Mentioned in this episode: Castaway by Lucy Irvine Welcome to Glorgious Tuga by Francesca Segal Runaway and Faraway by Lucy Irvine The Islander by Gerald Kingsland The Secret Life of a Schoolgirl by Rosemary Kingsland Castaway 1986 film trailer starring Amanda Donohoe and Oliver Reed Wild by Cheryl Strayed “Alone” on the History Channel One is One by Lucy Irvine The Innocents by Francesca Segal For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| ENCORE: Miles Franklin — My Brilliant Career | 07 Jul 2026 | 00:34:04 | |
This week we're revisiting an Australian author — and the 1979 film adaptation of her work — which originally captured Kim and Amy’s fancy back in 2024. Published in 1901 and written when author Miles Franklin was only eighteen years old, My Brilliant Career became an instant classic of Australian literature and still delights readers with its feisty heroine, Sybylla Melvin, and its realistic depiction of Australian life and lingo at the turn of the 20th century. In our discussion of the novel and its film adaptation (starring Judy Davis and Sam Neill) we’ll explain why Franklin’s fear of being a literary one-hit-wonder proved unfounded, and why her name today graces one of Australia’s top annual literary prizes. Mentioned in this episode: Miles Franklin My Brilliant Career film My Brilliant Career novel Judy Davis Sam Neill Director Gillain Armstrong Oscar and Lucinda Charlotte Grey Blackwood’s publishing house Up the Country by Brent of Bin Bin Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 128 on Margaret Oliphant Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons Bring the Monkey by Miles Franklin My Career Goes Bung by Miles Franklin All That Swagger by Miles Franklin Miles Franklin: A Short Biography by Jill Roe Of Foreign Lands and Peoples by Robert Schumann (soundtrack to film) For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| ENCORE: Jane White —Quarry with Helen Hughes | 23 Jun 2026 | 00:41:30 | |
We're celebrating summer with another sultry, almost-suffocating novel from our podcast vaults, one clearly written with William Golding's Lord of the Flies in mind. When Jane White’s gripping and unsettling debut novel Quarry was first published in 1967, a review in The Scotsman called it “the most frightening novel of the year.” Joining us is White’s daughter-in-law, Dr. Helen Hughes, of the University of Surrey, who wrote the afterword to the new Boiler House Press edition of Quarry. Mentioned in this episode: Oxford's summer Lifelong Learning seminar on Josephine Tey The Lord of the Flies by William Golding Beatrice, Falling by Jane White The Neglected Books page on Jane White For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| ENCORE WITH UPDATE! Ruth Prawer Jhabvala — Heat and Dust with Brigitte Hales | 09 Jun 2026 | 00:49:08 | |
With Counterpoint Press's new editions of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's work (including her Booker-Prize winning novel Heat and Dust and a new short story collection Disinheritance: The Rediscovered Stories) we're inspired to revisit our 2022 episode on this prolific writer of fiction and films. Pivotal to the success of Merchant/Ivory films like A Room With a View and Howard's End, Jhabvala used her experiences as an "initiated outsider" to tell stories brimming with nuance, humor, truth and beauty. Mentioned in this episode: Heat and Dust by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala Disinheritance: The Rediscovered Stories by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala A Room with a View (1985 film) The Householder by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Nettie Jones — Fish Tales with Hannah Eko | 26 May 2026 | 00:46:28 | |
First published in 1983 after being championed by Toni Morrison, Nettie Jones’s Fish Tales recounts one woman’s trauma-filled, hedonistic quest for personal freedom amidst a “Disco-Era,” drug-fuelled backdrop — one inspired by Jones’s own lived experiences in 1970s Detroit and New York City. Nigerian-American author and Lit Club founder Hannah Eko joins us to discuss the ways power, pleasure and pain converge in Jones’s transgressive work, which was reissued by Farrar Straus and Giroux in 2025 Mentioned in this episode: Fish Tales by Nettie Jones Honey is the Knife by Hannah Eko The Lit Club’s 2026 event calendar Village Well bookstore Longreads article on Nettie Jones by Michael Gonzalez Zola film Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerny Lost Ladies of Lit Patreon page For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Josephine Tey — The Daughter of Time with Jennifer Morag Henderson | 12 May 2026 | 00:43:45 | |
Considered one of the greatest crime novels of all time, Josephine Tey’s The Daughter of Time flipped 450 years of British history on its head by re-examining Richard III’s purported involvement in the murder of his two young nephews, the Princes in the Tower. How did a shopkeeper’s daughter-turned-high-school gym teacher become one of the 20th century’s greatest writers of mystery, literary fiction and theatrical plays? Tey’s biographer, Jennifer Morag Henderson, joins us to discuss the double life that allowed Tey to rocket to stardom while also flying under the radar in her home town of Inverness, Scotland. Mentioned in this episode: Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey Kif: An Unvarnished History by Josephine Tey The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey Claverhouse by Josephine Tey Richard of Bordeaux by Josephine Tey Josephine Tey: A Life by Jennifer Morag Henderson Daughters of the North: Jean Gordon and Mary, Queen of Scots by Jennifer Morag Henderson Jofrid Gunn by Jennifer Morag Henderson Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers Anstey Physical Training College Richard III: The King in the Car Park documentary For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry—The Tale of the Rose with Sara Kippur | 28 Apr 2026 | 00:42:14 | |
Though her high-flying literary husband took center-stage, Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry was more than just the metaphorical “rose” in his novella The Little Prince. She was a writer and artist in her own right, with a gift for storytelling that’s evidenced in the now out-of-print novel Oppède. Following her death, an undiscovered memoir she wrote about her marriage to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry surfaced among her belongings and was published to great acclaim in 2000 as The Tale of the Rose. Wellesley professor Sara Kippur joins us in conversation to discuss the glittering life and literary merits of this often-overlooked 20th-century figure. Mentioned in this episode The Tale of the Rose: The Love Story Behind The Little Prince by Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry Oppède or Kingdom of the Rocks by Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry New York Nouveau: How Postwar French Literature Became American by Sara Kippur The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 117 on Zelda Fitzgerald Website with photos of Consuelo’s art Tropisms by Nathalie Sarraute The Sea Wall by Marguerite Duras The Volcano Daughters by Gina Maria Balibrera For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| María Amparo Ruiz de Burton — Who Would Have Thought It? with Quite Literally Books | 14 Apr 2026 | 00:42:00 | |
The first Mexican-American woman novelist to be published in English, María Amparo Ruiz de Burton chose a surprising subject matter—East Coast high society—for her first novel, Who Would Have Thought It? She was uniquely qualified to skewer the hypocrisy of Northern abolitionists, lampoon corrupt politicians and even mock Abraham Lincoln as a figure she deems more “party-boy” than presidential. Bremond Berry MacDougall and Lisa Endo Cooper, founders of Quite Literally Books, join us to discuss their new reissue of this 1872 book and why it still resonates so loudly in the era of Donald Trump. Discussed in this episode: Who Would Have Thought It? By María Amparo Ruiz de Burton Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 246 on Jessie Redmon Fauset Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 79 on Frances Harper’s Iola LeRoy Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs Abraham Lincoln James Baldwin 1863 Habeas Corpus Suspension Act The Squatter and the Don by María Amparo Ruiz de Burton on Project Gutenberg For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Juanita Harrison—My Great, Wide, Beautiful World with Cathryn Halverson | 31 Mar 2026 | 00:50:53 | |
Determined from a young age to escape the Jim-Crow South and see new places, Mississippi native Juanita Harrison managed, as a working-class Black woman, to cultivate her own version of a grand world tour, paying for her globe-trotting by picking up piecemeal work as a maid, nanny or cook in far-flung places. My Great, Wide, Beautiful World, her remarkable written account of this eight-year international adventure became a bestseller in 1936 and was the most commercially successful book by a Black author at that time. Cathryn Halverson, author of a brand-new biography on Harrion, joins us this week to discuss this “born writer,” whose sheer pluck and adventurous spirit helped her take the world by storm. Mentioned in this episode: My Great, Wide, Beautiful World by Juanita Harrison (free online version). A Born Writer: Juanita Harrison and Her Beautiful World by Cathryn Harrison Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 210 on Mary Maclane Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 246 on Jessie Redmon Fauset Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Magda Szabó — Abigail with Deborah H. Sussman | 17 Mar 2026 | 00:43:27 | |
A literary icon in her native Hungary, Magda Szabó was relatively unknown to English-speaking readers until recent translations of her work opened the door to her powerful storytelling. In today’s episode we focus on her 1970 novel Abigail, which follows a headstrong teenager at an all-girls boarding school during WWII. Dangerous secrets, emotional complexity and an unexpected guardian angel add intrigue to this poignant coming-of-age tale. Our guest, Deborah H. Sussman of the ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, brings her perspective as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor to our discussion about preserving innocence in the midst of darkness. Mentioned in this episode: Abigail by Magda Szabó The Door by Magda Szabó Len Rix translations of Magda Szabó Photos of the Dóczy High School of the Debrecen Reformed College which inspired Matula Academy Magda Szabó Memorial House museum “More Than a Survivor” by Deborah H. Sussman Villette by Charlotte Bronte The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark 2015 Musical production of Abigél from Ady Teátrum Trailer for Abigél 1978 miniseries for Hungarian television 2012 film adaptation of The Door starring Helen Mirren For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Mary Elizabeth Braddon — Lady Audley's Secret with Kristine Huntley | 03 Mar 2026 | 00:42:49 | |
Pass the smelling salts! Readers of the Victorian Era eagerly (or furtively) set scruples aside to read Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s 1862 sensation novel Lady Audley’s Secret — the title of which was enough to tempt even the most puritanical schoolmarm into sneaking a peak. But it was Braddon’s sumptuous prose, eye for drama and sophisticated understanding of social mores which won her the admiration of contemporaries like William Makepiece Thackery, Alfred Lord Tennyson and Robert Louis Stevenson. Booklist reviewer and television writer Kristine Huntley joins us this week to discuss Braddon’s remarkable prowess in navigating scandalous secrets … including her own! Mentioned in this episode: 2026 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction shortlist and longlist Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon “Abducted by my Teacher” Lifetime movie “Freakish” on Hulu “Mind Games” on ABC “Two Sentence Horror Stories” on the CW The real case that partially inspired Lady Audley’s Secret Aurora Floyd by Mary Elizabeth Braddon The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins The Doctor’s Wife by Mary Elizabeth Braddon The Trail of the Serpent by Mary Elizabeth Braddon Three Times Dead by Mary Elizabeth Braddon Daniel Deronda by George Eliot Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 268 on Rosalind Ashe For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| ENCORE and updates! Elizabeth Garver Jordan — The Case of Lizzie Borden and Other Stories with Jane Carr and Lori Harrison-Kahan | 17 Feb 2026 | 00:44:33 | |
Her Life in Ink, a brand new biography by Sharon Harris about Elizabeth Garver Jordan, provides a good reason to plunder our podcast vault this week to revisit an episode about this star journalist, editor and mystery author. Jordan’s riveting coverage of the Lizzie Borden trial for The New York World captivated true-crime junkies of the late 19th-century, and her lengthy career as a journalist, fiction writer and literary editor still resonates today. Lori Harrison-Kahan and Jane Carr, editors of a brand new collection of Garver Jordan’s work, join us to discuss her courtroom dispatches, her connection to today’s #MeToo movement and how her “invisible labor” shaped the writing of literary giants like Sinclair Lewis and Henry James. Mentioned in this Episode ASU/FIDM screening of Virginia Faulkner's "Bridal Suite" followed by a Q&A with Brad Bigelow Her Life in Ink: Elizabeth Jordan, Journalist, Editor and Mystery Author by Sharon Harris The Case of Lizzie Borden & Other Writings by Jane Carr and Lori Harrison-Kahan Elizabeth Garver Jordan’s work: The Superwoman and Other Writings by Miriam Michelson Heirs of Yesterday by Emma Wolf The Lizzie Borden house in Fall River, Mass. The White Negress: Literature, Minstrelsy, and the Black Jewish Imaginary by Lori Harrison Kahan Amish Rumspringa The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins CNN article by Lori Harrison Kahan on the seeds of the #MeToo mo For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Hazel Hawthorne — Salt House with Allison Bass-Riccio and Livia Tenzer | 03 Feb 2026 | 00:47:34 | |
“Queen of the Dunes” Hazel Hawthorne was a Cape Cod legend who wrote about The Road nearly two decades before her one-time tenant, Jack Kerouac. A uniquely feminine precursor to Beat literature, her novel Salt House captures Bohemian life amid the sand dunes of Provincetown. Though largely dismissed upon its 1934 publication, the book has been re-plucked from obscurity thanks to a new reissue by Provincetown Arts Press. Guests Allison Bass-Riccio and Livia Tenzer join us to discuss the almost transcendental effect Hawthorne’s life and writing has on those who continue to discover her. Mentioned in this episode: Salt House by Hazel Hawthorne Tour the Dunes of Provincetown Peaked Hill Trust Writing Residency Three Women by Hazel Hawthorne On the Road by Jack Kerouac Finding Hazel Hawthorne podcast by Inka Leisma Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 150 on Elizabeth Smart For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| From Jane Austen to Zadie Smith — Advice from Women Writers for a More Productive 2026 (Encore Presentation) | 20 Jan 2026 | 00:19:32 | |
In this encore presentation, Kim and Amy take stock by dusting off a "New Year’s" episode from 1921, sharing secrets of what makes their writing partnership work and turning to famous women writers — including Nancy Mitford, Isabelle Allende, Anais Nin and more for advice on setting (and more importantly, accomplishing) one's goals. For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Virginia Faulkner — Willa Cather Champion, with Brad Bigelow | 06 Jan 2026 | 00:41:39 | |
Virginia Faulkner had no family ties to that other famous Faulkner, but she is connected to another icon of classic American literature. A young flapper who made an authorial splash with the New York literati (earning comparisons to a young Dorothy Parker), Faulkner later switched gears, devoting the second half of her life to shaping The University of Nebraska Press into a powerhouse publishing institution. Her dedication to scholarship on Willa Cather helped solidify Cather in the pantheon of great American writers. We’re joined for this discussion by neglected books champion Brad Bigelow, whose biography Virginia Faulkner: A Life in Two Acts was recently published by Bison Press. Mentioned in this episode: Virginia Faulkner: A Life in Two Acts by Brad Bigelow Purchase the Pilgrimage Series by Dorothy Richardson Neglected Books website Friends and Romans by Virginia Faulkner A House is Not a Home by Polly Adler My Hey Day (The “Princess Tulip” Stories) by Virginia Faulkner Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 59 on Gertrude Trevelyon Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 116 on Dorothy Richardson Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 41 on Edith Lewis Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 232 on Katharine S. White Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 138 on Ursula Parrott Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 266 on Radclyffe Hall Lost Ladies of Lit Episode N For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Katharine Lee Bates — "Goody Claus on a Sleigh Ride" | 23 Dec 2025 | 00:13:00 | |
Before penning the lyrics to “America the Beautiful,” Katharine Lee Bates shone a spotlight on the invisible (and not so invisible) labor tackled by an unsung Christmas heroine, Mrs. Claus. Bates’s 1888 poem “Goody Claus on a Sleigh Ride” imagines Santa’s spouse setting the record straight about who really does most of the work in preparation for Christmas. In this holiday episode, Amy confesses her own cynical feelings about the Yuletide season and reads this humorous poem with its surprisingly satirical and feminist bent. Listeners who tune in will also receive a special “Lost Ladies of Lit” holiday freebie! Mentioned in this episode: “Goody Claus on a Sleigh Ride” by Katharine Lee Bates Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 237 on Katharine Lee Bates For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Djuna Barnes — Nightwood with Margaret Vandenburg | 09 Dec 2025 | 00:55:14 | |
Dark and disturbing, yet strangely redemptive, Djuna Barnes’s 1936 modernist masterpiece Nightwood left even its greatest champion, T.S. Eliot, a bit bewildered. Guest Margaret Vandenburg, an expert in modernism, post-modernism and gender studies, joins us to illuminate Barnes’s tumultuous life and help us decipher her "ultimate breakup novel,” a work that casts its spell by turning the world upside down in subversive defiance of fascism. Mentioned in this episode: Nightwood by Djuna Barnes Craze by Margaret Vandenburg An American in Paris by Margaret Vandenburg Djuna: The Extraordinary Life of Djuna Barnes by Jon Macy The Life and Work of Djuna Barnes by Phillip Herring New York by Djuna Barnes (collected journalism) The Book of Repulsive Women and Other Poems by Djuna Barnes Ladies Almanac by Djuna Barnes “The Antiphon” by Djuna Barnes Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 266 on Radclyffe Hall Barnes’s 1922 portrait of James Joyce for Vanity Fair For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Malachi Whitaker — And So Did I with Valerie Waterhouse | 25 Nov 2025 | 00:41:02 | |
Likened to a fresh Yorkshire breeze, Malachi Whitaker’s year-in-the-life memoir And So Did I, published in 1939, is a quirky spirit-quest juxtaposing wry humor and contemplative observations amidst the impending threat of global conflict. Valerie Waterhouse, a PhD researcher and executor of Whitaker’s literary estate, joins us to discuss the author’s life and work, as well as her own quest to keep Whitaker’s legacy alive, including securing a commemorative blue plaque for her birthplace and writing a forthcoming biography. Mentioned in this episode: And So Did I by Malachi Whitaker The Journey Home and Other Stories by Malachi Whitker The Oxford Book of English Short Stories edited by A.S. Byatt “Landlord of the Crystal Fountain” by Malachi Whitaker A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf “What I Believe” by E.M. Forster “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 3 on E.M. Delafield Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 166 on Alba de Céspedes For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| The Sitting Room: A Treasure Trove of "Lost Ladies" | 11 Nov 2025 | 00:44:43 | |
In this special episode, Kim and Amy recount their recent visit to The Sitting Room, a unique library and literary salon in Sonoma, CA, dedicated to women's literature. Trip highlights included a stay at a Julia-Morgan-designed architectural gem in Berkeley, a private tour of Jack London State Park, and a fascinating tour of The Sitting Room’s extensive collection of books and artifacts. Listeners will also hear snippets from an engaging evening with library co-founder J.J. Wilson, making this episode a heartfelt homage to the preservation and celebration of books by women writers. Mentioned in this episode: Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 27 on Charmian Kittredge London Charmian Kittredge London: Trailblazer, Author, Adventurer by Iris Jamahl Dunkle Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 187 on Kay Boyle Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 162 on Meridel Le Seuer Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 264 on Jessica Mitford Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 140 on Zora Neale Hurston A Luminous Halo: Selected Writings by Virginia Woolf The Life of Violet: Three Early Stories by Virginia Woolf Gorgeous Nothings: Emily Dickinson’s Envelope Poems A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Rosalind Ashe — Moths with Lisa B. Kröger | 28 Oct 2025 | 00:40:54 | |
Republished this year by Valancourt books, Rosalind’s Ashe’s 1976 gothic thriller Moths is a spine-chilling tale of supernatural seduction featuring a femme fatale who lures men to their deaths like lepidoptera to a flame. Gothic lit expert Lisa B. Kröger joins us to discuss Ashe’s knack for channeling female rage in a novel that’s been compared to Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. Mentioned in this episode: Moths by Rosalind Ashe Monster, She Wrote by Lisa B. Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson Toil and Trouble: A Women’s History of the Occult by Lisa B. Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson Original 1976 cover art of Moths Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 58 on Monster, She Wrote with Lisa B. Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 240 on Angela Carter Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier Hurricane Wake by Rosalind Ashe Literary Houses by Rosalind Ashe Dark Runner by Rosalind Ashe Midnight Movie clip For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Radclyffe Hall — The Well of Loneliness with Iris Jamahl Dunkle | 14 Oct 2025 | 00:42:02 | |
Often called “the lesbian Bible,” Radclyffe Hall’s 1928 novel The Well of Loneliness has been sparking debate for nearly a century. Banned in the UK after an infamous obscenity trial, the book remains a lightening rod for readers — some revere it, others can’t stand it. We’ll explore what makes this groundbreaking novel so remarkable (and so divisive) with returning guest Iris Jamahl Dunkle, who found inspiration in Hall’s protagonist for her forthcoming book on strong-bodied women who refuse to conform to society’s standards. Mentioned in this episode: Kim and Amy’s October 14 LitQuake appearance: “Scribbling Women” Strike Back: How Long-Silenced Voices Have Fueled a New Resistance The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall (new Oxford Press edition) Iris Jamahl Dunkle’s Substack article on Radclyffe Hall “Bad Gays” podcast episode on Radclyffe Hall Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 27 on Charmian Kittredge London Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 214 on Sanora Babb Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 152 on Janet Lewis Riding Like the Wind: The Life of Sanora Babb by Iris Jamahl Dunkle Charmian Kittredge London: Trailblazer, Author, Adventurer by Iris Jamahl Dunkle Loving Sylvia Plath: A Reclamation by Emily Van Duyne Do Admit: The Mitford Sisters and Me by Mimi Pond For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Jessica Mitford — The American Way of Death with Mimi Pond | 30 Sep 2025 | 00:40:46 | |
In this follow-up to our 2021 episode on Nancy Mitford, we’re turning the spotlight on her younger sister, Jessica (a.k.a. “Decca”) Mitford, an activist and journalist whom Time magazine called “the queen of the muckrakers.” Her influential 1963 nonfiction title The American Way of Death exposed corruption in the funeral industry and was lauded by David Bowie as one of his “Top 100” favorite books, whereas her 1960 childhood memoir, Hons and Rebels, left her own family seeing red! Joining us in conversation is Mimi Pond, whose recently-published graphic biography Do Admit: The Mitford Sisters and Me adds new color (literally) to the Mitford mythology with wry commentary and artwork perfectly suited to England’s most outrageous debutantes. Mentioned in this episode: Do Admit: The Mitford Sisters and Me by Mimi Pond Hons and Rebels by Jessica Mitford The American Way of Death by Jessica Mitford David Bowie’s Top 100 Favorite Books The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford Life in A Cold Climate by Laura Thompson Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford edited by Peter Y. Sussman Lifeitselfmanship: Or, How to Become a Precisely Because Man by Jessica Mitford Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No 39 on Nancy Mitford Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 65 on Lucia Berlin Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 187 on Kay Boyle Nancy Mitford: A Portrait by Her Sisters documentary Decca and the Dectones’ rendition of “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” “Desert Island Discs” interview with Diana Mosley Mimi Pond’s Mitford sisters merchandise Over Easy by Mimi Pond The Customer is Always Wrong by Mimi Pond For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| HIATUS ENCORE: Miriam Karpilove with Jessica Kirzane | 16 Sep 2025 | 00:39:14 | |
With her witty and self-deprecating takes on dating and the single life, the narrator of Miriam Karpilove’s Diary of a Lonely Girl: Or the Battle Against Free Love is the 1918 Yiddish precursor to Girls’ Hannah Horvath, Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw, and Bridget Jones. Guest Jessica Kirzane’s English translation of the novel was published by Syracuse University Press in 2020. For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| HIATUS ENCORE: Nora May French with Catherine Prendergast | 02 Sep 2025 | 00:44:33 | |
In this encore presentation, we’re reviving a literary suicide scandal that took place among some of the biggest names in the West Coast’s early 20th century bohemian society. Joining us to discuss lost poet Nora May French and her life—and death—is Catherine Prendergast, author of the riveting book The Gilded Edge: Two Audacious Women and the Cyanide Love Triangle That Shook America. Discussed in this episode: Carmel-by-the-Sea, California “The Spanish Girl” by Nora May French Lost Ladies of Lit episode on Charmian Kittredge London with Iris Dunkle “Ave Atque Vale” by Algernon Charles Swinburne “Ave Atque Vale” by Nora May French For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| HIATUS ENCORE: Meridel Le Sueur — The Girl with Rosemary Hennessy | 19 Aug 2025 | 00:44:17 | |
Originally drafted in 1939, the Prohibition-era gangster novel The Girl by Meridel Le Sueur remained unpublished for nearly 40 years. Le Sueur used the intervening decades to transform her work into a powerful narrative, focusing on the lives of marginalized women in Depression-era America. Joining us is Dr. Rosemary Hennessy, a Professor of English at Rice University, whose most recent book, In the Company of Radical Women Writers, rediscovers the political commitments and passionate advocacy of seven writers, including Le Sueur. Mentioned in this episode: “Women on the Breadlines” by Meridel Le Sueur “The Dread Road” by Meridel Le Seur “Annunciation” by Meridel Le Sueur “Women Know a Lot of Things” by Meridel Le Sueur The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck Women Talking novel by Miriam Toews Women Talking film by Sarah Polley “My People are My Home” film by Meridel Le Sueur Lost Ladies of Lit episode No. 106 on Dirty Helen Cromwell’s Good Time Party Girl John Crawford and West End Press For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| HIATUS ENCORE: Minae Mizumura — A True Novel with Lavanya Krishnan | 05 Aug 2025 | 00:29:12 | |
What if we told you that there was an ingenious retelling of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights set in post-war Japan that also has shades of Middlemarch and The Great Gatsby? Minae Mizumura’s A True Novel, first published in 2002, checks all those boxes and more. Joining us to discuss A True Novel is Lavanya Krishnan, co-founder of the literary book subscription Boxwalla. (This episode originally aired in 2023). Discussed in this episode: A True Novel by Minae Mizumura Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald “Why I Write What I Write” by Minae Mizumura Writing Routines with Minae Mizumura The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky Light and Darkness, Continued by Minae Mizumura An I Novel from Left to Right by Minae Mizumura A Heart So White by Javier Marías Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson The Diary of an Invasion by Andrey Kurkov Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| HIATUS ENCORE: G.E. Trevelyan — Appius and Virginia with Brad Bigelow | 22 Jul 2025 | 00:42:19 | |
Woman yearns for child, adopts orangutan instead. Disaster ensues. That's the premise of Gertrude Trevelyan's wonderfully bizarre 1932 novel, Appius and Virginia. We're joined in this encore episode by guest Brad Bigelow, whose obsession with obscure books was celebrated in the 2016 New Yorker profile “The Custodian of Forgotten Books.” Discussed in this episode: Appius and Virginia by G.E. Trevelyan Every Which Way But Loose (1978 Film) “The Custodian of Forgotten Books” (The New Yorker) His Monkey Wife by John Collier Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf “If She Was a Bloke, She’d Still Be In Print” (The Guardian) Lost Ladies of Lit Episode 41 on Edith Lewis with Melissa Homestead For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Else Jerusalem — Red House Alley with Translator Stephanie Gorrell Ortega | 08 Jul 2025 | 00:43:59 | |
Else Jerusalem’s Red House Alley is a riveting exposé of the sex industry in fin-de-siècle Vienna. A bestseller upon its 1909 publication, the novel was banned by the Nazis in 1933 (along with its 1928 film adaptation) and fell into obscurity. Boiler House Press published the first full English translation of this landmark work last year, and translator Stephanie Gorrell Ortega joins us to discuss Jerusalem’s richly-drawn account of brothel workers (based on accounts from real prostitutes). We also draw comparisons with this year’s Academy Award-winning “Best Picture,” Anora. Mentioned in this episode: Red House Alley by Else Jerusalem Life and photos of Else Jerusalem The Diary of a Lost Girl by Margarite Böhme Rebellion in the Brothel documentary about the Regina Riehl trial Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 106 on Dirty Helen Cromwell Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 197 on Helen Tracy Lowe Porter For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Edna O'Brien — The Country Girls with Edan Lepucki | 24 Jun 2025 | 00:43:13 | |
When Edna O’Brien published her debut novel The Country Girls in 1960, she was branded a “Jezebel” in her native Ireland—but that didn’t stop her from completing a poignant trilogy about a pair of friends coming of age in a world for which village life and convent school failed to prepare them. Despite initial backlash to her sexually frank depiction of young women’s lives and desires, O’Brien’s writing brought her acclaim and celebrity status—Vanity Fair dubbed her “the playgirl of the western world.” Novelist Edan Lepucki joins us to discuss the trilogy’s timeless appeal and the complicated-but-endearing friendship of characters Kate Brady and Baba Brennan. Mentioned in this episode: The Country Girls trilogy by Edna O’Brien Edna O’Brien interview on BBC’s “World Book Club” Time’s Mouth by Edan Lepucki California by Edan Lepucki Woman No. 17 by Edan Lepucki Mother’s Before by Edan Lepucki Italics Mine Substack by Edan Lepucki Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 35 on Maud Hart Lovelace Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry Beaches film The Country Girls film featuring Sam Neill For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Brigid Brophy — The King of a Rainy Country | 10 Jun 2025 | 00:28:03 | |
If Brigid Brophy’s The King of a Rainy Country had a soundtrack, it might include the soft patter of rain on a garret window, jazz drifting from a smoky cafe, the hum of a Vespa on narrow cobblestone streets … and the obnoxious griping of a few dozen uncultured Americans! As the description suggests, Brophy’s 1956 novel has a little bit of everything — atmosphere, nostalgia and poignancy mixed with subversive wit and madcap antics. Kim and Amy play “tour guide” examining Brophy’s life and accomplishments, including this wonderfully quirky book, recently reissued by McNally Editions. Mentioned in this episode: McNally Editions The King of a Rainy Country by Brigid Brophy Marginalia article about Brigid Brophy and Iris Murdoch by Maria Popova Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 51 on Rosamond Lehmann Dusty Answer by Rosamond Lehmann Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 150 on Elizabeth Smart By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept by Elizabeth Smart Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 184 on Elizabeth Taylor Vs. Elizabeth Taylor BBC program “Take it Or Leave It” In Transit by Brigid Brophy Hackenfeller’s Ape by Brigid Brophy The Snowball by Brigid Brophy Fifty Works of English Literature We Could Do Without by Brigid Brophy, Michael Levey and ?? The Crown Princess and Other Stories by Brigid Brophy “Spleen” by Beaudelaire Death in Venice by Thomas Mann “As You Like It” by William Shakespeare For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Jessie Redmon Fauset — Plum Bun with Bremond Berry MacDougall and Lisa Endo Cooper | 27 May 2025 | 00:47:19 | |
Langston Hughes called Jessie Redmon Fauset “the midwife of the Harlem Renaissance” with good reason. As literary editor at The Crisis magazine from 1919 until 1926, Fauset discovered and championed some of the most important Black writers of the early 20th century. Her own novels contributed to The New Negro Movement’s cultural examination of race, class and gender through the lens of women’s experiences. Fauset’s 1928 novel Plum Bun was republished this spring by Quite Literally Books, a new publishing venture that reissues books by American women authors. The founders, Bremond Berry MacDougall and Lisa Endo Cooper, join us to discuss their mission and take a closer look at Fauset’s life and work. Mentioned in this episode: Plum Bun by Jessie Redmon Fauset The Pink House by Nelia Gardner The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 9 on Dorothy Canfield Fisher Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 140 on Zora Neale Hurston The Crisis magazine “What is Racial Passing?” on PBS’s The Origin of Everything “The Dinner Party That Started the Harlem Renaissance” by Veronica Chambers and Michelle May-Curry Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray Passing by Nella Larsen There is Confusion by Jessie Redmon Fauset For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| E.D.E.N. Southworth — The Hidden Hand with Rose Neal | 13 May 2025 | 00:43:18 | |
Dastardly villains are no match for Capitola Black, the audacious heroine at the center of E.D.E.N. Southworth’s 1859 bestseller, The Hidden Hand. Readers so admired this literary tomboy’s pluck that Capitola became a popular baby name for decades and inspired the name of a California town. Yet few readers today are familiar with Southworth, one of the highest-earning authors of her day (to whom Louisa May Alcott even gave a subtle nod in Little Women). Rose Neal, author of a brand new biography on Southworth, joins us this week to discuss the writer who gave 19th-century young women permission to imagine lives free from convention and restraint. Mentioned in this episode: E.D.E.N. Southworth’s Hidden Hand: The Untold Story of America’s Forgotten Nineteenth-Century Author by Rose Neal The Hidden Hand by E.D.E.N. Southworth The Company of Books bookstore Retribution by E.D.E.N. Southworth The Deserted Wife by E.D.E.N. Southworth Wide, Wide World by Susan Warner Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson Little Women by Louisa May Alcott The Awakening by Kate Chopin For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| ENCORE: Ursula Parrott: Ex-Wife with Marsha Gordon | 29 Apr 2025 | 00:53:22 | |
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby may be the novel everyone’s talking about this month, but let’s not forget another “Jazz Age” novel that took this country by storm. Ursula Parrott’s Ex-Wife, a tragicomic indictment of early 20th-century romance, brought the author immense fame and wealth at the time of its publication in 1929. Yet by her death in 1957 she was penniless and homeless, a fate she all but predicted in the cautionary commentary of her writing. Our episode on Parrott (with her biographer, Marsha Gordon) originally aired two years ago this week, and we’re marking Spring Break with an encore presentation — including some updates on efforts to make sure Parrott isn’t confined to obscurity again. Links: Becoming the Ex-Wife by Marsha Gordon The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Lost Ladies of Lit episode on Marjorie Hillis with Joanna Scutts For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Angela Carter — The Bloody Chamber | 15 Apr 2025 | 00:31:18 | |
Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? Not the heroines from Angela Carter’s 1979 short story collection The Bloody Chamber. The British author tackles dark, primal themes in her spin on classic fables and fairy tales, urging women to eschew victimhood, reclaim their power and bite back! Join us as we dive into this enchanted world of blood, sex and animal magnetism, and find out how Carter’s own life experiences may have prompted her to peel back the skin on tropes of subjugation. Mentioned in this episode: The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter The Invention of Angela Carter by Edmund Gordon Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 216 on Elizabeth Garver Jordan Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No.150 on Elizabeth Smart The Company of Wolves trailer The Box of Delights by John Masefield “The Box of Delights” radio program “The Fall River Axe Murders” (or “Mise-en-Scène For a Parricide”) by Angela Carter Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter Wise Children by Angela Carter For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Lucy Irvine — Castaway with Francesca Segal | 01 Apr 2025 | 00:36:57 | |
When Lucy Irvine answered a classified ad to play Girl Friday to a real-life Robinson Crusoe on a remote tropical island, she embarked on an enthralling—and at times harrowing—year-long adventure. The result was her bestselling 1983 memoir, Castaway, a beautifully-written tale of survival. We’re diving into Irvine’s unforgettable story with special guest Francesca Segal, whose own island-centric novel, Welcome to Glorious Tuga, was recently optioned for TV by See-Saw Films. Mentioned in this episode: Castaway by Lucy Irvine Welcome to Glorgious Tuga by Francesca Segal Runaway and Faraway by Lucy Irvine The Islander by Gerald Kingsland The Secret Life of a Schoolgirl by Rosemary Kingsland Castaway 1986 film trailer starring Amanda Donohoe and Oliver Reed Wild by Cheryl Strayed “Alone” on the History Channel One is One by Lucy Irvine The Innocents by Francesca Segal For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Penning Patriotism — Katharine Lee Bates and "America the Beautiful" | 25 Mar 2025 | 00:15:00 | |
The recent hatching of baby eaglets in Big Bear, CA has Amy thinking a lot about patriotism and what it actually means in turbulent times for our country. Lost lady of lit Katharine Lee Bates — a staunch activist for social justice who decried America’s isolationist policies — must have considered the same when, during a trip across the country in 1893, she penned what would eventually become the lyrics to “America the Beautiful.” The original words to her poem are a bit more pointed than the version we know today, offering a new perspective on pure (but not blind) patriotism. Mentioned in this episode: “America the Beautiful” and changing lyrics over time “America the Beautiful”: The Stirring True Story Behind our Nation’s Favorite Song by Lynn Sherr Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893 “America the Beautiful” rendition by Ray Charles “Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride” by Katharine Lee Bates For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Margery Kempe and Julian of Norwich — Religious Mystics with Victoria MacKenzie | 18 Mar 2025 | 00:47:16 | |
Religious mystics Margery of Kempe and Julian of Norwich lived in close proximity to one another in time and place, yet the lives of these two medieval women couldn’t have been more different. One traveled the world in relentless pursuit of spiritual validation, while the other withdrew into a walled cell. One boldly proclaimed her visions of Christ while the other recorded quiet revelations. One authored the first autobiography in English while the other penned the first known book in English by a woman. But here’s where it gets truly fascinating: these two women actually met—a fateful encounter depicted in guest Victoria MacKenzie’s award-winning debut novel, For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy on My Little Pain. Join us as we discuss these two incredible women whose accounts of divine encounters were destined for rediscovery centuries after being lost to time. Mentioned in this episode The British Library’s exhibit: Medieval Women: In Their Own Words For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy on My Little Pain by Victoria MacKenzie Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich Lost Ladies of Lit podcast Episode No. 164 on Christine de Pizan Lost Ladies of Lit podcast Episode No. 34 on Anna Komnene Lost Ladies of Lit podcast Episode No. 70 on Julian Berners For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Frances Wright — A Few Days in Athens with Tristra Yeager and Eleanor Rust | 04 Mar 2025 | 00:41:16 | |
How do you engage with others in a polarized society? Early 19-century writer and freethinker Frances “Fanny” Wright offers an ostensible how-to manual in the witty didactic novel she penned at age 19, A Few Days in Athens. Wright’s radical ideas garnered her the praise of Thomas Jefferson, the Marquis de Lafayette and Walt Whitman, to name a few, but detractors dubbed her “The Red Harlot of Infidelity.” Tristra Yeager and Eleanor Rust, hosts of the 2024 podcast “Frances Wright: America’s Forgotten Radical,” join us to discuss Wright’s historical importance and relevance to today’s political and cultural conversations. Mentioned in this episode: “Frances Wright: America’s Forgotten Radical” podcast A Few Days in Athens by Frances Wright Views of Society and Manners in America by Frances Wright Frances Wright’s grave in Spring Grove Cemetery Thomas Jefferson Walt Whitman New Harmony, Indiana Shaker Village in Pleasant Hill, KY For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Katharine S. White — Shaping The New Yorker, with Amy Reading | 18 Feb 2025 | 00:47:46 | |
One hundred years ago this week, The New Yorker published its first issue. A few months later, the magazine’s first (and for decades, only) female editor joined the staff. Katharine S. White spent the better part of the next 50 years wielding her pen and her editorial influence there, carefully tending to an ever-growing stable of talented (sometimes high-maintenance) writers and shaping the magazine into a cultural powerhouse. Biographer Amy Reading joins us to discuss White’s life, legacy and undeniable importance in the history of 20th-century American letters. Mentioned in this episode: The World She Edited: Katharine S. White at The New Yorker by Amy Reading Katharine and E.B. White’s farm in Blue Hill, Maine St. Nicholas magazine American Heritage article on St. Nicholas magazine Women authors discovered/edited by Katharine White Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 187 on Kay Boyle Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 184 on Elizabeth Taylor Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 158 on Sylvia Townsend Warner Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 168 on Mary McCarthy Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 131 on Dorothy Parker The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con by Amy Reading About Town: The New Yorker and the World it Made by Ben Yagoda Amy Reading’s “Open Book” Substack For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Literary Jewelry with Leigh Batnick Plessner | 04 Feb 2025 | 00:38:05 | |
January was dismal, but we’re distracting ourselves with something shiny in this first new full-length episode of the year. Catbird Chief Creative Officer Leigh Batnick Plessner joins us to explore three works by women writers, each of whom used jewelry as a powerful storytelling device. Louise de Vilmorin, Maria Edgeworth and Dorothy Parker feature diamond earrings, friendship bracelets and a pearl necklace, respectively, to reflect the deepest desires and ambitions of the characters who wore them. We hope this little gem of an episode helps you find some beauty and meaning in challenging times. Mentioned in this episode: Madame de by Louise de Vilmorin “The Bracelets” by Maria Edgeworth “The Standard of Living” by Dorothy Parker Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 77 on Daisy Fellowes Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 39 on Nancy Mitford “Chichi Devil” (New York Times) by Christopher Petkanas The Earrings of Madame de by Max Ophuls Essay by Molly Haskell on The Earrings of Madame de The Lovers and Julietta by Louise de Vilmorin The Absentee, Castle Rackrent and Belinda by Maria Edgeworth Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 220 on Christina Rossetti “The Cost of the Necklace in Dorothy Parker’s ‘The Standard of Living’” by Frederik Tydal “Peculiar Dearness: Sentimental Commerce in Maria Edgeworth’s ‘The Bracelets’” by Fiona Robinson Article on the historical value of pearls by Dr. Akitsugu Sato and Dr. Laurent E. Cartier “The Pearls That Built Cartier” Naomi by Jun'ich For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Margaret Oliphant — Hester with Perri Klass | 21 Jan 2025 | 00:45:00 | |
If you’re drawn to the hefty tomes of Victorian authors Anthony Trollope and George Eliot, we can pretty much guarantee you’ll enjoy this week’s novel, Hester, as much as we did. Margaret Oliphant is said to have been one of Queen Victoria’s favorite novelists, and she counted J.M. Barrie and Robert Louis Stevenson among her many fans. Joining us to discuss Hester is New York Times columnist and pediatrician Dr. Perri Klass. Discussed in this episode: The Best Medicine by Perri Klass Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen The Chronicles of Barsetshire by Anthony Trollope The Chronicles of Carlingford by Margaret Oliphant Miss Marjoriebanks by Margaret Oliphant For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Hiatus Replay: Ukrainian Poet Lesya Ukrainka’s The Forest Song | 07 Jan 2025 | 00:16:25 | |
In this week's hiatus replay, we’re focusing on one of Ukraine’s best-known poets and playwrights, Laryssa Kosach, who wrote under the pen name Lesya Ukrainka. Her play The Forest Song is a masterpiece of Ukrainian drama. The Forest Song by Lesya Ukrainka Looking for Trouble by Virginia Cowles Lost Ladies of Lit episode on Virginia Cowles’ Looking for Trouble Invisible Battalion (2017 documentary) “Ukraine Isn’t Part of Little Russia” (KCRW) Dead Poets Society (1989 film) A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare “Contra Spem Spero” by Lesya Ukrainka For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Alba de Céspedes — Forbidden Notebook with Joy Castro | 24 Dec 2024 | 00:49:02 | |
Novelist and university professor Joy Castro returns to the show to discuss the 1952 novel Forbidden Notebook by Cuban-Italian writer Alba de Cespedes. In a New York Times review of a 1958 English edition of this novel, de Céspedes was called “one of the few distinguished women writers since Colette to grapple effectively with what it is to be a woman.” Discussed in this episode: Forbidden Notebook by Alba de Céspedes Her Side of the Story by Alba de Céspedes Muriel Rukeyser poem “Kathë Kollwitz” Hell or High Water by Joy Castro One Brilliant Flame by Joy Castro “Burning It Down” by Joy Castro Lost Ladies of Lit episode on Margery Latimer Lost Ladies of Lit episode on E.M. Delafield Lost Ladies of Lit episode on Miriam Karpilove Lost Ladies of Lit episode on Lorraine Hansberry Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway Natalia Ginsburg’s essay “On Women” in Mercurio and a response by Alba de Céspedes America Ferrera speech in Barbie movie For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Zitkála-Šá — "The School Days of an Indian Girl" with Jessi Haley and Erin Marie Lynch | 10 Dec 2024 | 00:42:48 | |
At the age of eight, Gertrude Simmons Bonnin (later known by her pen name Zitkála-Šá) left her Yankton Dakota reservation to attend a missionary boarding school for Native Americans, a harsh and abusive experience about which she eventually wrote a series of articles published in The Atlantic Monthly. Jessi Haley, editorial director of Cita Press (which just published a free anthology of the author’s work) joins Yankton Dakota poet Erin Marie Lynch to discuss how Zitkála-Šá’s sense of cultural displacement impacted her life and literary output. Mentioned in this episode: Free edition of Planted in a Strange Earth: Selected Writings of Zitkála-Šá by Cita Press Cita Press’s Substack newsletter on Zitkála-Šá Removal Acts by Erin Marie Lynch Yankton Dakota people Sugarcane 2024 documentary Air/Light magazine Joe Biden’s October 2024 federal apology to Indigenous Americans Carlisle Indian Industrial School PBS’s “Unladylike” documentary episode on Zitkála-Šá Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann “Oklahoma’s Poor Rich Indians: An Orgy of Graft and Exploitation of the Five Civilized Tribes, Legalized Robbery” by Zitkála-Šá P. Jane Hafen’s full PBS interview on Zitkála-Šá Oral History Project from the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition Dreams and Thunder by P. Jane Hafen Help Indians Help Themselves: The Later Writings of Gertrude Simmons Bonnin (Zitkála-Sá) by P. Jane Hafen Free edition of Gertrude Stein’s Tender Buttons by Cita Press For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||
| Christina Rossetti — Speaking Likenesses with Bond & Grace's Ayana Christie | 26 Nov 2024 | 00:38:42 | |
Charmed by her friend Lewis Carroll’s children’s book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Victorian poet Christina Rossetti followed suit nearly a decade later with her own children’s book — one that alludes to the “Alice” tale while also offering a more clear-eyed view of girls’ duties, even in topsy-turvy dream worlds. Ayana Christie, Chief Product Officer of Bond & Grace, joins us for a discussion this week on Rossetti’s 1874 work Speaking Likenesses and helps us draw comparisons with Carroll’s seminal tale. Mentioned in this episode: Speaking Likenesses by Christina Rossetti Bond & Grace edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll Bond & Grace edtiion of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett Bond & Grace edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley “Goblin Market” by Christina Rossetti The Rosetti family photographic portrait by Lewis Carroll Christina Rossetti: A Writer’s Life by Jan Marsh Lewis Carroll (a.k.a. Charles Dodgson) The real-life Alice in Wonderland The Princess Bride film “Be Our Guest” number from Beauty & the Beast For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast | |||