The Literary Life Podcast By cover art

The Literary Life Podcast

By: Angelina Stanford Thomas Banks
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  • Summary

  • Not just book chat! The Literary Life Podcast is an ongoing conversation about the skill and art of reading well and the lost intellectual tradition needed to fully enter into the great works of literature. Experienced teachers Angelina Stanford and Thomas Banks (of www.HouseOfHumaneLetters.com) join lifelong reader Cindy Rollins (of www.MorningtimeForMoms.com) for slow reads of classic literature, conversations with book lovers, and an ever-unfolding discussion of how Stories Will Save the World. And check out our sister podcast The Well Read Poem with poet Thomas Banks.
    ©Cindy Rollins 2019
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Episodes
  • Episode 228: “Best of” Series, “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, Ep. 15

    Episode 228: “Best of” Series, “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, Ep. 15
    Jun 11 2024
    This week on The Literary Life, we are dipping back into the archives for one of our “Best of” series of episodes. In this week’s remix from Season 1, Angelina Stanford and Cindy Rollins discuss Guy de Maupassant’s short story “The Necklace.” Before getting into the short story discussion, Cindy and Angelina chat about what a “commonplace book” is and how they each go about recording quotes and thoughts, including the QuoteBlock app. First off, Angelina gives us a little background on the author Guy de Maupassant and some information on French naturalism. Then she digs into her thoughts on how this story is a fairy tale in reverse and what that might mean in context. Cindy points out the perfection of de Maupassant’s writing and his economy of style. They also bring up some of the formal elements of the story, particularly the key role the reversal takes in the plot. The main themes they find in “The Necklace” touch on common human struggles with ambition, discontentment, loss, suffering and gratitude. If you want to find replays of the 2019 Back to School online conference referenced in this episode, you can purchase them in Cindy’s shop at MorningTimeforMoms.com. Check out the schedule for the podcast’s summer episodes on our Upcoming Events page. Check out the brand new publishing wing of House of Humane Letters, Cassiodorus Press! You can sign up for that class or any of the HHL Summer Classes here. Sign up for the newsletter at HouseofHumaneLetters.comto stay in the know about all the exciting new things we have coming up! Commonplace Quotes: If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star, you’ll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren’t so lazy. Terry Pratchett, from Wee Free Men “A vocation is a gift,” said Dame Ursula. “If it has been truly given to you, you will find the strength.” Rumer Godden, from In This House of Brede On First Looking Into Chapman’s Homer by John Keats Much have I travell’d in the realms of gold, And many goodly states and kingdoms seen; Round many western islands have I been Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold. Oft of one wide expanse had I been told That deep-brow’d Homer ruled as his demesne; Yet did I never breathe its pure serene Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold: Then felt I like some watcher of the skies When a new planet swims into his ken; Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes He star’d at the Pacific—and all his men Look’d at each other with a wild surmise— Silent, upon a peak in Darien. Books Mentioned: Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett Kristen Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset In This House of Brede by Rumor Godden Gustave Flaubert O. Henry Somerset Maugham Henry James Kate Chopin Anton Chekhov Support The Literary Life: Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the “Friends and Fellows Community” on Patreon, and get some amazing bonus content! Thanks for your support! Connect with Us: You can find Angelina and Thomas at HouseofHumaneLetters.com, on Instagram @angelinastanford, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Find Cindy at morningtimeformoms.com, on Instagram @cindyordoamoris and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CindyRollinsWriter. Check out Cindy’s own Patreon page also! Follow The Literary Life on Instagram, and jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let’s get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB
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    1 hr and 25 mins
  • Episode 227: “Agnes Grey” by Anne Bronte, Ch. 19-25

    Episode 227: “Agnes Grey” by Anne Bronte, Ch. 19-25
    Jun 4 2024

    On The Literary Life Podcast this week, Angelina and Thomas wrap up their series on Anne Brontë’s Agnes Grey. In this final episode on this beautiful Victorian novel, our hosts begin with their commonplace quotes which lead into the book discussion and the Victorian ideas about the supernatural. They talk about the major plot points here at the end of this book, contrasting the way Jane Austen dealt with these sorts of stories in contrast with Anne Brontë’s treatment of Agnes Grey. Some highlights of the conversation include thoughts on the world of education, the rebirth and reversal scene, and the question of how this story rates in terms of art versus didacticism.

    Check out the schedule for the podcast’s summer episodes on our Upcoming Events page.

    Check out the brand new publishing wing of House of Humane Letters, Cassiodorus Press! You can sign up for that class or any of the HHL Summer Classes here. Sign up for the newsletter at HouseofHumaneLetters.comto stay in the know about all the exciting new things we have coming up!

    Commonplace Quotes:

    Praise is a cripple; blame has wings to fly.

    La louange est sans pieds et le blame a des ailes.

    Victor Hugo

    The idea of the supernatural was perhaps at as low an ebb as it had ever been–certainly much lower than it is now. But in spite of this, and in spite of a certain ethical cheeriness that was almost de rigueur–the strange fact remains that the only sort of supernaturalism the Victorians allowed to their imaginations was a sad supernaturalism. They might have ghost stories, but not saints’ stories. They could triple with the curse or unpardoning prophecy of a witch, but not with the pardon of a priest. They seem to have held (I believe erroneously) that the supernatural was safest when it came from below. When we think (for example) of the uncountable riches of religious art, imagery, ritual and popular legend that has clustered round Christmas through all the Christian ages, it is a truly extraordinary thing to reflect that Dickens (wishing to have in The Christmas Carol a little happy supernaturalism by way of a change) actually had to make up a mythology for himself.

    G. K. Chesterton, The Victorian Age in Literature A Selection from Rabbi Ben Ezra

    By Robert Browing

    Grow old along with me!
    The best is yet to be,
    The last of life, for which the first was made:
    Our times are in His hand
    Who saith "A whole I planned,
    Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!' Book List:

    God’s Funeral by A. N. Wilson

    Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners by John Bunyan

    Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

    Support The Literary Life:

    Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the “Friends and Fellows Community” on Patreon, and get some amazing bonus content! Thanks for your support!

    Connect with Us:

    You can find Angelina and Thomas at HouseofHumaneLetters.com, on Instagram @angelinastanford, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/

    Follow The Literary Life on Instagram, and jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let’s get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB
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    1 hr and 32 mins
  • Episode 226: “Agnes Grey” by Anne Brontë, Ch. 12-18

    Episode 226: “Agnes Grey” by Anne Brontë, Ch. 12-18
    May 28 2024
    Welcome back to The Literary Life Podcast and the continuation of our series on Anne Brontë’s Agnes Grey. Angelina and Thomas open with their commonplace quotes which lead into the book discussion. Angelina kicks it off with a comparison between the work of the Brontës and Jane Austen’s writing which will continue throughout the conversation. Thomas and Angelina also look at the expectations of Victorians for courtship and marriage, the ways Anne Brontë weaves this tale as a variation on other themes, the true woman versus the false woman, and more! Check out the schedule for the podcast’s summer episodes on our Upcoming Events page. In August, Angelina Stanford will guide us through the world of Harry Potter as she shows us its literary influences and its roots in the literary tradition. You can sign up for that class or any of the HHL Summer Classes here. Sign up for the newsletter at HouseofHumaneLetters.com to stay in the know about all the exciting new things we have coming up! Commonplace Quotes: The ideal of education is that we should learn all that it concerns us to know, in order that thereby we may become all that it concerns us to be. In other words, the aim of education is the knowledge not of facts but of values. Values are facts apprehended in their relation to each other, and to ourselves. The wise man is he who knows the relative value of things. William Ralph Inge, from The Church in the World But while Emily Brontë was as unsociable as a storm at midnight, and while Charlotte Brontë was at best like that warmer and more domestic thing, a house on fire–they do connect themselves with the calm of George Eliot, as the forerunners of many later developments of the feminine advance. Many forerunners (if it comes to that) would have felt rather ill if they had seen the things they foreman. This notion of a hazy anticipation of after history has been absurdly overdone: as when men connect Chaucer with the Reformation; which is like connecting Homer with the Syracusan Expedition. But it is to some extent true that all these great Victorian women had a sort of unrest in their souls. And the proof of it is that… it began to be admitted by the great Victorian men. G. K. Chesterton, The Victorian Age in Literature The Recommendation By Richard Crashaw These houres, and that which hovers o’re my End, Into thy hands, and hart, lord, I commend. Take Both to Thine Account, that I and mine In that Hour, and in these, may be all thine. That as I dedicate my devoutest Breath To make a kind of Life for my lord’s Death, So from his living, and life-giving Death, My dying Life may draw a new, and never fleeting Breath. Book List: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Emma by Jane Austen Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare Support The Literary Life: Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the “Friends and Fellows Community” on Patreon, and get some amazing bonus content! Thanks for your support! Connect with Us: You can find Angelina and Thomas at HouseofHumaneLetters.com, on Instagram @angelinastanford, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Follow The Literary Life on Instagram, and jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let’s get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB
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    1 hr and 32 mins
Art Literary History & Criticism
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Featured Article: We’re Booked—The Best Literature Podcasts for Every Bibliophile


Love everything books and literature? Of course, you do—that’s why you're here! Don’t worry, you’re in good company. If you're a book aficionado who loves chatting about literature with like-minded people, literature podcasts are the perfect addition to your listening lifestyle. There’s no shortage of great book podcast options to choose from. Here are just a few of the best literature podcasts, covering many different genres and styles of podcasting.

Featured Article We’re Booked The Best Literature Podcasts for Every Bibliophile

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Profile Image for KnitWit

the absolute best

I have become a literary life podcast proselyte. I can't stop talking about it and recommending it. stories will save the world.

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Profile Image for L. Nicholas

Get a Literary Education here!

I have loved listening to these three talk about books. I am always on the hunt for my next good read and was at a standstill until i started this podcast! They bring history and meaning into their discussion. They have a delightful viewpoint that helps me think through what I'm reading.

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Brilliant work

The people at LitLife will hold your hand and gently walk you through literature if that is what you need, while also providing robust, thoughtful, informed ideas for those who crave that. It is a rare gift to be able to do both with such wisdom, grace, and humour.
I am not a podcast person, and this and their poetry podcast are the only podcasts I listen to with any kind of regularity. Subscribe. They will not waste your time.

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wow!

I love this episode! I'm reading Northanger Abbey with my homeschool mama book club and I remembered that the Literary Life podcast did a series on it. Wow! Cindy and Angelina brought the book to life!

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Profile Image for Amy Harris

My favorite podcast!

I've been listening to LitLife since it began and every single episode is like a graduate level seminar in literature, without the pretension and student loan debt. Angelina's knowledge & passion combined with Cindy's wisdom, experience, gentle spirit, and wit create a fun and enjoyable discussion on books. I also enjoy Thomas' poems and contributions to the conversation. The only suggestion that I have is that I wish there were an alternative platform besides FB for the LitLife discussion group ( Mighty Networks perhaps?) My family is traveling full-time now, so following along with the LitLife is now my bookclub. Thanks for enriching my life. Stories will change the world!

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Fantastic episode

My first introduction to Charlotte Mason was Susan Schaeffer Macaulay's book For the Children's Sake 25 to 30 years ago so I'm already a fan of sorts, but really enjoyed learning more about her in this episode.

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Profile Image for John Thoreson

being preached to was like bait and switch.

I will not return to this podcast. Using the podcast to peach the idea that all authors of a genre are agreeing with the biblical view of original sin, (whether the authors knew it or not),
was a shocking bit of bias and simple- minded pursuit...

You should re- title your podcast so that sceptical folks who love literature won't have to listen to the religious filters you speak through.

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