Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

Rushing forward in time (and genre), we read H.G. Wells' terrifying 1896 novella, The Island of Dr Moreau. In this episode, we discuss features of early 19th to early 20th-century science fiction, the biological theories of Darwin and Huxley, the morality of religion and science, the ethics  of pain, the evolution of social hierarchy, figures of monstrosity, and how scared we were reading this book!

If you haven't read this book, stop what you're doing and get yourself a copy NOW. This is by far our favourite book as a collective and we loved talking about the manly wonder that is Adam, the kindness and compassion that governs these characters and the plot, the circular nature of country life in the eighteenth century, and, weirdly, sniffing Sam Heughan. 

If you love Wuthering Heights you may not want to listen to this episode, because we... don't. Regardless of our opinions, we delve into this novel with somewhat open minds to explore love, stroppy women, abusive men, rolling hills, the 19th century servant class, the gothic, and baboons(weirdly). Finally, we question why this book is in the canon at all!

Probably our favourite episode ever exploring Grace's favourite book, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. No, it's nothing like the Disney movie. It's so much better and so much more gruesome than you could ever imagine. In this episode, we explore the role of architecture as a literary device, lust and sin, disability and morality, parent and child dynamics, passive and active female characters, and 15th century Paris to name a few. 

Another year, another Dickens Christmas story... sort of. Don't expect Dickens' Christmas Carol joy from The Chimes: A Goblin Story of Some Bells that Rang an Old Year Out and a New Year In. Rather, in this episode, we explore ghostly traditions, gothic revisions, morals, merriness, and more. 

We didn't expect a novella from 1741 to be so scandalous, yet in this episode we find ourselves down a rabbit hole of sexual innuendo, prostitution, manipulative women, idiotic and aggressive men, and a whole lot of Mr Booby. An Apology for the Life of Mrs Shamela Andrews by Henry Fielding turns Samuel Richardson's Pamela on its head, and we can't quite believe just how raunchy it gets.

Murder, doubling, the limits of the human psyche, secret doors, spooky alleyways, Jack the Ripper, Deacon Brody, Frankenstein (as always), and weirdly, Love and Joe from Netflix's You. On this Halloween-themed episode, we explore Robert Louis Stevenson's famous novella, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. 

Another Dickens, but one unlike any you've read before. This month, we explore Dickens' representation of the French Revolution and find ourselves delving into the role literature plays in developing empathy and understanding, alongside all the usual good stuff: historical interpretations, contextual analysis, gender norms, cultural perspectives, and more!

Despite being Thomas Hardy's first successful novel, we think this is absolutely Hardy at his best. This month, we discuss the pastoral, male characters, the fallen woman, and how much we love Farmer Oak.

For part two, we explore our favourite topic: women. What are the differences between women in the public and private spheres, how do Russian female roles differ from British, and to who is the heroine of the novel? Not Anna K, that's for sure!