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Lost Ladies of LitBrigid Brophy — The King of a Rainy CountrySend us a textIf 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 Edit...2025-06-1028 minLost Ladies of LitE.D.E.N. Southworth — The Hidden Hand with Rose NealSend us a textDastardly 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 d...2025-05-1343 minLost Ladies of LitENCORE: Ursula Parrott: Ex-Wife with Marsha GordonSend us a textF. 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 wee...2025-04-2953 minLost Ladies of LitAngela Carter — The Bloody ChamberSend us a textWho’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 Blo...2025-04-1531 minLost Ladies of LitLucy Irvine — Castaway with Francesca SegalSend us a textWhen 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 IrvineThe Lucy Irvine FoundationWelcome...2025-04-0136 minLost Ladies of LitMargery Kempe and Julian of Norwich — Religious Mystics with Victoria MacKenzieSend us a textReligious 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: thes...2025-03-1847 minLost Ladies of LitFrances Wright — A Few Days in Athens with Tristra Yeager and Eleanor RustSend us a textHow 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 politic...2025-03-0441 minLost Ladies of LitKatharine S. White — Shaping The New Yorker, with Amy ReadingSend us a textOne 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 hist...2025-02-1847 minLost Ladies of LitLiterary Jewelry with Leigh Batnick PlessnerSend us a textJanuary 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 ch...2025-02-0438 minLost Ladies of LitMargaret Oliphant — Hester with Perri KlassSend us a textIf 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: Hester by Margaret OliphantDr. Perri K...2025-01-2145 minLost Ladies of LitHiatus Replay: Ukrainian Poet Lesya Ukrainka’s The Forest SongSend us a textIn 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. Discussed in this episode: The Forest Song by Lesya UkrainkaLooking for Trouble by Virginia CowlesLost Ladies of Lit episode on Virginia Cowles’ Looking for Trouble Invisible Battalion (2017 documentary)“Ukraine Isn’t Part of Little Russia” (KCRW) Executed RenaissanceD...2025-01-0716 minLost Ladies of LitAlba de Céspedes — Forbidden Notebook with Joy CastroSend us a textNovelist 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 CéspedesHer Side of the Story by Alba de CéspedesMuriel Rukeyser poem “Kat...2024-12-2449 minLost Ladies of LitZitkála-Šá — "The School Days of an Indian Girl" with Jessi Haley and Erin Marie LynchSend us a textAt 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 o...2024-12-1042 minLost Ladies of LitChristina Rossetti — Speaking Likenesses with Bond & Grace's Ayana ChristieSend us a textCharmed 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.Mentione...2024-11-2638 minLost Ladies of LitMargaret Drabble — The Millstone with Carrie MullinsSend us a textMargaret Drabble’s 1965 novel The Millstone offers a nuanced portrayal of single motherhood in 1960s London. Author Carrie Mullins, whose 2024 nonfiction work The Book of Mothers explores literary depictions of motherhood, joins us to discuss Drabble’s fearless protagonist, Rosamund. Together, we explore how The Millstone captures the joys and burdens of motherhood, and how Drabble’s sharp, ahead-of-its-time portrayal speaks to contemporary readers.Mentioned in this episode:The Book of Mothers: How Literature Can Help Us Reinvent Modern Motherhood by Carrie MullinsThe Millstone by Margaret Drabble...2024-11-1236 minLost Ladies of LitElizabeth Garver Jordan — The Case of Lizzie Borden & Other Writings with Jane Carr and Lori Harrison-KahanSend us a textElizabeth Garver 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 this week 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: The Cas...2024-10-2941 minLost Ladies of LitSanora Babb — Whose Names Are Unknown with Iris Jamahl DunkleSend us a textGrowing up on the Great Plains and witnessing the struggles of migrant workers in California made Sanora Babb uniquely qualified to write the story of the Dust Bowl. Her novel Whose Names Are Unknown was slated for publication by Random House in 1939 until The Grapes of Wrath beat her book to the punch. John Steinbeck actually used Babb’s notes and research to write his Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel, but did he get the story right? Iris Jamahl Dunkle, author of a new biography on Babb, join...2024-10-1543 minLost Ladies of LitEliza Haywood — The Female Spectator and Betsy Thoughtless with Kelly J. PlanteSend us a textDetails of Eliza Haywood’s life may be murky today, but in the early 18th century, she was a literary force—writing plays and bestselling novels, editing periodicals, and ruffling the feathers of male contemporaries like Alexander Pope. Academic Kelly J. Plante joins us this week to discuss Haywood’s anonymous wartime writing for The Female Spectator, the first periodical written by and for women, as well as her 1751 novel, The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless.Mentioned in this episode:K...2024-10-0134 minLost Ladies of LitMary MacLane — I Await the Devil's Coming with Cathryn HalversonSend us a textLong before 'Brat Summer,' America was taken with 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 from Sweden’s Södertörn University joins us for this episode 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...2024-09-1733 minLost Ladies of LitHIATUS ENCORE: M.F.K. Fisher — How to Cook a Wolf with Anne ZimmermanSend us a textHIATUS ENCORE: Anne Zimmerman, author of the 2011 biography An Extravagant Hunger: The Passionate Years of M.F.K. Fisher, joins us to discuss Fisher and her World War II-era book How to Cook a Wolf, which was an attempt to teach people how to eat well and be well amidst personal and collective chaos. Discussed in this episode: An Extravagant Hunger: The Passionate Years of M.F.K. Fisher by Anne ZimmermanHow to Cook a Wolf by M.F.K. FisherLost Ladi...2024-09-1040 minLost Ladies of LitSigrid Schultz — “The Dragon from Chicago” with Pamela TolerSend us a textAs Berlin bureau chief for The Chicago Tribune from 1925-1941, Sigrid Schultz deflected both sexism and danger to report the truth and speak truth to power. The Nazis dubbed her “that dragon from Chicago,” and her importance as an indomitable “newspaperman” (her term) telling Americans about the Third Reich's agenda can’t be understated. Amy speaks this week with Pamela Toler, the author of a new biography on Schultz’s life, work and lasting legacy.Mentioned in this episode:The Dra...2024-09-0344 minLost Ladies of LitHIATUS ENCORE: Jane and Anna Maria Porter with Devoney LooserSend us a textHIATUS ENCORE: Sisters Jane and Anna Maria Porters’ books took Regency-era England by storm just a few years ahead of Jane Austen, and their lives were chock-full of fascinating (and insufferable) characters, intriguing romantic escapades, event-filled interludes at the homes of wealthy acquaintances and desperate gambits to stay one step ahead of the poverty line. Joining us is ASU Regents Professor of English, Devoney Looser, whose new book is Sister Novelists: The Trailblazing Porter Sisters, Who Paved the Way for Austen and the Brontes. Kirkus Reviews calls it “a triumph of literary detective work...2024-08-2744 minLost Ladies of LitHiatus Encore: The Letters of Zora Neale Hurston with Melissa KiguwaSend us a textHIATUS ENCORE: Zora Neale Hurston’s 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God is widely considered to be a masterpiece, yet were it not for a renewed push by author Alice Walker in the 1970s, Hurston and her legacy might well have been lost. We have Melissa Kiguwa, host of The Idealists podcast, joining us to discuss Zora Neale Hurston: A Life in Letters. Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack new...2024-08-1342 minLost Ladies of LitHIATUS ENCORE: Noel Streatfeild — Ballet Shoes and The Whicharts with Wendy-Marie ChabotSend us a textDid you know that Noel Streatfeild’s 1936 children’s book Ballet Shoes is based on her earlier novel The Whicharts, a tawdrier and not-for-children “shadow twin” that was published five years prior? Find out why it’s our favorite of the two in this week’s episode with our guest, author and bookstagrammer Wendy-Marie Chabot. Discussed in this week’s episode: Ballet Shoes by Noel StreatfeildThe Whicharts by Noel StreatfeildLittle Dancer Aged 14 by Edgar DegasMarie van GoethemWannabe: Confess...2024-07-3044 minLost Ladies of LitAnn Schlee (Rhine Journey) with Sam Johnson-Schlee and Lucy ScholesSend us a textPack your steamer trunks! We’re traveling to 19th-century Bavaria this week by way of Ann Schlee’s 1980 historical novel Rhine Journey, newly republished by McNally Editions. This Booker-Prize nominated travel tale features vivid period details, sultry psychological thrills and a protagonist on the brink of a personal revolution, all sewn up in a vibe that reads like a German twist on “A Room With a View.” Author Sam Johnson-Schlee joins us to discuss the life and work of his grandmother, who passed away in Novem...2024-07-1634 minLost Ladies of LitMiles Franklin (My Brilliant Career)Send us a textAn Australian author — and the 1979 film adaptation of her work — capture Kim and Amy’s fancy this week on the show. 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...2024-07-0234 minLost Ladies of LitHelen Tracy Lowe-Porter, Lost Lady of Translation — with Jo SalasSend us a textYou may think you’ve never read anything by Helen Tracy Lowe-Porter, but if you’ve read any Thomas Mann, there’s a good chance you’ve seen her handiwork. Lowe-Porter was a writer and translator whose greatest (but largely unsung) success came in the form of translating 22 monumental works by the German literary giant. Her English translations of Mann’s work proved pivotal in his being awarded the Nobel Prize in 1929. A new novel tells her hidden story, and its author, Jo Salas (who has family ties to the translator) joins us in this...2024-06-1832 minLost Ladies of LitElaine May — Miss May Does Not Exist with Carrie CourogenSend us a textGuest Carrie Courogen, author of the acclaimed new bio "Miss May Does Not Exist," joins us to discuss comic genius Elaine May. Known for her groundbreaking work in comedy, screenwriting, directing, and acting, May rose to fame as part of the iconic comedy duo Nichols and May. Despite her significant contributions to films like "Tootsie" and "The Birdcage," she often chose to remain uncredited, creating an air of mystery around her achievements. Carrie Courogen provides deep insights into May's life, from her early days in improv to her film directorial debut with "...2024-06-0445 minLost Ladies of LitKim and Amy Catch Their Book BreathSend us a textIn this special catch-up episode, we take a breather to share updates and insights from our recent reads, including works by Sylvia Townsend Warner and Radclyffe Hall. Amy introduces a quirky new business idea inspired by silent disco and Shakespeare, and we invite listeners to text feedback using a new ‘text us’ feature. Plus, we tease upcoming episodes, including one on screenwriter Elaine May, and announce exclusive bonus content for Patreon members. Tune in for a mix of literary chat and listener engagement!Discussed: A Chan...2024-05-2122 minLost Ladies of LitBarbara Comyns — Our Spoons Came From Woolworths and The Vet’s Daughter with Avril HornerSend us a textBarbara Comyns was recently called, “the best English novelist you’ve never heard of” and her unsettling gothic novels are equal parts enchanting and horrific. Joining us is Avril Horner, author of "Barbara Comyns: A Savage Innocence," who offers insight into Comyns' unique blend of dark humor and her empathetic portrayals of vulnerable protagonists. Graham Greene was a fan and wrote of her, “The strange offbeat talent of Miss Comyns and that innocent eye which observes with childlike simplicity the most fantastic or the most ominous of occurrences, these have never, I think, before b...2024-05-0742 minLost Ladies of LitEnayat al-Zayyat — Love and Silence with Iman MersalSend us a textDying by suicide shortly after her novel, Love and Silence, was rejected for publication in 1963, Egyptian writer Enayat al-Zayyat gained brief recognition when the book was finally published four years after her death. Discovering the novel in a Cairo market some 30 years later launched acclaimed Egyptian writer Iman Mersal on a decades-long, life-altering quest to solve the many mysteries about al-Zayyat’s life, death and legacy. Mersal joins us in this episode to discuss the recent English translation of her award-winng 2019 book, Traces of Enayat, and the nexus between al-Zayyat’s story and her...2024-04-2335 minLost Ladies of LitKay Boyle — Fifty Stories with Anne Boyd RiouxSend us a textAn eyewitness to monumental moments in the 20th century, author Kay Boyle hung out with Left Bank artists and literary giants, chronicled the ravages of WWII, was blacklisted in the 1950s and was jailed for her Haight-Ashbury activism in the late 1960s. An intrepid modernist committed to a “Revolution of the Word,” this two-time O. Henry award-winner penned 14 novels, eight volumes of poetry and 11 collections of short fiction, yet too few readers today have read her work or even know her name. Returning guest Anne Boyd Rioux joins us this week to discuss Kay...2024-04-0944 minLost Ladies of LitSperanza, a.k.a Oscar Wilde’s MomSend us a textIn this week’s episode Kim and Amy discuss the life and work of “Speranza,” a.k.a Lady Jane Wilde, a.k.a. Oscar Wilde’s mom! An outspoken, rabble-rousing poet who championed Irish independence, she stirred up members of the Young Ireland movement while writing for Dublin’s radical newspaper “The Nation” in the 1840s. Oscar may have inherited his mother’s wit, intellect and larger-than-life personality, but his later legal troubles were also preceded by her own very public and scandalous libel case.Mentioned in this episode:The Rest is Hi...2024-03-2618 minLost Ladies of LitWhose Line is it Anyway? Elizabeth Taylor vs. Elizabeth TaylorSend us a textIn our first-ever "Game Show Edition" of the podcast, McNally Editions editor Lucy Scholes joins us for a lightning-round quiz pitting quotations from Elizabeth Taylor the actress vs. Elizabeth Taylor the author! Test your knowledge and join in the fun! For the full forty-minute episode in which we discuss the author Taylor's writing and also confab on Roger Lewis's Erotic Vagrancy, the dishy 2023 biography of film stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, visit our Patreon: Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: 2024-03-2519 minLost Ladies of LitEmilie Loring —Uncharted Seas with Patti BenderSend us a textGet ready to fall hopelessly in love with Emilie Loring, a New England native whose prolific output of richly-detailed romance novels feature the sort of charming characters and snappy dialogue reminiscent of films like The Philadelphia Story and It Happened One Night. Loring’s 30 years of commercial success continued long after her death in 1950, prompting publishers to sell ghost-written “Emilie Loring” novels that continued to sell by the tens of millions. Having read each of Loring’s novels at least 50 times each, guest Patti Bender joins us this week to talk about the author’s...2024-03-1236 minLost Ladies of LitAngela Milne — One Year’s Time with Simon David ThomasSend us a textBlogger, podcaster and consultant for the British Library Women Writers series Simon Thomas returns to the show to discuss Angela Milne’s 1942 novel One Year’s Time. The book follows a year in the life of a 1930s-era “bachelor girl” named Liza who lives in London. Milne, the niece of Winnie the Pooh author A.A. Milne, was a contributor to Punch magazine, and her snappy wit shines bright in this charming and surprisingly modern novel. Fans of the Netflix series One Day will be particularly drawn to the book’s heroine and her gorgeo...2024-02-2739 minLost Ladies of LitCarolyn Wells — Murder in the Bookshop with Rebecca Rego BarrySend us a textA pioneer of the detective/mystery genre who began writing locked-room mystery novels a decade before Agatha Christie, Carolyn Wells was a turn-of-the-twentieth century celebrity who counted Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Edison, and Mark Twain among her many famous friends and fans. Guest Rebecca Rego Barry, whose new book is The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells: Investigations Into a Forgotten Mystery Author, joins us to discuss Wells and her 1936 detective novel, Murder in the Bookshop. Discussed in this episode:Arthur Conan DoyleAnna Katharine GreenThe Vanishing o...2024-02-1336 minLost Ladies of LitZelda Fitzgerald — Save Me the Waltz with Stephanie Peebles TaveraSend us a textZelda Fitzgerald is known as “the first American flapper” and an icon of the Jazz Age, but you may be surprised to learn that beneath the glittering facade, there was substance—and literary talent. Her sole published novel, “Save Me the Waltz,” is a poignant blend of beauty and biography that draws on her complex personal narrative, including her childhood in Alabama, her marriage to F. Scott Fitzgerald, and her attempt to become a professional ballerina in Paris at the age of 25.Joining us is Stephanie Peebles Tavera, an assistant professor of English...2024-01-3038 minLost Ladies of LitHiATUS ENCORE: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala — Heat and Dust with Brigitte HalesSend us a textAs Merchant Ivory super fans, we were surprised (and chagrined!) that we’d been unaware of Ismael Merchant and James Ivory’s longtime collaborator, novelist and Academy Award winning-screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Hollywood screenwriter Brigitte Hales joins us to discuss Jhabvala and her Booker Prize-winning 1975 novel, Heat and Dust. Discussed in this episode: Heat and Dust by Ruth Prawer JhabvalaBrigitte Hales Disenchanted (2022 film)Merchant Ivory ProductionsA Room with a View (1985 film)Howard’s End (1992 film)The Hous...2024-01-2346 minLost Ladies of LitHIATUS ENCORE: Edna Ferber — So Big with Dr. Caroline FrickSend us a textNew full-length episodes beginning Jan. 30. Edna Ferber’s So Big was the top-selling novel of 1924 and it won a Pulitzer Prize, yet it’s little known now! Wildly popular in its day, So Big was adapted for film three times, the second of which (in 1932) starred Barbara Stanwyck and featured a young Bette Davis in one of her earliest roles. Join us for a discussion of the book and the 1932 film with Dr. Caroline Frick from the Department of Radio-Television-Film at University of Texas, Austin. Discussed in this episode: S...2024-01-1644 minLost Ladies of LitHIATUS ENCORE: The Woman of Colour: A Tale with Leigh-Michil GeorgeSend us a textPublished anonymously six years prior to Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park—yet largely ignored for two centuries—the Regency-era epistolary novel The Woman of Colour: A Tale is the only one of its kind to feature a racially-conscious Black heroine at its center. Dr. Leigh-Michil George, a lecturer in the English Department at Geffen Academy at UCLA, joins us to discuss the novel and its historical importance as well as its influence on Regency-era television adaptations of Sanditon and Bridgerton. Discussed in this episode: The Woman of Colour...2024-01-0939 minLost Ladies of LitHiatus Replay: Maud Hart Lovelace — The Betsy-Tacy High School Books with Sadie SteinSend us a textNew episodes beginning January 30. Ready for some Edwardian Era YA? Set in Minnesota at the turn of the 20th century, Maud Hart Lovelace’s delightful Besty-Tacy series is closely based on the author’s idyllic midwestern childhood. In this week’s episode we’re discussing the four books that span Betsy’s high school years (1906-1910): Heaven To Betsy, Betsy in Spite of Herself, Betsy Was a Junior, and Betsy and Joe with our guest, culture writer and editor Sadie Stein. Discussed in this episode:Heaven To Betsy by Ma...2024-01-0244 minLost Ladies of LitHiatus Replay: Lucia Berlin — A Manual for Cleaning Women with Mimi PondSend us a textBack with new episodes on January 30. Lucia Berlin has been called one of America's "best kept secrets.” We’ll be discussing Berlin’s engrossing short short story collection A Manual for Cleaning Women, published posthumously in 2015 and soon to be adapted for the screen by Pedro Almodovar. Joining us is a longtime friend of Berlin’s, the inimitable Mimi Pond, a cartoonist, illustrator, and humorist whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Paris Review.Discussed in this episode: A Manual for Clean...2023-12-2636 minLost Ladies of LitHiatus Replay: Amy Levy — Reuben Sachs with Dr. Ann Kennedy SmithSend us a textWe’re back January 30, 2024 with all new episodes. Did you know there was a controversial, now-forgotten 1888 novel written in response to George Eliot’s Daniel Deronda by a writer who has been described as “the Jewish Jane Austen?” Until recently, neither did we. Join us as we talk with Dr. Ann Kennedy Smith about author Amy Levy and her stunning, sardonic novel Reuben Sachs, which fan and friend Oscar Wilde deemed a classic. Discussed in this episode: Daniel Deronda by George Eliot Reuben Sachs by Amy...2023-12-1941 minLost Ladies of LitHiatus Replay: Jane and Mary Findlater — Crossriggs with Julie and Shawna BensonSend us a textWe’re back January 30, 2024 with all new episodes. Sisters Jane and Mary Findlater were literary celebrities in their day and counted the likes of Henry James, Virginia Woolf, and Rudyard Kipling among their admirers. We’ll be discussing one of their joint efforts, Crossriggs, which is considered their finest work. Joining us are Hollywood screenwriting sisters Julie and Shawna Benson who worked on the CW’s critically-acclaimed series The 100 and Netflix’s Wu Assassins.Discussed in this episode:The BrontesHenry JamesVirgin...2023-12-1244 minLost Ladies of LitHiatus Replay: Hilma Wolitzer — Today a Woman Went Mad in the SupermarketSend us a textWe're back with all new episodes on Jan. 30, 2024. Join us for a wonderfully funny and poignant conversation about life, death, and motherhood with award-winning writer Hilma Wolitzer. Her short stories, most of them originally appearing in magazines in the 1960s and 1970s, were re-discovered by her daughter, bestselling author Meg Wolitzer, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and published last summer in a new collection earning great critical acclaim. Today A Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket has received rave reviews from authors like Elizabeth Strout, Lauren Groff, and Tayari Jones and...2023-12-0551 minLost Ladies of LitMary McCarthy’s The Group Turns 60Send us a textJoin us as we discuss Mary McCarthy’s best-known work, The Group, published in 1963. An instant hit, it remained on the New York Times bestseller list for two years and follows eight friends over the course of seven years following their graduation from Vassar College in 1933. It was banned in Australia, Ireland, and Italy for its frank discussion of topics ranging from sex and contraception to lesbianism and mental illness. Discussed in this episode:Lost Ladies of Lit Patreon Wait ListNorman Mailer’s review of The Group2023-11-2842 minLost Ladies of LitLydia Maria Child and the “Thanksgiving” PoemSend us a textIn this week’s bonus episode, we dig into the poem “Thanksgiving” by lost lady Lydia Maria Child. AND we remain ever thankful for you, our listeners! Discussed in this episode: Lydia Maria Child: A Radical American Life by Lydia Moland“The Thanksgiving Poem”The Paul Curtis House The Frugal Housewife by Lydia Maria ChildThe Mother’s Book by Lydia Maria ChildAn Appeal in Favor of the Class of Americans Called Africans by Lydia Maria ChildFlowers for Child...2023-11-2111 minLost Ladies of LitCita Press & Sui Sin Far with Juliana Castro Varón and Victoria NamkungSend us a textLearn more about the feminist open source publisher cita press and An Immortal Book: Selected Writings of Sui Sin Far, a curated collection of short fiction and nonfiction by the pioneering writer, Sui Sin Far (also known as Edith Maude Eaton), one of our past "lost ladies." A journalist and writer of Chinese and British descent who moved to the U.S, Sui Sin Far wrote about what it was like to live as a Chinese woman in a white America. We welcome back our previous guest Victoria Namkung as well as the fo...2023-10-2419 minLost Ladies of LitAn England TravelogueSend us a textIn this week’s mini, Amy shares some of the lesser-known spots she visited on her August trip to England (which included meetups with a few past guests from the show!). From Cotswolds beauty to bizarre curiosities—as well as a few lost ladies—you’ll be wishing she had packed you along in her suitcase!CORRECTION: Leonora Carrington originally met Max Ernst at Erno and Ursula Goldfinger’s previous address at the Highpoint apartments in North London. They were never married.Discussed: 2 Willow RdErno Goldfin...2023-10-1019 minLost Ladies of LitVerbal Faux Pas and MondegreensSend us a textIn this week’s mini, we’re sharing some of our favorite verbal faux pas and mondegreens. The term mondegreen, which was coined by Sylvia Wright in a 1954 essay for Harper's Magazine, refers to instances where phrases are misheard or misinterpreted, giving them new and often humorous meanings. Amy challenges Kim to identify correct spellings and interpretations of common idiomatic expressions, like "to the manner/manor born," "you've got another thing/think coming," and "champing/chomping at the bit." Share your favorites on our Facebook Forum: https://www.facebook.com/groups/lostladiesoflitforum/Su...2023-09-2614 minLost Ladies of LitAnne Askew’s Unyielding SpiritSend us a textIn this week’s mini episode, we’re talking about Anne Askew, a Tudor writer, poet, and Protestant preacher who was condemned as a heretic during the reign of Henry VIII. We’ll also explore the possible connection to Kim’s own family history. Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack newsletter. Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. 2023-08-1513 minLost Ladies of LitNora Ephron’s Heartburn Turns 40Send us a textIn this week’s mini, we discuss Nora Ephron’s 1983 autobiographical novel Heartburn, inspired by the breakdown of her marriage with journalist Carl Bernstein. Plus Amy tries out some of the book’s recipes on her unsuspecting family.Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack newsletter. Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Lad...2023-05-0917 minLost Ladies of LitHiatus Replay: Marthe Bibesco — The Green Parrot with Lauren CerandSend us a textWe're back with new episodes on February 7! The New York Times called The Green Parrot “A strange and beautiful story, with the faintly arid charm of a miniature painted on the cover of a seventeenth-century snuff box.” That’s just one of the many reasons Amy and Kim couldn’t wait to discuss the provocative and brilliant author Princess Marthe Bibesco and her 1924 gem of a novel. Joining them is this week’s guest, book publicist and jewelry designer Lauren Cerand. Discussed in this episode: The Green...2023-01-1737 minLost Ladies of LitHiatus Replay: Sui Sin Far — Mrs. Spring Fragrance with Victoria NamkungSend us a textWE'RE BACK WITH A NEW EPISODE ON FEBRUARY 7, 2023. In this week’s episode, Amy and Kim have a conversation about Sui Sin Far and her wonderful short story collection, Mrs. Spring Fragrance (1912), with journalist and author Victoria Namkung, who has her Master’s Degree in Asian American Studies from UCLA. Sui Sin Far, the pen name of Edith Maude Eaton, was a journalist and writer of Chinese and British descent who moved to the U.S. and began writing articles about what it was like to live as a Chinese woman in a whit...2023-01-1033 minLost Ladies of LitHiatus Replay: Constance Fenimore Woolson — Anne with Anne Boyd RiouxSend us a textWE'RE BACK WITH A NEW EPISODE ON FEBRUARY 7, 2023. In this episode, Kim and Amy have a conversation about Constance Fenimore Woolson’s novel Anne (1880) with professor and author Anne Boyd Rioux, whose biography of Woolson was named one of 2016’s ten best books of the year by The Chicago Tribune. Woolson, a close friend of Henry James, is remembered as a salacious footnote in his story, yet upon its publication, her novel Anne sold ten times as many copies as James’s Portrait of a Lady. Learn more about Woolson’s fascinating life, and find...2023-01-0347 minLost Ladies of LitMedical Treatment of Women and Mothers with Alena DillonSend us a textAuthor Alena Dillon joins us for this week’s mini to discuss the medical treatment of women and mothers and how it’s evolved over time. We’ll touch on hysteria, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and some of the things that surprised us about giving birth. Discussed in this episode: Eyes Turned Skyward by Alena DillonAmy SchumerMy Body Is a Big, Fat Temple by Alena DillonUnwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World by Elinor CleghornTokology: A Book for Every...2022-10-1832 minLost Ladies of LitLola Ridge with Terese SvobodaSend us a textLola Ridge was once considered one of America's preeminent poets, on par with E.E. Cummings, William Carlos Williams, T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Jean Toomer, and Robert Frost. We discuss the radical life and career of this early 20th century modernist poet, anarchist, and literary editor with guest Terese Svoboda, whose 2018 biography of Ridge was described as “magisterial” in The Washington Post. For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comFollow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Fo...2022-10-0441 minLost Ladies of LitCabinets of Curiosities & The Museum of Jurassic TechnologySend us a textCue the Twin Peaks theme music. In this week’s mini, we take a Lynchian detour to discuss the book Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder by Lawrence Weschler and share our mutual love for L.A. 's weirdly wonderful Museum of Jurassic of Technology and other strange museums around the world. For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comFollow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Follow Kim on twitter @kaskew. 2022-09-2716 minLost Ladies of LitHelen Cromwell — Good Time Party Girl with Christina WardSend us a textFollowing her straight-laced Edwardian-era upbringing, “Dirty” Helen Cromwell became a call girl-turned-madame, bootlegger, and legendary speakeasy owner. The life of every party, she counted Al Capone among her many famous friends. Our guest is Christina Ward, who reintroduced the world to Cromwell’s unputdownable memoir Good Time Party Girl: The Notorious Life of Dirty Helen Cromwell 1886-1969. For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comFollow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Follow Kim on twitter @ka...2022-09-2042 minLost Ladies of LitOdds & EndsSend us a textIn this week’s mini episode, we share some interesting odds and ends related to recent episodes, including a “no, she didn’t!” letter by lost poet Debora Vogel as well as letters from our listeners. Thank you so much for tuning in! We appreciate every single one of you. For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comFollow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Follow Kim on twitter @kaskew. ...2022-09-1317 minLost Ladies of LitMiriam Michelson — The Superwoman with Lori Harrison-KahanSend us a textBefore she became a bestselling fiction writer whose work was deemed “catchy as ragtime,” Miriam Michelson made a name for herself as a “girl reporter” covering crime and politics for a major San Francisco paper. Professor Lori Harrison-Kahan, who edited 2019’s The Superwoman and Other Writings by Miriam Michelson, joins us to discuss Michelson and her 1912 feminist utopian novella The Superwoman. For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comFollow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Follow Kim on...2022-09-0640 minLost Ladies of LitLaura Valentine -- The Secret Shakespeare EditorSend us a textIn today’s mini episode, we talk about a lady novelist who is also thought to have secretly edited a Victorian-era edition of Shakespeare that eventually sold over 340,000 copies. Shakespeare’s Lady Editors by Molly G. YarnFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comFollow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Follow Kim on twitter @kaskew. 2022-08-3015 minLost Ladies of LitMargaret Kennedy — Troy ChimneysSend us a textWe think both Freud and Jane Austen might approve of one-time bestselling novelist and Austen biographer Margaret Kennedy’s delightfully clever 1953 historical novel, Troy Chimneys. Recently republished by McNally Editions, it’s written in the Regency style and from the perspective of a male hero with dueling personalities. For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comFollow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Follow Kim on twitter @kaskew. Sign up...2022-08-2327 minLost Ladies of LitSylvia Beach and UlyssesSend us a textIn this week’s mini, we’re talking about Sylvia Beach, the American who in 1919 founded the beloved bookshop Shakespeare and Company on Paris’s Left Bank. Beach also played an instrumental role in the 1922 publication of James Joyce’s Ulysses. For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comFollow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Follow Kim on twitter @kaskew. Sign up for our newsletter: LostLadiesofLit.comEmail us: https://www.lostladiesoflit.com/contactSupport the showFor episodes...2022-08-1613 minLost Ladies of LitLost Ladies of AviationSend us a textIn this week’s mini, we’ll tell you all about fly girls Beryl Markham and Amy Johnson, pioneering aviators from the 1930s whose fascinating exploits deserve to be as well known as those of their more famous fellow aviatrix, Amelia Earhart. Markham was also a writer, and her memoir about her adventures, West with the Night, was highly praised by Ernest Hemingway. Discussed in this episode: Amelia EarhartBeryl MarkhamAmy JohnsonErnest Hemingway Lost Ladies of Lit epi...2022-03-0115 minLost Ladies of LitMuch Better than CATS — Esther Averill’s Jenny and the Cat ClubSend us a textKim’s niece Chloe joins us for this mini episode on Esther Averill’s quirky and beloved children’s series Jenny and the Cat Club. In 1954, one of the titles, Jenny’s Birthday Book, was named The New York Times’ Best Children's Book of the Year. Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack newsletter. Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email...2021-12-0711 minLost Ladies of LitLouisa May Alcott’s “An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving”Send us a textThere’s always something to be thankful for, and this year, we’re especially thankful for you, our listeners! Join us as we discuss books set during Thanksgiving, and Amy reads aloud from Louisa May Alcott’s charming short story “An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving.” Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack newsletter. Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us...2021-11-2331 minLost Ladies of LitIda Craddock with Amy SohnSend us a textNew York Times-bestselling author Amy Sohn joins us to discuss the fascinating life of Ida Craddock, a self-taught Victorian sex expert, occultist, and writer of “marriage guides” who was harassed by vice hunter Anthony Comstock. Craddock is just one of the incredible women featured in Sohn’s new book The Man Who Hated Women: Sex, Censorship, and Civil Liberties in the Gilded Age. Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack newslet...2021-10-1942 minLost Ladies of LitDare Wright and The Lonely Doll SeriesSend us a textIn this week’s mini, Amy and Kim discuss the fascinating life and work of “Lonely Doll” series creator, Dare Wright, whose biography and seemingly innocent children’s books both have dark undertones. Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack newsletter. Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast 2021-09-2823 minLost Ladies of LitFor Whom The Bell Rings -- Backpacks and Boarding SchoolsSend us a textJust in time for what’s potentially the most anticipated back-to-school season ever, we go beyond John Knowles’s A Separate Peace and J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye to discuss books by women about boarding schools (and school in general). We also compare what we’ve read with Amy’s real-life all-girls’ Catholic school experience and Kim’s imaginary one. Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack ne...2021-08-1713 minLost Ladies of LitPeg Bracken — The I Hate to Cook Book with Helene SiegelSend us a textPeg Bracken’s bestselling 1960 cookbook The I Hate to Cook Book has been described as a mashup of Martha Stewart and Amy Sedaris. Join us as we discuss the quirky anti-cookbook that gave women permission to throw in the towel—and reach for a martini, instead—with this week’s guest, another bestselling cookbook author, Helene Siegel, who dishes on her own hilarious experiences in the culinary world. Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our 2021-05-0426 minLost Ladies of LitAll For the Love of LibrariesSend us a textIn this week’s mini episode, Amy confesses a “scandalous” book lover’s secret, and we discuss many things library-related, including Parker Posey in PARTY GIRL, Susan Orlean’s THE LIBRARY BOOK, and controversial librarian Anne Carroll Moore, who headed up children’s library services for the New York Public library from 1906 through 1941. Plus participate in our #nightstandchallenge by sharing a pic of your nightstand on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our 2021-04-2718 minLost Ladies of LitAmy Levy — Reuben Sachs with Dr. Ann Kennedy SmithSend us a textDid you know there was a controversial, now-forgotten 1888 novel written in response to George Eliot’s Daniel Deronda by a writer who has been described as “the Jewish Jane Austen?” Until recently, neither did we. Join us as we talk with Dr. Ann Kennedy Smith about author Amy Levy and her stunning, sardonic novel Reuben Sachs, which fan and friend Oscar Wilde deemed a classic.Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our...2021-04-2041 minLost Ladies of LitDear Film Industry, Please Consider Adapting These Books by WomenSend us a textJoin Amy and Kim for their latest mini episode as they take a trip down memory lane to tell the story of their bff “meet cute.” No surprise, there’s a direct throughline to PBS’s Masterpiece series and the BBC, as well as a wish list of books by women that Kim and Amy would love to see adapted. Join the conversation @lostladiesoflit or send them an email via LostLadiesofLit.com. Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com2021-03-1612 minLost Ladies of LitThe Gilded AgeSend us a textJoin Amy and Kim for their latest mini episode as they dish on the upcoming HBO series The Gilded Age and the era that’s synonymous with lavish prosperity and conspicuous consumption. We’ll also discuss Edith Wharton’s The Buccaneers and her real-life inspiration, Consuelo Vanderbilt. Plus, find out which Irish romance novel is featured in our next episode. Hint: It’s mentioned in the final chapter of James Joyce’s Ulysses.Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadi...2021-03-0214 minLost Ladies of LitMarthe Bibesco — The Green Parrot with Lauren CerandSend us a textThe New York Times called The Green Parrot "A strange and beautiful story, with the faintly arid charm of a miniature painted on the cover of a seventeenth-century snuff box.” That’s just one of the many reasons Amy and Kim couldn’t wait to discuss the provocative and brilliant author Princess Marthe Bibesco and her 1924 gem of a novel. Joining them is this week’s guest, book publicist and jewelry designer Lauren Cerand. Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostL...2021-02-2337 minLost Ladies of LitA Real Life Lady WhistledownSend us a textIn their latest mini episode, Amy and Kim do some spoiler-free dishing on the hit Netflix series Bridgerton before digging up the dirt on the delightfully-named Mrs. Crackenthorpe, a real-life, 18th-century gossip writer reminiscent of Bridgerton’s scandal-loving Lady Whistledown. Plus, find out about the new anthology L.A. Affairs: 65 True Stories of Nightmare Dates, Love at First Sight, Heartbreak & Happily Ever Afters in Southern California, out this month from the Los Angeles Times. It includes Amy’s essay, “Searching for Mr. Darcy.” Support the showFor epi...2021-02-1614 minLost Ladies of LitMarjorie Hillis — Live Alone and Like It with Joanna ScuttsSend us a textAmy and Kim go decidedly more Galentine’s Day than Valentine’s Day with an episode dedicated to Marjorie Hillis and her bestselling 1936 self-help guide celebrating the single life, Live Alone and Like It. This week’s guest is author and cultural critic Joanna Scutts, whose book The Extra Woman: How Marjorie Hillis Led a Generation of Women to Live Alone and Like It examines Hillis’s remarkable life and reclaims her legacy. Learn more about Hillis’s trajectory from spinster pastor’s daughter to glamorous New Yorker, and how she empowered Depression-era women to cul...2021-02-0941 minLost Ladies of LitRosa Bonheur — Lost Lady of ArtSend us a textIn this week’s mini episode, Amy and Kim discuss a lost lady of the art world, Rosa Bonheur. Statesmen, celebrities, and royalty all gushed over this 19th-century painter and international superstar, and you will too when you hear her amazing life story, which includes a pet lioness and a permit for cross-dressing, among other dazzling anecdotes. Plus, find out Bonheur’s connection to the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, and learn which author and book will be featured on the next episode of Lost Ladies of Lit. Suppo...2021-02-0210 minLost Ladies of LitLouise Fitzhugh — Harriet the Spy with Leslie Brody and Laura MazerSend us a textIn this week’s episode, Amy and Kim discuss Louise Fitzhugh and her groundbreaking children’s book Harriet the Spy with Fitzhugh biographer Leslie Brody and Brody’s editor Laura Mazer. Though many people know of Harriet the Spy, they typically don't know much about Fitzhugh—until now. Brody’s new book on Fitzhugh, Sometimes You Have to Lie (Seal Press), received rave reviews from The Boston Globe and The New York Times, among others. As a children’s book author and a lesbian, Fitzhugh had to keep a low profile with the 1960s-era readin...2021-01-2638 minLost Ladies of LitOn Books We Love... and Books We HateSend us a textIn this week’s mini episode, Amy and Kim tell us how they really feel about widely-loved and critically-acclaimed books such as My Brilliant Friend; Romola; The Lord of the Rings; Infinite Jest; Dear God, It’s Me Margaret; and many more. It’s all in good fun! They’ll also share their “gateway” novels and consider whether or not their most beloved childhood classics stand the test of time. Plus, find out which author and book will be featured in the next episode. Support the showFor episo...2021-01-1918 minLost Ladies of LitStella Gibbons — Nightingale WoodSend us a textIn this week’s episode, Amy and Kim discuss Stella Gibbons’ Nightingale Wood, a sophisticated and charmingly unorthodox 1930s-era Cinderella story chockablock with wry humor and romance, and even some saucy sexcapades! Learn more about Gibbons, who was so loved by critics that one even, infuriatingly, suggested “Stella Gibbons” was probably a pen name used by the male writer Evelyn Waugh. Her novel Cold Comfort Farm was adapted by the BBC into a 1995 film. Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: Lost...2021-01-1220 minLost Ladies of LitFrom Jane Austen to Zadie Smith — Advice from Women Writers for a More Productive 2021Send us a textIn this week’s mini episode, Kim and Amy share secrets of what makes their writing partnership work. Then, join them as they turn to famous women writers such as Nancy Mitford, Isabelle Allende, Anais Nin, and more for advice on setting and accomplishing your goals and staying inspired as we, thankfully, head into a new year. Plus find out which book and author will be featured in the next episode of Lost Ladies of Lit. Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: 2021-01-0518 minLost Ladies of LitSui Sin Far — Mrs. Spring Fragrance with Victoria NamkungSend us a textIn this week’s episode, Amy and Kim have a conversation about Sui Sin Far and her wonderful short story collection, Mrs. Spring Fragrance (1912), with journalist and author Victoria Namkung, who has her Master’s Degree in Asian American Studies from UCLA. Sui Sin Far, the pen name of Edith Maude Eaton, was a journalist and writer of Chinese and British descent who moved to the U.S. and began writing articles about what it was like to live as a Chinese woman in a white America. Learn more about Eaton and find out...2020-12-2933 minLost Ladies of LitKate Douglas Wiggin — The Birds’ Christmas CarolSend us a textIn their latest mini episode, Amy and Kim get into the holiday spirit while discussing Kate Douglas Wiggin’s The Birds’ Christmas Carol, published in 1888. Find out how Wiggin (who also wrote Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm) spent the book’s profits as well as what happened when, as a child of 11, she accidentally bumped into another Christmas Carol author, the inimitable Charles Dickens. Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscri...2020-12-2211 minLost Ladies of LitNathalia Crane — The Janitor’s Boy and Other PoemsSend us a textIn this week’s episode, Amy and Kim discuss the life and work of controversial child poet Nathalia Crane, whose poetry began receiving critical attention in 1924, when she was only 9 years old. The Janitor’s Boy and Other Poems was published when she was just 11. Was she the real thing or a brilliant hoax? Hear what Dorothy Parker and other luminaries had to say about Nathalia’s poetry and get the opinion of another 11-year old girl, Amy’s daughter, Julia, who makes a special guest appearance to read one of Nathalia’s poems....2020-12-1523 minLost Ladies of LitSomewhere In Time On Anne’s Mackinac IslandSend us a textIn this mini episode, join Amy and Kim on a virtual visit to Michigan’s Mackinac Island, one of the settings from Episode 11’s novel, Anne by Constance Fenimore Woolson. Learn about the island’s secret shrine dedicated to the novel’s heroine, and find out if Amy and Kim agree on whether or not the 1980 movie Somewhere in Time, which is also set on the island, actually stands the test of time. Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLad...2020-12-0814 minLost Ladies of LitConstance Fenimore Woolson — Anne with Anne Boyd RiouxSend us a textIn this episode, Kim and Amy have a conversation about Constance Fenimore Woolson’s novel Anne (1880) with professor and author Anne Boyd Rioux, whose biography of Woolson was named one of 2016’s ten best books of the year by The Chicago Tribune. Woolson, a close friend of Henry James, is remembered as a salacious footnote in his story, yet upon its publication, her novel Anne sold ten times as many copies as James’s Portrait of a Lady. Learn more about Woolson’s fascinating life, and find out what makes her novel one we know y...2020-12-0147 minLost Ladies of LitA Falling Out Among Friends — Willa Cather and Dorothy Canfield FisherSend us a textIn this week’s mini episode, Amy and Kim discuss the 15-year feud between writers Willa Cather and Episode 9’s featured author, Dorothy Canfield Fisher. Get the fascinating backstory on their quarrel and decide whether you’re Team Cather or Team Canfield Fisher. Amy and Kim also talk about their comfort levels with sharing personal details in their writing and reveal the next book and author to be featured on the podcast. Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadi...2020-11-2410 minLost Ladies of LitDorothy Canfield Fisher - The Home-MakerSend us a textIn this episode, Amy and Kim discuss Dorothy Canfield Fisher’s The Home-Maker, one of the ten bestselling novels in the U.S. in 1924. Although not exactly a household name now, Canfield Fisher was right up there with Edith Wharton in her day. While The Home-Maker’s deep dive into child-rearing, women in the workplace, and gender roles was certainly eyebrow-raising at the time, Amy and Kim have plenty to say about the current relevance of these hot-button issues. Plus, they’ll take a look at Canfield Fisher’s very busy (and prolific!) life, an...2020-11-1731 minLost Ladies of LitGossip & Heartbreak in the Letters of Emily EdenSend us a textIn this week’s mini episode, “Gossip & Heartbreak in the Letters of Emily Eden,” Amy and Kim discuss the letters of Lost Lady Episode 7 author, Emily Eden. The 19th century novelist traveled to India and moved in the upper echelons of England’s social sphere, which allowed her to gossip with knowledge about such notables as Lord Byron. Amy and Kim also share their thoughts on the lost art of letter writing and reveal the next book and author to be featured on the podcast. Support the showF...2020-11-1012 minLost Ladies of LitEmily Eden - The Semi-Attached Couple and The Semi-Detached HouseSend us a textIn this week’s episode, Amy and Kim discuss Emily Eden (1797-1869) and two of her novels, The Semi-Attached Couple and The Semi-Detached House. A Jane Austen fan herself, Eden’s two novels are about what happens after the “happily ever after” in an Austen novel -- In fact, some critics have called her the 19th century’s answer to Austen. Find out if she lives up to that claim, and learn more about her fascinating life hobnobbing with aristocrats and the leading political figures of the age in England and India.Support...2020-11-0326 minLost Ladies of LitIf Books Could TalkSend us a textIn this week’s mini episode, “If Books Could Talk,” Amy and Kim take a look at some of the current and upcoming book-related movies and TV shows for your streaming pleasure. They also reveal their favorite Dickens’ adaptations as well as the next author and book to be featured on the podcast. Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack newsletter. Follow us on instag...2020-10-2710 minLost Ladies of LitSimone Schwarz-Bart - The Bridge of BeyondSend us a textIn this episode, Amy and Kim discuss Simone Schwarz-Bart’s masterpiece of Caribbean literature, The Bridge of Beyond. Translated from the French by Barbara Bray, the award-winning novel tells the story of three generations of Guadeloupean women whose lives are intertwined with the history of their people and the island where they make their home. Join Amy and Kim as they unpack some of the themes; discuss Schwarz-Bart’s use of magical realism, parables, and myths; and try to pin down what makes reading the novel such a transcendent experience. ...2020-10-2026 minLost Ladies of LitWhat's In a Name?Send us a textIn this week’s mini episode, Amy and Kim unpack “what’s in a name?” -- a literary name, that is -- as they discuss what makes for a memorable character name and share their favorite names from literature. Amy also shares the story of her short-lived pandemic hobby (can you guess what it is?). Plus, Amy and Kim will announce the next author and book they’ll feature on Lost Ladies of Lit.Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com...2020-10-1312 min