This week, we’re talking about forgotten novelists, scandalous carriage rides, and Jane Austen with two of our favorite authors. First up, Devoney Looser tells us more about Jane and Maria Porter, the subjects of her nonfiction book Sister Novelists: The Trailblazing Sisters, Who Paved The Way for Austen and the Brontës. And later, we are joined by Nikki Payne, who discusses her modern Austen retelling Pride and Protest.
Jan 03, 2023•1 hr 11 min
In this action-packed episode, we discuss our favorite reads of 2022, YOUR favorite reads of 2022, and interview some very special literary guests. First up - authors Lorraine Tosiello and Jane Cavolina discuss their book, "The Bee and the Fly: The Improbable Correspondence of Louisa May Alcott and Emily Dickinson". Roseann Backlin from Love’s Sweet Arrow recommends some romance novels we should pick up in 2023, and Eliza Tudor from Old Iron Press talks about retooled classics and the books she ...
Dec 27, 2022•59 min
This week, we’ve come to the end of our Silas Marner read-along! Voice actress Katie Mosley joins us one last time as we recap chapters 17-22 and discuss all of the Silas Marner adaptations, including Steve Martin’s A Simple Twist of Fate.
Dec 05, 2022•1 hr 2 min
We’re still banging on about George Eliot and Silas Marner! This week, we recap chapters 13 -16, talk nature and Wordsworth, and are rejoined by voice actress Katie Mosley as the voice of George Eliot.
Nov 27, 2022•41 min
This week, we continue our discussion on George Eliot, her entanglements, and Silas Marner. The book is getting very Eastenders as we recap chapters 5-12 and are rejoined by voice actress Katie Mosley as the voice of George Eliot to highlight our favorite quotes from the book.
Nov 20, 2022•1 hr 1 min
For the next few weeks, we’ll be discussing George Eliot, her entanglements, and reading Silas Marner through a fairytale lens. This week, we recap chapters 1-4, and are rejoined by voice actress Katie Mosley as the voice of George Eliot to highlight our favorite passages of the book.
Nov 12, 2022•52 min
This week we’ve specially selected pieces with a strong sense of place by Zitkala Sa, Alice Dunbar Nelson, Emily Lawless, and George Eliot for another B@D Mixtape. Come with us as we explore an English country garden, the Yankton Reservation, a bustling alleyway in New Orleans, and a quiet London drawing room. Special thanks to Sassy, Katie, Desiree, and _HAP_ from Freesound.org
Nov 04, 2022•32 min
This week, we’ve curated a selection of haunting short stories and poems by Virginia Woolf, Amy Levy, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Emily Dickinson, for another B@D Mixtape - part podcast, part audiobook.
Oct 28, 2022•37 min
This week, spooky story specialist Dr. Melissa Edmundson talks to us about her Broadview edition of The Uninhabited House by Charlotte Riddell and helps us understand why the Victorians were so obsessed with ghost stories. We also discuss “Business Gothic'' and recommend some scary stories by Edith Nesbit.
Oct 21, 2022•47 min
This week, we are discussing My Contraband by Louisa May Alcott and The Half-Caste by Dinah Craik. These stories may seem different on the surface, but share quite a few similarities. We talk about how these authors handle interracial relationships, the East India Company, and make comparisons to Sense & Sensibility and Jane Eyre. Spoilers ahead. You can find both stories for free online if you’d like to read before listening.
Jun 29, 2022•53 min
This week is all about the beloved/hated novel, Wuthering Heights! We sat down with Dr. Lydia Craig to discuss Tylney Hall (a possible source text and inspiration for WH) and reading Heathcliff as a person of color. We also talk adaptations, Wuthering Heights as horror, Charlotte Brontë’s Villette, and the musical Cats.
Jun 20, 2022•1 hr 11 min
FINALLY. This week, we’re talking about Passing by Nella Larsen. We also compare and contrast it to the 2021 film adaptation by Rebecca Hall and the short story Passing by Langston Hughes. Spoilers ahead.
Jun 12, 2022•1 hr 13 min
This week is all about Pauline Hopkins! Hopkins was an author, activist, and editor, who served as the driving force behind The Colored American magazine and her serialized novel, Of One Blood, has been described at Black Panther meets Indiana Jones. We’re joined by Eurie Dahn and Brian Sweeney to discuss this fascinating novel, early speculative fiction, as well as The Colored American Magazine, which they are currently digitizing here: http://coloredamerican.org/
May 30, 2022•1 hr 19 min
This week, we’re continuing our conversation about Harriet Beecher Stowe and performative activism. And we are joined by Dr. Koritha Mitchell to discuss her upcoming edition of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, as well as the connections between Frances Harper and Harriet Jacobs.
May 23, 2022•1 hr 14 min
This week, we’re talking about the business of abolitionist literature. We start by discussing the author and activist Lydia Maria Child and her short story The Quadroons. Then, PhD candidate Felicia Gabriele joins us to discuss her Rambling article entitled “The Problem of Fashionable Abolition: Performative Allyship Then and Now.”
May 15, 2022•1 hr 22 min
We’re baaack! This week, we’re going on a micro-mini-roadtrip to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s House in Cincinnati and talking about one of one of her most baffling books - Pink & White Tyranny (great band name, btw). We can’t tell if this novel is a Mansfield Park fanfic or response to Wuthering Heights. Listen in and let us know! Spoilers ahead!
May 08, 2022•1 hr 2 min
Hey, hey, we’re back with a new format! This is the first Bonnets at Dawn Mixtape, which is part audiobook and part podcast. In honor of National Poetry Month, we have asked some excellent voice actors to read poems about authors. Listen to hear what Dorothy Parker wrote about Harriet Beecher Stowe, a Tribute to George Sand by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, a spooky poem about the Brontë sisters, and more! Music Credits: Sad Heaven Piano #3 by PSOVOD Lo Fi 01 by Szmalix Lo-Fo Tokyo by YellowTree La...
Apr 30, 2022•31 min
This week, Dr. Arielle Zibrak and Dr. Sarah Mesle join us to discuss our love of Kate Winslet, The Holiday, the pleasures of knitwear, and our favorite reads of 2021. We also talk about romcoms, Austen and Ephron, comfort reading, and read just a few of your amazing book recommendations.
Dec 28, 2021•1 hr 15 min
We’re wrapping up our mini-series on Sex, Scandal, and Social Climbers with Dr. Arielle Zibrak, who is here to discuss the role of bonnets in 19th century literature, bodice rippers, and guilty pleasures. We also carry on our discussion about race in literature, Taylor Swift, and even get into Jane Austen’s Emma and Keanu Reeves. Find Arielle on the internet at https://www.ariellezibrak.com/
Dec 13, 2021•1 hr 6 min
This week, we’re talking ghosts, gossip, and gambling with Clio O’Sullivan from Chawton House Library! We discuss the scandalous actress and author Mary Robinson and the connection she shares with Scottish botanical illustrator Elizabeth Blackwell.
Dec 05, 2021•33 min
This week, we are talking to Dr. Jack Orchard and Dr. Anna Louise Senkiw, who are currently working on digitizing the letters of Elizabeth Montagu, noted literary influencer and Queen of the Bluestockings. We also discuss the poet Ann Yearsley, her feud with Hannah More, and how she is like Taylor Swift. You can access Montagu’s letters online at http://emco.swansea.ac.uk/home/ And find Jack on Twitter @Jarona7
Nov 29, 2021•59 min
This week, we’re welcoming Dr. Fiona Sampson back to the show to discuss her new book entitled Two-Way Mirror: The Life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. We also get into specifics regarding EBB’s family money, illness, legacy, and what should be included in her biopic.
Nov 20, 2021•1 hr 8 min
We’re kicking off our mini-season on Sex, Scandal, and Money with an episode about social climbers, upstarts, and Jamaican heirs in Regency England. We cover a lot in this one including Sanditon’s Miss Lambe, Leigh Hunt’s Black ancestry, Charles Dickens, the scandalous life of George Eliot, the Real Housewives, and Alicia LeFanu’s novel Fashionable Connexions with our pal, Dr. Lydia Craig. Minor spoilers for Fashionable Connexions, which you can read online via Google Books.
Nov 12, 2021•1 hr 7 min
This week, we’re bringing together Dr. Eleanor Rust and curator Barabara Heller for an in depth discussion about the process behind creating the letters for the Pride and Prejudice and Little Women Letters editions for Chronicle Books. We also discuss Barbara’s job as a set decorator for television and film, calligraphy and postal history.
Nov 06, 2021•57 min
We’re back with an expanded version of our 2020 B@D Live Literary Ghost Tour! This week, we’re talking about spooky books, the ghost of Charles Dickens, and whether or not Anne Brontë is haunting a certain staircase in New York.
Oct 29, 2021•47 min
This action-packed episode is our first ever entirely dedicated to Harriet Beecher Stowe. We discuss Harriet’s time in Cincinnati, the unauthorized stage adaptations of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and her connection to The King and I. We also interview Kelly and Tammy Rundle from Fourth Wall Films about their documentary Becoming Harriet Beecher Stowe, as well as their docu-drama about Stowe, entitled Sons & Daughters of Thunder.
Aug 22, 2021•1 hr 10 min
This week, we are talking to playwright Sharmini Kumar about the origins of 24 Carrot Productions, as well as the challenges of adapting Austen to stage, and diversifying her productions. We also read from Emma Thompson’s Sense and Sensibility production diaries, and Lauren realizes that she is actually a Marianne.
Aug 14, 2021•1 hr 31 min
This week, we’re talking to Christina Calvit from Lifeline Theatre about adapting Austen and Brontë for the stage.
Aug 08, 2021•44 min
This week, we’re continuing our discussion about Emily Dickinson and the art of adaptation with filmmaker Madeleine Olnek. Olnek wrote and directed the romantic comedy Wild Nights with Emily starring Molly Shannon as Dickinson. You can find out more about the film, including where to stream or purchase it, at http://www.wildnightswithemily.com/
Jul 30, 2021•58 min
This week, we’re comparing and contrasting the ways Emily Dickinson has been portrayed on screen in Dickinson, Wild Nights with Emily, and A Quiet Passion. For those that are worried about spoilers - we do a basic synopsis of each, and discuss some moments that we like (or don’t like). Light spoilers for Dickinson, medium for Wild Nights, and heavy for A Quiet Passion.
Jul 23, 2021•1 hr 7 min
