Send us a text Joining us from the UK this week is New York Times bestselling-writer Laura Thompson, author of the Nancy Mitford biography Life In a Cold Climate and the Mitford sisters biography The Six . Mitford’s semi-autobiographical novels The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate are outrageously funny, as well as bitingly perceptive social satires of the British upper class. All the true Hons out there are sure to adore this episode! Support the show For episodes and show notes, visi...
Jun 15, 2021•55 min•Season 1Ep. 39
Send us a text Imagine if there were a federal works program to support unemployed writers? In the 1930s, there was! In this week’s mini episode, we’re taking a look at the fascinating American Guide Series, a collection of travel guides to the United States that was part of the New Deal’s Federal Writers’ Project, employing more than 6,500 mostly unknown writers during the Depression Era. Zora Neale Hurston, Margaret Walker, and Dorothy West were among the many authors who wrote material and co...
Jun 08, 2021•17 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Send us a text Like her contemporary Herman Melville, New England writer Elizabeth Stoddard was a critical success—Nathaniel Hawthorne himself was a fan, and she was compared to Tolstoy, George Eliot, Balzac and the Bronte sisters—but her books failed to find an audience when they were published. Join us as we discuss Stoddard’s brilliant novel The Morgesons and its bold and inimitable heroine with guest Rachel Vorona Cote, author of Too Much: How Victorian Constraints Still Bind Women Today. Su...
Jun 01, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 37
Send us a text After witnessing the aftermath of a notorious double murder, one of 19th century America’s most popular poetry and prose writers took up crime writing in her Atlantic Monthly essay A Memorable Murder . The subject of this week’s mini episode, Celia Thaxter grew up on a tiny island off the coast of New England, where her father was the lighthouse keeper. Later, after becoming Boston’s literary darling, she hosted friends such as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel...
May 25, 2021•15 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Send us a text 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, writer and editor Sadie Stein. Support the show For episodes and show notes, visit: Los...
May 18, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Send us a text If you were banished by your brother to a convent, how would you use all that “free” time? 12th-century Byzantine princess Anna Komnene put pen to paper to record her version of the family history in a 15-volume work, The Alexiad , modeled after the classic Greek epics she loved. We’ll give you the highlights of this Game of Thrones -rivaling family saga that Edmund White dubbed “an engaging document of a crucial era.” Support the show For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadie...
May 11, 2021•15 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Send us a text Peg 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 show For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Subscribe ...
May 04, 2021•27 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Send us a text In 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 show For episodes and...
Apr 27, 2021•18 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Send us a text 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. Support the show For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Subscribe to our substack newsl...
Apr 20, 2021•41 min•Season 1Ep. 31
Send us a text “I was a writer before I met him, and I have been a writer for 45 years since. Why should I be a footnote to someone else’s life?” said author Martha Gellhorn of ex-husband Ernest Hemingway. We couldn't agree more, and that’s why we devoted this week’s mini episode to learning more about the life of this fantastically courageous war correspondent and novelist who was admired by the Roosevelts, friends with H.G. Wells, and the only woman on the scene for the D-Day invasion at Norma...
Apr 13, 2021•15 min•Season 1Ep. 30
Send us a text In this week’s episode we discuss Jocelyn Playfair’s A House in the Country . Written in 1944—when an Allied victory was still far from certain—the story is set at Brede Manor, a fine Georgian house that is hosting displaced wartime lodgers. The novel is a lovely elegy on the human experience and finding meaning in strange, dark times. In other words, highly relatable. Support the show For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Subscribe to our substack newsletter. Fo...
Apr 06, 2021•21 min•Season 1Ep. 29
Send us a text This week’s mini is in homage to last week’s trailblazing Lost Lady of Lit, Charmian Kittredge London, who was among the first wave of women to eschew riding side saddle. Join us as we take a closer look at the fascinating history of this unsafe practice that had its origins in the Middle Ages. Support the show For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Subscribe to our substack newsletter. Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit . Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of L...
Mar 30, 2021•14 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Send us a text If you don’t know anything about author Charmian Kittredge London, you’ll be fascinated by her after this episode! She was every bit as fearless—arguably more so—as her famous husband, Jack London, and she was the driving force behind their 1907 sailing adventure across the South Pacific on the Snark. Unfairly relegated to his larger-than-life shadow, Kittredge’s story is compelling on its own terms, as we learn from this week’s guest, Kittredge London biographer Iris Jamahl Dunkl...
Mar 23, 2021•45 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Send us a text Join 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 show For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Subscribe to our substack news...
Mar 16, 2021•12 min
Send us a text Irish novelist Margaret Wolfe Hungerford’s light Victorian-era romances were known throughout the English-speaking world, and her novel Molly Bawn was even name dropped in James Joyce’s Ulysses . Join us to find out why in a discussion with guest Jessica Callahan, Hallmark Channel exec and former editor of romance and mystery novels at Penguin Group. Support the show For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Subscribe to our substack newsletter. Follow us on instagra...
Mar 09, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Send us a text Join 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 show For episodes and show notes, visit: Los...
Mar 02, 2021•14 min
Send us a text 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. Support the show For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLad...
Feb 23, 2021•37 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Send us a text In 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 An...
Feb 16, 2021•15 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Send us a text Amy 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 pasto...
Feb 09, 2021•42 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Send us a text In 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 ne...
Feb 02, 2021•10 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Send us a text In 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, ...
Jan 26, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Send us a text In 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 sh...
Jan 19, 2021•18 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Send us a text In 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 show For ep...
Jan 12, 2021•21 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Send us a text In 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 show For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadi...
Jan 05, 2021•18 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Send us a text 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 white America. Lea...
Dec 29, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Send us a text In 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 Dicke ns. Support the show For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Subscribe to our subst...
Dec 22, 2020•11 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Send us a text In 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 gues...
Dec 15, 2020•23 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Send us a text In 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 show For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com Subscribe to ou...
Dec 08, 2020•15 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Send us a text 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 lif...
Dec 01, 2020•48 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Send us a text In 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 show For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLa...
Nov 24, 2020•10 min•Season 1Ep. 10
