From the Lighthouse

Handsome, Clever, Rich and Bored: The Mixed Blessings of Jane Austen's Emma

Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence. Or does she? This week, Stephanie is joined by Dr Lee O'Brien to discuss Mr Knightley, Miss Bates, and why Emma's big problem is that she's just so bored.

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A Time for Lear: The Rise in Popularity of Shakespeare's King Lear

King Lear is one of Shakespeare's most beloved plays, but also one of his bleakest. This week, Stephanie and Michelle are joined by Shakespearean scholar and Renaissance man, Professor Tony Cousins to discuss Lear, Cordelia, lame eighteenth-century reworkings of the play, and why King Lear became the play de jour after WWII.

Kazuo Ishiguro: An Artist of the Nobel World

Kazuo Ishiguro was recently awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize for Literature. This week, Stephanie, Michelle and Jimmy commend the Nobel Prize committee for their excellent choice. They talk Japanese cinema, floating worlds, perfect novels, and Stephanie offends Bob Dylan fans. 

25 Years later and we're still Looking for Alibrandi

Melina Marchetta's young adult novel Looking for Alibrandi was published 25 years ago this year. The novel has become a landmark piece of Australian children's literature, and continues to be as popular amongst young people today as it was when it was published. Stephanie, Jimmy and Michelle are joined by Dr Victoria Flanagan to discuss the legacy of the novel, as well as gender, ethnicity, romance, and the experience of reading the novel in 2017.