From the Lighthouse

Best Books of 2017

What were your best books of 2017? This week, Stephanie and Michelle contemplate their year in reading.

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Sing, O Muse, of the books we loathe: Literary Confessions pt. 1

What books do you absolutely hate? What books have you pretended to have read? Which books are you ashamed of loving? This week, Stephanie, Michelle and Jimmy let the silly season go to their heads entirely and spill all their deepest, darkest secrets. Shh, don't tell anyone.

Elf, Rudolph, Mannequin Mom, Mr Hanky, and the Osmonds - it must be the Christmas Show!

Christmas is a time for...escaping family by watching television and reading? This week, Stephanie, Michelle and Jimmy discuss their favourite Christmas books, films and tv shows, and Stephanie is mocked for liking Elf. Merry Christmas!

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The Novel and the Navy: Celebrating 200 Years of Jane Austen's Persuasion and Northanger Abbey

Jane Austen's novels Persuasion and Northanger Abbey were published posthumously in December 1817. To celebrate the 200th anniversary of these novels that bookend Austen's career, Stephanie is joined by Dr Geoff Payne to discuss Anne Elliot, Catherine Morland, the novel, and the Navy.

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On Speedy Death and the Golden Age of Gladys Mitchell

Gladys Mitchell is one of the most entertaining of the Golden Age detective novelists. However, she's relatively little known today. This week, Stephanie and Jimmy discuss her first novel, Speedy Death, with Dr Lee O'Brien, and make the case that everybody should really be reading Gladys Mitchell. 

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The Power of Love, or Why We Read Romance Novels

Romance fiction is often unfairly maligned as silly and escapist, largely because of its association with a female readership, but in terms of popularity, nothing beats romance. This week, Stephanie and Jimmy discuss the phenomenal power of the romance novel with romance expert Associate Professor Hsu-Ming Teo. 

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A Killer Obsession: The Latest Adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express

Murder on the Orient Express is one of Agatha Christie's best-known mysteries, and a new film adaptation directed and starring Kenneth Branagh is in cinemas now. This week, Stephanie, Jimmy and Michelle discuss the novel, the film, and Jimmy's strange serial killer obsession.

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Murder, they Spoke: The Rise of True Crime Podcasts and Documentaries

Since the podcast Serial was released in 2014 (#freeAdnan), the public appetite for true crime documentaries and podcasts seems unquenchable. This week, Stephanie and Jimmy are joined by Dr Alys Moody to discuss the appeal of true crime, the role of the police, Making a Murderer and citizen detectives.

How Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea has Ruined Mr. Rochester Forever

Jean Rhys's lyrical, beautiful novel Wide Sargasso Sea is a prequel of sorts to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, focusing on the story of Mr. Rochester's first wife. This week, Stephanie and Michelle discuss Jamaica, Jane Eyre, and how Jean Rhys ruined Mr. Rochester for them both forever. 

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.