Ann Schlee! Lettice Cooper! Authors! Welcome to episode 145 of Tea or Books?
In the first half of this episode, we discuss whether we prefer younger authors or older authors (thank you Lindsey for the suggestion!) In the second half, we compare two recently reprinted novels about unmarried English women in Continental Europe – Rhine Journey by Ann Schlee and Fenny by Lettice Cooper.
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You can support the podcast at Patreon – where you’ll also get access to the exclusive new series ‘5 Books’, where I ask different people about the last book they finished, the book they’re currently reading, the next book they want to read, the last book they bought and the last book they were given.
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
Lanterns Across the Snow by Susan Hill
The Names by Florence Knapp
The Children’s Bach by Helen Garner
This House of Grief by Helen Garner
Yellowface by Rebecca Kuang
Ian McEwan
Sally Rooney
Mary Lawson
Penelope Fitzgerald
Pamela Frankau
One Fine Day by Mollie Panter-Downes
Nancy Mitford
The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks
Casualties by Lynne Reid Banks
Desirable Residence by Lettice Cooper
Sanditon by Jane Austen
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
The New House by Lettice Cooper
Happy Christmas and best wishes for 2026 to you both! (I have not watched any Christmas movies yet but I do love The Muppet’s Christmas Carol!)
Thank you for this year’s lovely teaorbooks podcasts.
I’m old(or certainly old-ish depending upon your definition) and I definitely generally prefer older author’s books. That is not to say younger author’s do not have interesting things to say and I do try to read some of them. However, I appreciate the way an author’s lived experience can feed into their work so the more life, the more they have to draw upon.
I would also pick a finished version of Sanditon.
I have managed to resist both Rhine Journey and Fenny so far. The new edition of Fenny is beautiful but I was put off by the ‘Mermaid’ name for some reason, and balked at the length when I was considering it. After listening, I immediately reserved a library copy. I may well succumb to trying to source a copy of Rhine Journey in 2026. My New Year book resolution is supposed to be to tackle the already teetering tbrs. I suspect I will be undone if your top ten’s are not already in my pile!
I enjoyed your discussion of older vs younger authors and I also gravitate towards older authors, although there have been some wonderful first novels by younger authors over the years so I don’t have a hard and fast rule.
I’m so glad you both liked Fenny so much. I read it a few years ago and also loved it. I read Rhine Journey last week and am lukewarm about it. There was too much detailed description that I felt the author used to prove that she did her research. I’d much rather read a Victorian novelist than historical fiction. At least it was short!
I haven’t seen The Muppet’s Christmas Carol, and will remedy that! My favorite Christmas movie which isn’t really a Christmas movie is Desk Set with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. It has delightful characters and dialogue.
Merry Christmas to you and Rachel! I’m looking forward to your books of the year episode.