Alphabetical or thematic shelving? Miss Mole vs Chatterton Square? Episode 40 of ‘Tea or Books?’ continues answering the important questions that others don’t dare to.
In the first half of this episode, Rachel and I address the pressing issue of how books are ordered on our shelves – alphabetical order, arranged thematically, or something else completely? We have fun with this one (thanks for the suggestion, Imogen!) and would love to know what any of you do with your shelves.
In the second half, we turn to the novelist E.H. Young and pit Miss Mole (1930) against Chatterton Square (1947), and I use the word ‘obfuscatory’. Buckle in. And suggestions for other Young novels to try would be very welcome!
Visit our iTunes page, leave us a review through iTunes if you’d like, and below are the books and authors we discussed in the episode. Fewer than usual!
Letters to Max Beerbohm and a few replies by Siegfried Sasson Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man by Siegfried Sassoon A Curious Friendship by Anna Thomasson
M.J. Farrell Memoirs of an Infantry Officer by Siegfried Sassoon Hackenfeller’s Ape by Brigid Brophy The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert Howards End is on the Landing by Susan Hill Phantoms on the Bookshelves by Jacques Bonnet A Wreath of Roses by Elizabeth Taylor
A.A. Milne
Elizabeth von Arnim Miss Mole by E.H. Young Chatterton Square by E.H. Young
Ivy Compton-Burnett
E.M. Delafield
Matty and the Dearingroydes by Richmal Crompton Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day by Winifred Watson William by E.H. Young The Misses Mallett by E.H. Young The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard A Man of Property by John Galsworthy
Special guest Jenny joins us for episode 39 – discussing children’s classics and spoilers!
I was SO excited that Jenny agreed to join me and Rachel on ‘Tea or Books?’ while she was visiting England – her podcast, Reading the End, was one of the two book podcasts that inspired me to start my own, so it seems like a perfect circle that she joins us as we’re nearing our second anniversary.
In this episode, inspired by her blog and podcast name, Jenny asked if we discuss whether or not we like hearing spoilers – and, in the second half, we debate Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery and Daddy Long-Legs by Jean Webster. Guys, this podcast was SO FUN to record.
We were crowded around one mic – the first time Rachel and I have ever recorded a podcast in person – so forgive any issues with the sound quality or variability.
Here’s our iTunes page, and here are the books and authors we mention in this episode:
The Pelicans by E.M. Delafield Country Notes by Vita Sackville-West Friends and Relations by Elizabeth Bowen The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien Miss Mole by E.H. Young Chatterton Square by E.H. Young Once a Week by A.A. Milne The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism by Ha-Joon Chang Long Live Great Bardfield by Tirzah Garwood Not So Quiet by Helen Zenna Smith All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout Persuasion by Jane Austen Emma by Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen Mansfield Park by Jane Austen Sunlight on the Lawn by Beverley Nichols Threads: the Delicate Life of John Craske by Julia Blackburn
Sylvia Townsend Warner A Footman for the Peacock by Rachel Ferguson We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Muriel Spark Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Enid Blyton Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery Dear Enemy by Jean Webster Hamlet by William Shakespeare On the Road by Jack Kerouac The Children Who Lived in a Barn by Eleanor Graham
Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Bailey, and a bit of a debate about male and female characters. Here’s episode 38 – which is unusually short, but hopefully fun nonetheless. I’ve left in an amusing moment of drama…
Many thanks to Kaisha for suggesting men written by women vs women written by me – we had fun discussing it, and very much welcome everybody’s feedback. For the second half, we debate two books about old people’s homes – Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor and At The Jerusalem by Paul Bailey, which have a sort-of connection that readers of Virago Modern Classics introductions might have cottoned on to.
Do let us know any topics you’d like us to discuss – and which you’d pick from each category. Check out our iTunes page over here – ratings and reviews through iTunes or podcast apps always much appreciated. And hopefully we’ll back with a special guest next time…
Books and authors we mention in this episode are as follows…
The Sleeper Awakes by H.G. Wells Ann Veronica by H.G. Wells The Time Machine by H.G. Wells Don’t Tell Alfred by Nancy Mitford Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford Pamela by Samuel Richardson Clarissa by Samuel Richardson
Ian McEwan Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden Gilead by Marilynne Robinson Mrs Harris series by Paul Gallico Miss Hargreaves by Frank Baker Jacob’s Room by Virginia Woolf Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf Orlando by Virginia Woolf Provincial Lady series by E.M. Delafield Ian and Felicity by Denis Mackail
Charles Dickens Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope The Warden by Anthony Trollope Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope Sybil by Benjamin Disraeli Adam Bede by George Eliot The Professor by Charlotte Bronte Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
Elizabeth Gaskell Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray The Girl With Glass Feet by Ali Shaw
V.S. Naipaul The Go-Between by L.P. Hartley Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor At The Jerusalem by Paul Bailey
Ivy Compton-Burnett Memento Mori by Muriel Spark Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery Daddy Long-Legs by Jean Webster
Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, and schooldays – we’ve got it all in episode 37 (depending on your definition of ‘all’).
In the first half of this episode, we meander around the topic of whether or not studying a book at school ruins them for us. The topic was suggested by Karen (thanks Karen!) and it was really fun to discuss from the perspective of student and teacher. We got a bit preoccupied by Shakespeare, but that’s true of all the best of people.
Rachel and I went to see an amazing production of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Harold Pinter theatre – tickets here! – and it inspired us to compare it with Arthur Miller’s play from around the same time, A View From the Bridge.
Check out our iTunes page, listen above or via your podcast app of choice, rate and review if you so wish, and send us any suggestions you have for future episodes! Thanks for those who tweeted their responses to our school question.
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
Idaho by Emily Ruskovich
Richard Yates
Wallace Stegner
William Maxwell
Alice Munro Gossip From Thrush Green by Miss Read
Dorothy Whipple Fairacres series by Miss Read
Richmal Crompton Merry Hall by Beverley Nichols
E.F. Benson A Case of Human Bondage by Beverley Nichols Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham The Three Sisters by May Sinclair Pink Sugar by O. Douglas Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Emma by Jane Austen Lord of the Flies by William Golding The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres Hard Times by Charles Dickens To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson The House of Sixty Fathers by Meindert DeJong Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee Beloved by Toni Morrison A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare Macbeth by William Shakespeare Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
Molière Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams All My Sons by Arthur Miller
Noel Coward Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor At The Jerusalem by Paul Bailey
Ursula Orange, Elizabeth Fair, and audiobooks – it’s fair to say that people probably won’t know that much about the authors today, but they are both among the Furrowed Middlebrow reprint series published by Dean Street Press. Any fan of middlebrow novels should certainly hunt out this series.
For the first half of the episode, we’re talking audiobooks – in a fairly uninformed way, it turns out, so do let us know if you have any suggestions for narrators or audiobooks that we should try. And suggestions for future topics, of course – we’ve had a few come in, and that’s exciting, and I keep meaning to write them all down in one place…
Head over to our iTunes page, should you so wish – we love the reviews we’ve been getting in (thanks!), which you can do through podcast apps or whatnot.
The books and authors we mention this episode (mostly in passing, as usual) are:
Arthur and Sherlock by Michael Sims The Story of Charlotte’s Web by Michael Sims Letters From England by Mollie Panter-Downes London War Notes by Mollie Panter-Downes The Pleasures of Reading: A Booklover’s Alphabet by Catherine Sheldrick Ross Lives For Sale ed. by Mark Bostridge
Hillary Spurling
Ivy Compton-Burnett
Hermione Lee
Claire Tomalin
Ann Thwaite School For Love by Olivia Manning The Balkan Trilogy by Olivia Manning
Elizabeth Jane Howard Gilead by Marilynne Robinson Cogheart by Peter Bunzl
John Green To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Agatha Christie The Return of Alfred by Herbert Jenkins The Provincial Lady Goes Further by E.M. Delafield The Egg and I by Betty Macdonald Chelbury Abbey by Denis Mackail The Majestic Mystery by Denis Mackail Tom Tiddler’s Ground by Ursula Orange A Winter Away by Elizabeth Fair
Miss Read
Richmal Crompton
Barbara Pym
Angela Thirkell To The North by Elizabeth Bowen Put Out More Flags by Evelyn Waugh
Dorothy Whipple A Wreath For the Enemy by Pamela Frankau Mr Fortune’s Maggot by Sylvia Townsend Warner The Lark by E. Nesbit
Rachel Ferguson Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee
May Sarton and F.M. Mayor go up against each other, and we chat about whether or not we want to meet our favourite authors (living or dead!)
Our episodes are getting a little more sporadic as we’re doing more reading specifically for them… depending on us managing to read the books. This is what happens when we run out of books we’ve both read and remembered!
In episode 35, we chat about authors we have met and authors we’d like to meet. In the second, we look at two novels about spinsters published at different ends of the 20th century – May Sarton’s The Magnificent Spinster and F.M. Mayor’s The Rector’s Daughter – and chat a bit about other spinster novels we’ve liked.
Btw, our plan for next episode is to read Tom Tiddler’s Ground by Ursula Orange and A Winter Away by Elizabeth Fair. (We don’t mention that on the podcast.)
You can check out our iTunes page, or listen through all the normal ways. Y’all know the drill. Reviews and ratings super welcome if you can battle with iTunes.
Let us know which you’d pick in each category, and any suggestions you have for future topics!
Books and authors we talk about in this episode…
A Child of the Jago by Arthur Morrison Ian and Felicity by Denis Mackail Greenery Street by Denis Mackail Young Anne by Dorothy Whipple Susan and Joanna by Elizabeth Cambridge Arthur and Sherlock: Conan Doyle and the Creation of Holmes by Michael Sims The Story of Charlotte’s Web by Michael Sims
Sarah Waters Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Marilynne Robinson
Alan Hollinghurst
Angela Young Fell by Jenn Ashworth The Runaway by Claire Wong Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
P.D. James
Hilary Mantel A Curious Friendship by Anna Thomasson Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield
A.A. Milne
Jane Austen
Virginia Woolf The Rector’s Daughter by F.M. Mayor The Magnificent Spinster by May Sarton As We Are Now by May Sarton The Love Child by Edith Olivier
‘The Daughters of the Late Colonel’ by Katherine Mansfield Life and Death of Harriett Frean by May Sinclair Alas, Poor Lady by Rachel Ferguson Father by Elizabeth von Arnim Emma by Jane Austen Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead by Barbara Comyns The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
‘Paul Revere’s Ride’ by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow The Third Miss Symons by F.M. Mayor The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
E M Delafield, F Tennyson Jesse, and novels about real people – that’s what’s on the menu for episode 34.
It’s very nice to have Rachel back (hi Rachel!) and we’ve both been doing homework for this episode – reading these novels specially to discuss them. Which hopefully means we have some more details to hand than usual – but it can get confusing, so here is a handy guide to help you get through the slightly confusing interlinking of these two novels and real life. It’s the woman, the lover, and the husband in each case. (All will become clear when you listen.)
The people in real life: Edith / Frederick / Percy A Pin To See The Peepshow: Julia / Leo / Herbert Messalina of the Suburbs: Elsie / Leslie / Horace
Hope that helps! As always, let us know if you have any choices to make – and if you have any suggestions for future episodes. As long as it can be in an ‘X vs Y’ format, we’ll consider it! Our iTunes page is here, and you can rate/review through iTunes itself, should you so wish :)
Incidentally, I did some counting while editing this podcast episode, and it turns out this is the 23rd book I’ve read by E.M. Delafield!
The books and authors we mention in this episode…
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope Daphne in Fitzroy Street by E Nesbit The True Heart by Sylvia Townsend Warner In Cold Blood by Truman Capote Virginia Woolf in Manhattan by Maggie Gee Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar Vanessa and Virginia by Susan Sellers The Hours by Michael Cunningham Josephine Tey Mysteries by Nicola Upson The Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries by Gyles Brandreth The Three Sisters by May Sinclair The Brontes Went To Woolworths by Rachel Ferguson Regeneration by Pat Barker The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald At Freddie’s by Penelope Fitzgerald Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald Amadeus by Peter Shaffer Virginia Woolf and the Servants by Alison Light Travesties by Ed Stoppard Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde Summer in February by Jonathan Smith A Pin To See The Peepshow by F Tennyson Jesse Messalina of the Suburbs by E M Delafield The Suburban Young Man by E M Delafield The Lacquer Lady by F Tennyson Jesse The Rector’s Daughter by F M Mayor The Magnificent Spinster by May Sarton
C.S. Lewis, Meryl Streep, and Alfred Hitchcock! What do they have in common? They all appear in this special crossover episode – where Tea or Books? meets my brother’s podcast The C of Z of Movies.
That’s right – Rachel agreed to sit this episode out, as did Col’s podcast partner Zijian, and we combined our two podcasts. In the first half, Colin talks about his reading tastes – and we look at The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis. Briefly. In the second half we pick our favourite and least favourite Meryl Streep films, and quiz each other on some Alfred Hitchcock films.
So, yes, this is all pretty shambolic. We had fun… hopefully you did too? Maybe? And Rachel and I will be back next time as normal – as Col will be on his podcast. His plot to steal all our listeners might just work. (Btw, if you want to join in our reading for next time, Messalina of the Suburbs by E.M. Delafield is very cheaply available on Kindle. A Pin to See the Peepshow by F. Tennyson Jesse is not.)
You can find the iTunes page for Tea or Books? over here – many thanks for the reviews that I found! I didn’t realise you could only see reviews for your country unless you went hunting.
Here are the books – and films! – we talk about in this episode. In an effort to avoid some confusion, I’ve put the films in non-italics.
How Not To Be Wrong by Jordan Ellenberg The Grasshopper King (I guess??) by Jordan Ellenberg But What If We’re Wrong? by Chuck Klosterman The Death of Noble Godavary by Vita Sackville-West Orlando by Virginia Woolf Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit by P.G. Wodehouse The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan Tune In: The Beatles by Mark Lewisohn Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Agatha Christie The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis
Elena Ferrante The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton Mistress Masham’s Repose by T.H. White The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Hours The Hours by Michael Cunningham Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Stepbrothers
The Secret Garden
It’s a Boy/Girl Thing
She’s The Man
Life in a Day
Iris
La-La Land
Bridget Jones’s Baby
Trainwreck
The Devil Wears Prada The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence
Sophie’s Choice Sophie’s Choice by William Styron
The Iron Lady
Death Becomes Her
Mamma Mia!
Prime
Lions For Lambs
Suffragette
Evening Evening by Susan Minot (not Anne anything)
The Deer-Hunter
Manhattan
Kramer vs Kramer
Florence Foster Jenkins
Postcards From the Edge
Into The Woods
Notorious
Vertigo
Psycho
Rear Window
The Birds
Strangers on a Train
Spellbound
Shadow of a Doubt
Rope
Rebecca Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton The Slaves of Solitude by Patrick Hamilton
Hacksaw Ridge
Marnie Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith The Two Faces of January by Patricia Highsmith
Throw Momma From The Train
Lawrence of Arabia
The Grapes of Wrath
Going My Way
Lifeboat
The Lost Weekend
On the Waterfront
The Apartment Messalina of the Suburbs by E.M. Delafield A Pin to See the Peepshow by F. Tennyson Jesse
Ian McEwan helps us get dangerously modern in our latest ‘Tea or Books?’ episode, as we chat about Atonement and On Chesil Beach (along with a whole bunch of his other books) – while, in the first half, we discuss whether or not we want to read novels in which one or more characters do our jobs. You can see why I have opted for something briefer in our subject line.
As announced, there’s a crossover episode next time – I will be joined by my brother Colin, doing half-books and half-movies. Check out his podcast (especially if you want some clues as to what the format might be). Sorry that Rachel will be absent for an episode – but she’ll be back for glorious episode 34, in which we’ll be discussing E.M. Delafield’s Messalina of the Suburbs and F Tennyson Jesse’s A Pin to See The Peepshow. You’ve got a whole month to prepare!
As usual, our iTunes page is over yonder. Rate and review if you can work out the internal mazes of iTunes!
Here are the (many!) books and authors we natter about in this episode:
Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens Reuben Sachs by Amy Levy My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark Matilda by Roald Dahl Stoner by John Williams Goodbye Mr Chips by James Hilton Hard Times by Charles Dickens Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens Then We Came To An End by Joshua Ferris Tepper Isn’t Going Out by Calvin Trillin A Far Cry From Kensington by Muriel Spark Greengates by R.C. Sherriff London Belongs To Me by Norman Collins Faster! Faster! by E.M. Delafield High Wages by Dorothy Whipple The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith The Chronicles of Barsetshire by Anthony Trollope Dr Thorne by Anthony Trollope Macbeth by William Shakespeare The Secret History by Donna Tartt Hearts and Minds by Rosy Thornton The Sandcastle by Iris Murdoch The Professor’s House by Willa Cather Seasoned Timber by Dorothy Canfield Fisher Observatory Mansions by Edward Carey Alva and Irva by Edward Carey Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand (actually published in 1935, not 1910, sorry!) Atonement by Ian McEwan On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan Enduring Love by Ian McEwan Black Dogs by Ian McEwan Saturday by Ian McEwan Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf Ulysses by James Joyce Nutshell by Ian McEwan Virginia by Jens Christian Grøndahl A Kind of Intimacy by Jenn Ashworth Wish Her Safe at Home by Stephen Benatar Solar by Ian McEwan Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan Amsterdam by Ian McEwan The Child in Time by Ian McEwan Messalina of the Suburbs by E.M. Delafield A Pin to See The Peepshow by F. Tennyson Jesse The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
Happy new year! Rachel and I are back from a bit of a podcast break, and raring to go for the New Year.
In this episode, we look at two novels by R.C. Sherriff, both published by Persephone, and we also look back over 2016 and debate whether or not we make and read Best Books of the Year lists. Look, it’s just a way for us to shoe-horn in an overview of our favourite reads from 2016.
As always, we’d love to know what you’d choose from each category, and any ideas you have for future episodes. We’re always so grateful for those – though sometimes we haven’t yet read the authors people mention. We’ll work on it!
Listen to us above, via iTunes, or your podcast app of choice. I’ve been asking people to leave a review at the iTunes site, but it turns out you can only do that through the iTunes app or programme, maybe?
Anyway, we’ll loving being back – apologies for a bit of poor sound quality at times – and here are the books and authors we mention in this episode:
Witness for the Prosecution by R.C. Sherriff 4.50 From Paddington by Agatha Christie Magnificent Obsession by Helen Rappaport Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens Third Girl by Agatha Christie Curiosity by Alberto Manguel Over the Footlights and Other Fancies by Stephen Leacock The Lark by E. Nesbit Patricia Brent, Spinster by Herbert Jenkins The Lost Europeans by Emanuel Litvinoff Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry The Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis Complete Works by William Shakespeare Hamlet by William Shakespeare Mapp and Lucia by E.F. Benson Messalina of the Suburbs by E.M. Delafield A Pin to See The Peepshow by F. Tennyson Jesse To The Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey
Margaret Atwood Possession by A.S. Byatt Terms and Conditions by Ysenda Maxtone Graham Daisy’s Aunt by E.F. Benson
Compton Mackenzie A Far Cry From Kensington by Muriel Spark Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner The Museum of Cheats by Sylvia Townsend Warner The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde The Fortnight in September by R.C. Sherriff Greengates by R.C. Sherriff The Hopkins Manuscript by R.C. Sherriff Bricks and Mortar by Helen Ashton Journey’s End by R.C. Sherriff
(The Cataclysm turns out to be The Hopkins Manuscript under the same name!)