The Gibson Girl Review

Merry Christmas, old book lovers! Season Four of The Gibson Girl Review comes to a close with this charming holiday novel, THIS WAY TO CHRISTMAS by Ruth Sawyer (1916), which brings a surprising amount of international zest to the festive season. Plus Amy and Jacinta have a big announcement about an exciting new venture for the podcast, and the season-long history segment celebrating the Golden Age...

Did you know that John Phillip Sousa, the legendary composer and band leader, wrote novels? Neither did we! Which is exactly why Amy and guest reviewer Monique Hurtado just had to read his 1902 debut story, THE FIFTH STRING. It's a Faustian allegory that definitely left us thinking about our upcoming New Year's resolutions. Tune in and tell us what you think! CLICK HERE for complete show notes, in...

Boy, do we know the feeling of THIS episode title after the past few weeks! Technical glitches and daily-life dramas have tied us up the past few weeks, but now we're back... and Amy and Jacinta firmly believe this book is worth the wait! They uncover and unpack Mary Roberts Rinehart's 1915 emotional ensemble drama, "K"—primarily because who can resist a book title that's only one letter?? Plus th...

It's a Gibson Girl first—TWO guest reviewers! Gwendolyn Gage makes her third appearance on the podcast (is it time to start calling her a co-host?), along with longtime show fan Anne Skelly, a docent at the Frederic Remington Art Museum in Ogdensburg, NY. They join Amy in the studio for a deep dive into the first novel written by the legendary Western artist Frederic Remington, JOHN ERMINE OF THE...

Hear ye, hear ye! An olde friend of the show has returned! Amy is joined in the studio by the original co-host of The Gibson Girl Review , Katja Labonté, for our first-ever medieval story! But what will the medieval history major and the medieval fiction aficionado make of Howard Pyle's 1891 armor-rattler, MEN OF IRON? Tune in to find out! Plus Amy explores Howard Pyle's legacy as an artis...

All the podcast rules are out the window this week, as Amy and Amanda dive deep into THE NOTTING HILL MYSTERY, an 1862 novel that claims to be "the first detective novel." But wait—didn't they already review "the first detective novel" in an earlier season? It's an unvarnished, no-holds-barred episode unlike any we've ever done before! Plus the girls celebrate Charl...

We're back!! After a summer break full of many ups and downs, Amy and Jacinta return to the studio with more than just a new old book review... it's a new theme for the entire season! We are celebrating the Golden Age of Illustration with each episode of Season Four, and we kick things off with a rollicking romance story illustrated by the one artist whose work is most often mislabeled as...

It's the Season Three finale of The Gibson Girl Review , and we are bringing it home with jangling spurs and a rollicking BANG! Amy, Jacinta, and Amanda all gather in the studio to discuss the Godfather of the American Western genre, Owen Wister's 1902 classic, The Virginian . Filled with humor, pathos, and some immortal characters, this meandering tale may very well change the way you thi...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the very first author to appear a second time on our podcast, Richard Harding Davis! Today's all-new episode explores Davis' 1895 royal romance, THE PRINCESS ALINE—approved by none other than Queen Victoria herself! And we already know that Amy is a fan... but what does Jacinta think of her very first Dick Davis novel? Tune in to find out! CLICK HERE for complete show not...

She's back!! Katja Labonté, the original co-host of The Gibson Girl Review , returns as a guest reviewer for this all-new episode, as she and Amy crack open the cover on Henry James' scandalous 1878 novella, Daisy Miller . But is this story as shocking for us today as it supposedly was during the Gilded Age? And how does this story relate to Amy and Katja's very first episode of the po...

It's here at last—the book YOU wanted us to review! In honor of baseball's Opening Day, Amy and Jacinta step up to the plate with the winner of last season's First 5 Pages Challenge, ICE-CREAM ALLEY by Henry Albert Collins (1918), and explore all the ways this audience-selected book surprised and disappointed them. Plus Amy introduces us to the most famous Gibson Girl of the 1890s, Min...

What would you do with your life if, for the first time in history, you had a choice? That's the big question that Amy and guest reviewer Lisa Ard tackle in today's 1894 novel, A BACHELOR MAID by Mrs. Burton Harrison. This forgotten Gilded Age romance explores many relevant themes that 21st century women are still struggling with, plus Amy introduces the next-generation Gibson Girl model,...

It's Leap Day—and the men have taken over the podcast! It's the first-ever episode of The Gibson MAN Review, because today's featured book, For Jacinta by Harold Bindloss (1907), definitely needed guy's perspective to help Amy and our Jacinta understand it. Plus, in honor of the tables-turned day, Amy introduces the original Gibson Man model in the history segment, Charles Dana Gib...

Surprise!! We're releasing this episode a day earlier than usual because it's Valentine's Day, and we have a LOT of love to share for one of our all-time favorite Gilded Age authors! Amy and Amanda gush about the inimitable George MacDonald and how his works have shaped their lives, plus they take a closer look at MacDonald's last book, FAR ABOVE RUBIES (1898), a sweet novella that...

Guard your wallets and jewels, old book lovers! There's a pickpocket sneaking into The Gibson Girl Review today... and Amy and Jacinta are utterly fascinated by her! Tune in for their review of IN THE BISHOP'S CARRIAGE by Miriam Michelson, a 1903 novel that is as entertaining as it is unconventional. Plus Amy exposes a Real-Life Gibson Girl fraud in our latest history segment! CLICK HERE f...

At long last!! After a week of messy technical problems (and a lot of ugly-crying!), we are FINALLY able to bring you our latest episode... and we think it's worth the wait because this is THE book, folks! Without Mark Twain and Charles Warner's masterful 1873 satire, THE GILDED AGE, well, we simply wouldn't have a podcast! But does this collaborative classic live up to the expectation...

Bloomers, bicycles, and old books—oh my! It's an all new year, and an all new season of The Gibson Girl Review kicks off with long-overdue book we've been wanting to share since the podcast began: George F. Hall's didactic diatribe, A Study in Bloomers (1895). Amy and Jacinta take turns praising and bashing this unusual story of a weary preacher who falls for a bloomer-wearing, bicycle...

Well, most of them anyhow!! Amy and Amanda are in the Gibson Girl Review studio today, and boy, do they have a bone to pick with William Sidney Porter about his most famous Christmas short story! But they also have two more story recommendations from this famous author, making it a trifecta of Christmas cheer for your holiday to-be-read list! CLICK HERE for complete show notes, including links to...

We're back!!! December is here, and so is Season Three of The Gibson Girl Review ! We're preempting our regular book reviews this month to bring you a couple very special Christmas episodes! Amy and Jacinta kick off the season with two swoonworthy Christmas romances that deliver all of the holiday warm-fuzzies. Click the link below to add them to your holiday TBR pile today! CLICK HERE for...

It's the Season Two Finale of The Gibson Girl Review , and for this special Halloween episode to wrap up our Month of Mystery! theme, we're unshelving our most famous book yet—Gaston Leroux's 1911 classic, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA . How does this original horror story measure up to the stage and screen adaptations we know and love today? Tune in to find out! Plus Amy, Jacinta, and Amy...

You never quite know what you might get when you crack open the cover of a beautiful old book, and today's episode uncovered a duesy! Amy and Jacinta thought THE CRIME OF HALLOW-E'EN by Laura Jean Libbey would be a great fit for our Month of Mystery! theme... but instead, they discovered a first for the podcast—a dime novel! Amid the laughs and confusion, today's all-new old book revie...

We're expanding The Gibson Girl Review this week with a brand-new co-host and a pre-Gilded Age classic! Amy welcomes author and fellow old soul Amanda G. Stevens to the show, and after a little introductory session they get right down to business with this week's all new Month of Mystery! selection, THE MOONSTONE by Wilkie Collins (1868). Filled with complex characters and amazing craftsmanship, t...

It's a momentous episode in the history of The Gibson Girl Review, as Amy and Katja make a big announcement about the future of the show. Plus our "Month of Mystery!" continues with an all-new review of the very first book by the Mother of Mystery herself, Anna Katharine Green's 1878 debut novel, THE LEAVENWORTH CASE. A truly Victorian murder mystery in every sense of the word, this Gilded Age cla...

October is here... and so is our first theme! This final month of our second season is the Month of Mystery, which means we'll be bringing you five all-new episodes featuring five old spooky, mysterious, maniacal, sensational stories! First up is Clinton H. Stagg's 1916 whodunit, SILVER SANDALS, featuring the blind detective Thornley Colton. Yes, you read that right—our sleuth is blind! But that d...

October is just around the corner, and it is going to be The Gibson Girl Review's biggest month yet! So as our hosts read up for all the spooky, mysterious fun coming your way, they're taking a trip down memory lane today with a "re-read" of one of last season's most popular episodes! Before September ends, be sure to visit GibsonGirlReview.com to vote in The First 5 Pages Challenge, and to enter...