The Gibson Girl Review

Applying a modern publishing industry standard to our ever-growing list of Gilded Age and Progressive Era books to review on the show, we present an all-new, interactive feature on The Gibson Girl Review... The First 5 Pages Challenge! Throughout this season, we will present the first five pages of various books we are considering for the podcast, and ask you to tell us which ones you want us to r...

... and podcast hosts have no business singing! But that doesn't stop the hosts of The Gibson Girl Review from wishing a very happy birthday to the creator of the iconic Gibson Girl, Charles Dana Gibson! Amy and Jacinta not only sing—and laugh—their hearts out in today's episode, but they positively rave over Anthony Hope's 1894 classic, THE PRISONER OF ZENDA, with its cheeky comedy, swashbuckling...

Applying a modern publishing industry standard to our ever-growing list of Gilded Age and Progressive Era books to review on the show, we present an all-new, interactive feature on The Gibson Girl Review... The First 5 Pages Challenge! Throughout this season, we will present the first five pages of various books we are considering for the podcast, and ask you to tell us which ones you want us to r...

Saddle up, old book lovers! The Gibson Girl Review is galloping into Big Sky Country with today's all-new episode! Historical romance author Erin Anfinson-Pirani joins Amy as a guest reviewer to discuss HER PRAIRIE KNIGHT by B.M. Bower (1907), and boy, did they see things differently about this story! Full of campy fun and all the swoonworthy tropes you'd expect in a summertime Hallmark movie, thi...

Applying a modern publishing industry standard to our ever-growing list of Gilded Age and Progressive Era books to review on the show, we present an all-new, interactive feature on The Gibson Girl Review... The First 5 Pages Challenge! Throughout this season, we will present the first five pages of various books we are considering for the podcast, and ask you to tell us which ones you want us to r...

O Canada! Summer is heating up, but Amy and Katja have just the book for your chilly armchair (or beach chair!) vacation... Bessie Marchant's 1911 adventure novel, A COUNTESS FROM CANADA. This action-packed tale of a school teacher and an Englishman in a backwoods Canadian village hits all the perfect summer-reading notes—suspense, laughter, a beautiful and unique setting, and loads of swoonworthy...

Applying a modern publishing industry standard to our ever-growing list of Gilded Age and Progressive Era books to review on the show, we present an all-new, interactive feature on The Gibson Girl Review... The First 5 Pages Challenge! Throughout this season, we will present the first five pages of various books we are considering for the podcast, and ask you to tell us which ones you want us to r...

Travel back in time to the romantic landscapes of the 19th century English countryside in today's all-new old book review! Amy and Jacinta were swept away by Juliana Horatia Ewing's 1877 children's novel, JAN OF THE WINDMILL, and once you hear about this beautiful little story—to say nothing of the bittersweet way this book came into Amy's collection—we guarantee you'll be swept away, too! Filled...

Applying a modern publishing industry standard to our ever-growing list of Gilded Age and Progressive Era books to review on the show, we present an all-new, interactive feature on The Gibson Girl Review... The First 5 Pages Challenge! Throughout this season, we will present the first five pages of various books we are considering for the podcast, and ask you to tell us which ones you want us to r...

Friends! Romans! Readers! Lend us your ears! The Gibson Girl Review is traveling back in time this week with the swashbuckling historical romance QUO VADIS: A NARRATIVE OF THE TIME OF NERO by Henryk Sienkiewicz, first published in Polish in 1896, and in English in 1897. This Gilded Age epic is not only the perfect way to commemorate this week's anniversary of the burning of Rome in AD64, but it's...

Applying a modern publishing industry standard to our ever-growing list of Gilded Age and Progressive Era books to review on the show, we present an all-new, interactive feature on The Gibson Girl Review... The First 5 Pages Challenge! Throughout this season, we will present the first five pages of various books we are considering for the podcast, and ask you to tell us which ones you want us to r...

Flags, fireworks, and forgotten fiction... it's the Season 2 premiere of The Gibson Girl Review! Amy and Jacinta celebrate the Fourth of July with an all new review of AMERICA'S DAUGHTER by Rena I. Halsey (1918), a World War I young adult novel that asks some challenging yet relevant questions about what it means to be American. Plus they share exciting details about the all new season! CLICK HERE...

Surprise!! Amy and Katja return to the studio to answer Jacinta's questions about Season One of The Gibson Girl Review! From favorite romances to most detested characters, this is a no-holds-barred, hilarious look back at our first season! Plus we give an exciting update on what's in store for Season Two, coming July 4th! CLICK HERE for complete show notes! Topics and shout-outs in this episode in...

The final episode of Season 1 of The Gibson Girl Review concludes with a deeper look at the themes and relevance of REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM by Kate Douglas Wiggin (1903), plus Amy and Jacinta finally tackle the big question—did Lucy Maud Montgomery plagiarize this story to create Anne of Green Gables? CLICK HERE for complete show notes, including a link to download today's book for FREE! Topics...

What was supposed to be simply another famous book for the final episode of Season 1 of The Gibson Girl Review turned into the biggest and most controversial episode yet! Amy and Jacinta hold nothing back as they dive deep into REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM by Kate Douglas Wiggin (1903), why it's been forgotten, and its shocking similarities to the works of one of the world's most beloved authors. Pl...

Ever find a book character who shares your first AND last name? That is the whole reason we're reading today's book, A BORN ARISTOCRAT by Matthew White (1898)! In this penultimate episode of Season 1 of The Gibson Girl Review, Amy and Katja revisit the world of Gilded Age theatrical life and bust even more modern myths about the history of this time period. Plus, it's the history segment you've be...

The Matrix has come to The Gibson Girl Review... and so has a brand-new member of the podcast! New co-host Jacinta Meredith joins Amy and Katja for a soul-searching dive into Jean Webster's 1905 novel, THE WHEAT PRINCESS, which asks its characters—as well as modern readers—to open their eyes to some pretty hard truths about history and to see the bad along with the good. Should unpleasant old book...

Uh-oh! We finally have a rift between our hosts! The Gibson Girl Review cracks wide open (and cracks up!) over Sara Dean's 1907 melodramatic novel Travers: A Story of the San Francisco Earthquake. But on this, the 117th anniversary of that fateful day, will Amy and Katja be able to find common ground? Plus Amy takes a closer look at the Gibson Girl's dashing hero, the Gibson Man. CLICK HERE for co...

It's finally here—THE BIG ONE! In recognition of Holy Week, The Gibson Girl Review is diving into one of the most famous, most-adapted, best-loved, and best-selling books of all time—Lew Wallace's blockbuster epic, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1880). While Amy has been a huge fan of this story since childhood, Katja was a first-time reader who knew almost nothing about it. From two such opposite...

Diamonds and veggies and... ham? Oh my! It's laughs a-plenty at The Gibson Girl Review, as Amy and Katja dive into the shockingly-modern screwball comedy, Keeping Up with Lizzie, by Irving Bacheller (1911). Plus Amy explores the popularity and worldwide reach of the Gibson Girl... and may be the first historian ever to connect her popularity to the handsome bachelor Charles Dana Gibson himself. CL...

Bring on the hearts and flowers... there's a new hero in town at The Gibson Girl Review, and Amy and Katja are in love! Richard Harding Davis makes his debut on the podcast with his heartwarming tale, Her First Appearance (1892), and leaves our hosts breathless for more. Plus they introduce the Gibson Girl herself, and explore just what Charles Dana Gibson's work meant to women at the turn of the...

Are all old books worth reading... even bad ones? The very existence of The Gibson Girl Review is threatened as Amy and Katja take up the challenge of defending the relevance and readability of Miss Bayle's Romance by William Fraser Rae (1887)—a book they actually did not enjoy. Plus they follow young Charles Dana Gibson on his very first trip to Europe. CLICK HERE for complete show notes, includi...

Amy is such a fan of today's book, Florence Irwin's Poor Dear Theodora! (1920), that she pretty much started this entire podcast just to talk about it! But will first-time-reader Katja enjoy it as well? Tune in to find out! Plus the hosts continue their exploration of the life of artist Charles Dana Gibson, this time discussing the launch of his career as a professional artist. CLICK HERE for comp...

Amy and Katja kick off Season 1 of The Gibson Girl Review with a real duesy—Harriet Beecher Stowe's matrimonial comedy, Pink and White Tyranny (1871). This forgotten gem of a novel is packed with sarcasm and morality, and earns Stowe a prized seat at the hosts' Dream-Guest dinner table. Plus they explore the early childhood of artist Charles Dana Gibson, creator of the iconic Gibson Girl....