A History Geek's Reading Companion

In this episode, we visit the beloved 2005 film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice and talk through all the moments that made this adaptation unforgettable: Mr. Darcy’s hand flex, the chaotic pig scene, Mrs. Bennett, the Bennet sisters, the fashion, the chemistry, and the impossible task of turning Austen’s novel into a two-hour film. We also get into our own history with the movie, why it became...

A look at the real smugglers behind The Count of Monte Cristo This episode breaks down the laws, customs systems, and coastal trade networks of the 1820s Mediterranean to show how contraband worked, why governments struggled to stop it, and what this transitional world teaches Edmond Dantès about power before he enters "high society"

In this episode, I stay with one chapter of The Count of Monte Cristo : “The Little Cabinet in the Tuileries.” On the surface, it looks like a short political transition chapter, but I argue that it is doing much more than setting up Villefort’s entrance. Dumas uses this scene to show what an insecure state looks like from the inside. We see Louis XVIII, Blacas, the Minister of Police, and Villefo...

In this episode, we head to Marseille in 1815 and the tumultuous world behind the opening chapters of The Count of Monte Cristo . We walk through the First Restoration, Napoleon’s escape from Elba, and why a ship sailing into the Vieux-Port could feel like a political event, not just "business as usual". By the time Edmond Dantès is arrested, we can see exactly how a nineteen-year-old sa...

In this episode, I walk into the mess of Crime and Punishment and ask a simple, ugly question: what kind of history produces a mind like Raskolnikov’s? We move from a cramped Petersburg cupboard to firing squads, Siberian prison camps, and student nihilists to see how an old woman’s murder becomes, in his head, “killing a principle.” I post the companion essays, sources, and extra rabbit holes on...

In this 2nd episode of The History Geek’s Reading Companion , I go back to Crime and Punishment, a book I first read as a miserable teenager coming off Pride and Prejudice , armed with bad instant coffee and a highlighter. What started as a survival exercise turned into the first time a book really demanded work from me, and I’ve been circling back to it ever since. I'm really interested in an...

Summary In this episode, I explore the moral and political landscape of 19th century England through the lens of Elizabeth Gaskell's novel, North and South. The conversation delves into the complexities of industrialization, the role of Unitarianism, and the moral education of the protagonist, Margaret Hale. It highlights the clash between labor and capital, and Gaskell's enduring legacy o...

Welcome to this cozy corner for history geeks and curious readers alike. In this intro episode, I’ll share the inspiration behind the podcast and my philosophy: that literature doesn’t exist in a vacuum. We’ll talk about why exploring those contexts matters, how I approach each episode using primary sources and scholarly research, and what you can expect as we uncover the stories behind the storie...