Beyond the Walls Book Chat

Book 4 of Paradise Lost records a momentous point in the story. Here is the place we listen to Satan speak honestly about his feelings and situation for the first and last time. This is the book where we finally meet Adam and Eve and see their beautiful home in Paradise. The action is picking up and there are many things to explore in this part of the story. For references and helps in today'...

Theologians dissect and divide and make us all dizzy. Meanwhile Milton takes that high wisdom and tells a story to make the invisible visible for us. Book 3 of Paradise Lost shows us a Heavenly Dialogue that will touch our hearts and offer us peace. Since before it all, God had a plan to redeem us. What a blessing! The primary source for my episode today was from this book: Milton's Paradise...

The first half of Book 2 is the war counsel in hell when the demons discuss the best way to take back Heaven. Three main arguments are presented, but there's still one more that's worse. What can we learn about ourselves from the suggestions raised in hell? Find out in tonight's episode on Book 2 of Paradise Lost. Books I've used for research: A Preface to Paradise Lost  by C.S...

Book 1 of Paradise Lost opens with an invocation that's longer and better than any that have come before. Following that we watch as Satan states his list of grand and epic grievances and calls all his troops to order. Tonight's episode sorts through all the parts of this book and covers why it's the stopping point for many readers. Let's stick together and tackle the hard part...

Tonight's episode contains an overview of Milton's massive poem. Paradise Lost reaches to answer the deep questions of our souls. Milton threw all his skills at this grand epic and has given us a story rich in allusions, drama, character, and rich language. Better than that, his story has truth; truth we can grasp with both hands. This is just a flyover of the whole adventure. Buckle up,...

Ever wondered how John Milton's life experiences and the turbulence of his time shaped one of the greatest epic poems in the English language? Join us on a fascinating exploration of Milton's world as we kick off our new series dedicated to "Paradise Lost." From his birth in 1608 London to his travels across Europe, we'll uncover the historical and intellectual forces that...

Oscar Wilde wrote only one novel. But when you've written something so perfect, there's no need to write anything more. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a haunting story of the pursuit of eternal beauty and what it ultimately costs. Is this Victorian era lesson still applicable in 2024? Let's find out together. Need your own copy? You can buy the book here . Send us Fan Mail For questi...

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is sometimes pushed aside as a simple children's story. But the story of Francie in 1912 Brooklyn is so much more than simple. It's an inspiring hero's journey seen through the eyes of a little girl. Send us Fan Mail For questions and comments please email beyondthewallsbookchat@gmail.com

Take the 2050s, time travel, a time-lagged historian, the Victorian Era, a couple winks to some of the best mystery writers of all time, and you get a hilarious comedy of errors in a book like no other. Tonight we explore To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis. This book is an excellent example of the magic of storytelling. Send us Fan Mail For questions and comments please email beyondthewall...

Outsold by only the Bible and Shakespeare, let's talk tonight about why Agatha Christie is still at the top of the mystery game. Send us Fan Mail For questions and comments please email beyondthewallsbookchat@gmail.com

The Golden Age of mysteries was 100 years ago. Yet one of the queens of that Age, Dorothy Sayers, has books and plays that we're still reading. Find out why her detective Lord Peter Wimsey is the best at making connections and solving the puzzles. Send us Fan Mail For questions and comments please email beyondthewallsbookchat@gmail.com

The Anglo-Saxon masterpiece, Beowulf, jumped from a dusty old manuscript only available to academics to a classic that a new generation of readers are still enjoying in the 21st century. It was all thanks to J.R.R. Tolkien. Today I explore the beautiful things that can be found in the thousand-year-old English poem full of the heroism and virtue of a long-lost culture. Send us Fan Mail For questio...

Just a last-minute article in a tiny magazine in 1899, yet somehow, it's as relevant today as it was then. Find out how the unsung hero of the Spanish American War can impact our lives and our attitudes even today. Send us Fan Mail For questions and comments please email beyondthewallsbookchat@gmail.com

A random visit to the symphony has set me on a quest to figure out what gives a work of art its staying power. And worse, why are some things forgotten and left behind? This episode covers one of my theories, but I have quite a few more. Send us Fan Mail For questions and comments please email beyondthewallsbookchat@gmail.com

Tolstoy asked life's big questions in Anna Karenina and he chose his character Konstantin Levin to be the one to answer those questions. Find out just what Tolstoy thought the true meaning of life was in this episode of Beyond the Walls. Send us Fan Mail For questions and comments please email beyondthewallsbookchat@gmail.com

Is Anna Karenina a great love story or rather a cautionary tale? Find out in Part 1 of my talk on the immortality of Tolstoy's classic novel. Send us Fan Mail For questions and comments please email beyondthewallsbookchat@gmail.com

It's a century old and still relevant and speaking. Let's find out together what EM Forster says about connecting the prose and the passion in our lives. Send us Fan Mail For questions and comments please email beyondthewallsbookchat@gmail.com

Before the heroes we're all familiar with like Odysseus, Hector, and Achilles there were the OG: Perseus, Jason, and a band of great men called the Argonauts. These are the stories before the stories. All the best parts are there: quests, monsters, and rescues. Let's talk about how Orpheus defeats the sirens and how we can apply his method to our own daily sirens. Amazon has a copy of th...

Today we follow Milo into a world of puns and word play to discover that people are the same everywhere we go and it's okay to make mistakes as long as we learn from them. Send us Fan Mail For questions and comments please email beyondthewallsbookchat@gmail.com

A priest, a thief, and a French police officer take a walk in the countryside. It's not the beginning of a joke it's the beautiful beginning of the stories by G.K. Chesterton about his beloved priest detective, Father Brown. This week's episode digs into why Father Brown is still so loved and why his stories are the perfect read when you don't have much time. The Complete Fathe...

"Books do not age as you and I do. They will speak still when you and I are gone, to generations we will never see. Yes, the books must survive." -Corrie Ten Boom In this episode Bet dives into the themes of Fahrenheit 451 and discusses what it says about books and their importance to our humanity.  How did the author Ray Bradbury foresee how distractions would take over our lives? And w...

This episode introduces the podcast and its focus on classical literature along with the host's personal story. Bet shares how she decided to begin reading intentionally, starting with unfamiliar books, and eventually achieving her goal of completing The Aeneid by Virgil. With her podcast Bet aims to help listeners curate their own lists of classical books, offering insights from her own read...