Lost Ladies of Lit

Send us Fan Mail We're back with all new episodes on Jan. 30, 2024. Join us for a wonderfully funny and poignant conversation about life, death, and motherhood with award-winning writer Hilma Wolitzer. Her short stories, most of them originally appearing in magazines in the 1960s and 1970s, were re-discovered by her daughter, bestselling author Meg Wolitzer, during the height of the COVID-19...

Send us Fan Mail Join us as we discuss Mary McCarthy’s best-known work, The Group , published in 1963. An instant hit, it remained on the New York Times bestseller list for two years and follows eight friends over the course of seven years following their graduation from Vassar College in 1933. It was banned in Australia, Ireland, and Italy for its frank discussion of topics ranging from sex and c...

Send us Fan Mail In this week’s bonus episode, we dig into the poem “Thanksgiving” by lost lady Lydia Maria Child. AND we remain ever thankful for you, our listeners!  Discussed in this episode:  Lydia Maria Child: A Radical American Life  by Lydia Moland “The Thanksgiving Poem” The Paul Curtis House   The Frugal Housewife  by Lydia Maria Child The Mother’s Book  by Lydia Maria Child An Appeal in...

Send us Fan Mail Novelist and university professor Joy Castro returns to the show to discuss the 1952 novel Forbidden Notebook by Cuban-Italian writer Alba de Cespedes. In a New York Times review of a 1958 English edition of this novel, de Céspedes was called “one of the few distinguished women writers since Colette to grapple effectively with what it is to be a woman.”  Discussed in this episode:...

Send us Fan Mail Last week, with guest Kathleen B. Jones, we discussed Christine de Pizan and her Book of the City of Ladies . Could a woman's hand have been behind any of the beautiful illustrations in this medieval work? Given what we know about women's involvement as artists in the medieval manuscript making process, it's certainly possible. Kathleen, the author of the new novel...

Send us Fan Mail A widow who turned to her pen to support herself and her family, Christine de Pizan was described by Simone de Beauvoir in The Second Sex as the first “woman to take up her pen in defense of her sex.” Published in 1405, The Book of the City of Ladies is Christine’s history of Western civilization from the point of view—and in praise of—women, showcasing them as the intellectual an...

Send us Fan Mail Learn more about the feminist open source publisher cita press and  An Immortal Book: Selected Writings of Sui Sin Far,  a curated collection of short fiction and nonfiction by the pioneering writer, Sui Sin Far (also known as Edith Maude Eaton), one of our past "lost ladies." A journalist and writer of Chinese and British descent who moved to the U.S, Sui Sin Far wrote...

Send us Fan Mail Originally drafted in 1939, the Prohibition-era gangster novel The Girl by Meridel Le Sueur remained unpublished for nearly 40 years. Le Sueur used the intervening decades to transform her work into a beautifully-written, powerful narrative, focusing on the lives of marginalized women in Depression-era America. Joining us is Dr. Rosemary Hennessy, a Professor of English at Rice Un...

Send us Fan Mail In this week’s mini, Amy shares some of the lesser-known spots she visited on her August trip to England (which included meetups with a few past guests from the show!). From Cotswolds beauty to bizarre curiosities—as well as a few lost ladies—you’ll be wishing she had packed you along in her suitcase! CORRECTION:  Leonora Carrington originally met Max Ernst at Erno and Ursula Gold...

Send us Fan Mail Joining us to discuss Mary Wollstonecraft's extraordinary life and her seminal work, A Vindication on the Rights of Woman , is Dr. Susan J. Wolfson, a professor of English from Princeton University whose scholarship focuses on British Writers of the Romantic period. Her latest book, On Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, was published in April 2023 by...

Send us Fan Mail In this week’s mini, we’re sharing some of our favorite verbal faux pas and mondegreens. The term mondegreen, which was coined by Sylvia Wright in a 1954 essay for Harper's Magazine, refers to instances where phrases are misheard or misinterpreted, giving them new and often humorous meanings. Amy challenges Kim to identify correct spellings and interpretations of common idiom...

Send us Fan Mail Sylvia Townsend Warner's "Lolly Willowes” (1926) holds a coveted spot on The Guardian's list of the top 100 English language novels and acclaimed director Greta Gerwig is also a fan. Author Sarah Watling joins us to discuss how the novel critiques societal constraints placed on single women and its connection to Townsend Warner's activism. Watling's latest...

Send us Fan Mail From Dark Academia trends inspired by Donna Tartt's “The Secret History” to other campus novels like Kingsley Amis' “Lucky Jim” and Philip Roth's “The Human Stain,” we delve into the quirks, challenges, and intrigues of university professor characters and campus settings for this week’s mini. We also touch on classics like Dorothy L. Sayers’ “Gaudy Night” and Mary M...

Send us Fan Mail When 'Divorcing' was first published in 1969, the critic Hugh Kenner penned a review for the New York Times that dismissed its author, Susan Taubes, as 'a quick-change artist donning the garments of other writers.' Tragically, merely days after the review's publication, Taubes took her own life. However, in recent years, there has been a profound reassessm...

Send us Fan Mail In support of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike, this week’s mini is focused on lost lady screenwriters. In the early days of Hollywood, more than half of all screenplays copyrighted were written by women, who were pioneers in this field.  Discussed in this episode:  Anita Loos Frances Marion   June Mathis Go West, Young Women: The Rise of Early Hollywood  by Hilary Hallet...

Send us Fan Mail Ismat Chughtai was one of the boldest and most outspoken writers of her day. Her cleverly-crafted short story “The Quilt” sparked a years-long obscenity trial, but it also helped establish her as a writer who wasn’t afraid to shine a light on taboo subjects and speak frankly about women’s experiences both in the traditional and modern Indian world. Our guest is author Tania Malik...

Send us Fan Mail In this week’s mini episode, we’re talking about Anne Askew, a Tudor writer, poet, and Protestant preacher who was condemned as a heretic during the reign of Henry VIII. We’ll also explore the possible connection to Kim’s own family history.  Support the show For episodes and show notes, visit:  LostLadiesofLit.com Subscribe to our substack newsletter. Follow us on instagram @lost...

Send us Fan Mail Set in 16th-century France and published in 1941, Janet Lewis’s “The Wife of Martin Guerre” revolves around one woman's struggle to reconcile cold facts with the truth in her heart. Inspired by a real historical incident, the novella delves into the trial of a woman who faces a predicament when her long-lost husband unexpectedly reappears. Our guest is poet, biographer, and U...

Send us Fan Mail In this week’s mini we discuss Elspeth Barker, a Scottish writer raised in Drumtochty Castle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, where her parents ran a prep school for boys. Barker was a close friend of last week’s lost lady, Elizabeth Smart despite the fact that Barker was married to the poet George Barker, Smart’s former lover and the father of her children. We loved Elspeth’s novel “O C...

Send us Fan Mail When Elizabeth Smart’s 1945 poetic prose novel “By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept” was reissued in 1966, Angela Carter called it "Madame Bovary blasted by lightning," and Morrissey has since credited Smart’s writing as having influenced his lyrics for The Smiths. This week’s guests are biographer Rosemary Sullivan and documentary filmmaker Maya Gallus, both au...

Send us Fan Mail Did you know that a woman wrote the very first novel ever? (We didn’t!) In this week’s mini, we learn more about Murasaki Shikibu's master work “The Tale of Genji.” The novel’s blend of passion, intrigue, and psychological depth has earned this ancient Japanese work comparisons to modern sensations like "Sex in the City" and "50 Shades of Grey," while also...

Send us Fan Mail With the re-release of Winnifred Eaton's riveting 100 year-old novel CATTLE, we’re thrilled to be joined by Mary Chapman, director of the Winnifred Eaton Archive. Described as "a curious Canadian mixture of Hardy and Steinbeck” and set in the sweeping landscapes of Alberta, CATTLE is a love story with strong Western vibes.  In this episode:  You can order a copy of CATTL...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s mini, we look into the fascinating life of Mercy Otis Warren, a hidden wordsmith of American history and the first female reporter of the American revolution. Armed with a pen as her weapon, Warren wrote scathing satirical plays that ignited the revolution and documented the birth of a nation.  Discussed in this episode:  Mercy Otis Warren John Adams Abigail Adams Thoma...

Send us Fan Mail When Jane White’s gripping and unsettling debut novel Quarry was first published in 1967, a review in The Scotsman called it “the most frightening novel of the year.” Joining us is White’s daughter-in-law, Dr. Helen Hughes, of the University of Surrey, who wrote the afterword to the new Boiler House Press edition of Quarry.  Discussed:  Quarry  by Jane White Norfolk Child  by Jane...

Send us Fan Mail In this week’s mini episode we uncover the hidden talents of famous writers who ventured into children's literature, including Ian Fleming's surprising connection to Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang, Upton Sinclair's whimsical Gnome adventure, and James Joyce's peculiar cat tales.   Discussed in this episode:  Mental Floss article by Lucas Reilly (“12 Famous Authors Who...