Marilynne Robinson, Francis Spufford, empathy and sympathy!
Welcome to episode 86, in which we talk about characters we feel empathetic towards and those we feel sympathetic towards. And if you aren’t sure of the distinction, don’t worry, we’ve got that covered too.
In the second half, we compare two books with similar titles but very different contents: When I Was a Child I Read Books by Marilynne Robinson and The Child That Books Built by Francis Spufford.
Do get in touch if you have any suggestions for topics or a question for the middle bit – we’re at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com. Find us in your podcast app of choice, on Spotify, or on Apple Podcasts. And you can support us on Patreon, where there are also bonus ten-minute episodes from me.
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
The Game by A.S. Byatt
Possession by A.S. Byatt
The Matisse Stories by A.S. Byatt
The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt
The Vanishing Act by Adrian Alington
Dorothy L Sayers
Agatha Christie
Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield
Mr Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood
Goodbye To Berlin by Christopher Isherwood
Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh
Henry James
Prater Violet by Christopher Isherwood
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Emma by Jane Austen
Ian McEwan
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Dr Thorne by Anthony Trollope
The Warden by Anthony Trollope
Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Lady Susan by Jane Austen
Ivy Compton-Burnett
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Biggles series by W.E. Johns
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Any Human Heart by William Boyd
The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel
The Way We Live Now by Meg Rosoff
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
Wish Her Safe at Home by Stephen Benatar
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
White Cargo by Felicity Kendal
William Shakespeare
The Town in Bloom by Dodie Smith
Look Back With Love by Dodie Smith
Look Back With Astonishment by Dodie Smith
Look Back With Mixed Feelings by Dodie Smith
Opening Night by Ngaio Marsh
Wise Children by Angela Carter
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Lover’s Vows by Elizabeth Inchbald
Sea Change by Elizabeth Jane Howard
At Freddie’s by Penelope Fitzgerald
Molly Fox’s Birthday by Deirdre Madden
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
Famous Five series by Enid Blyton
Bookworm by Lucy Mangan
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Little House on the Prarie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Golden Hill by Francis Spufford
Crossriggs by Jane and Mary Findlater
Emma by Jane Austen