Two Persephone titles will help solace us in these bizarre post-election days.
We’ve been away for a while because I lost my voice – sorry! – but Rachel (Book Snob) and I are back, talking about The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski and The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher. Before that, we chat scary books, because we haven’t recorded since Hallowe’en.
The world is a scary place right now. I have not come to terms with Trump being President-Elect at all. The idea that somebody could wage a campaign in that way and win… it’s just inconceivable. So let’s turn to books, at least for a moment or two.
We’d love to hear what you’d pick in each of these categories, and any ideas for future episodes. Listen above, via your podcast app of choice, or at our iTunes page. Why not even rate and review us?
Here are the books and authors we mention in this episode…
Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
Terms and Conditions by Ysenda Maxtone Graham (I think I forgot to say the title of any of hers…)
The Real Mrs Miniver by Ysenda Maxtone Graham
Mr Tibbits’s Catholic School by Ysenda Maxtone Graham
Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin
Private Demons: the Life of Shirley Jackson by Judy Oppenheimer
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Raising Demons by Shirley Jackson
Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson
The Sundial by Shirley Jackson
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Agatha Christie
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
Edgar Allan Poe
Mist and other stories by Richmal Crompton
Ghost stories by Edith Wharton
Casting the Runes by M. R. James
Uncanny Stories by May Sinclair
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Don’t Look Now and other stories by Daphne du Maurier
Goosebumps
Point Horror
Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror by Chris Priestley
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym
The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski
The Brimming Cup by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Seasoned Timber by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Her Son’s Wife by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Love on the Supertax by Marghanita Laski
Love on the Dole by Walter Greenwood
Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski
To Bed With Grand Music by Marghanita Laski
The Village by Marghanita Laski
I can do scary but not gory – and Poe is probably my favourite! I don’t think he’s really meant to be scary in the way you think of horror films (and the films of Poe often don’t bear any relation to his stories). His stories are dark but not Vincent Price horror. The only Shirley Jackson I’ve read is The Lottery and it shook me so much I’ve not picked up any of her others.
I’ve read all of Marghanita Laski’s books and loved them. My favorites are probably the Village and To Bed With Grand Music. I’ve also read the Homemaker and I really related to the wife. I’ve never been the best with kids myself and when I found out I was pregnant for my first I was not thrilled. But since I wasn’t thrilled, my sister in law was convinced I was going to be an abusive mother. I was supposed to be ecstatic! This book actually ended up being a little bit of a balm for the soul. Would definitely recommend it!
On another note, not all your followers in the US are Hillary supporters. Not a fan of Trump but am a fan of smaller government and Supreme Court judges who support our constitution. Just hoping Trump exceeds our expectations.
Many thanks for your understanding over our recent election here in the US. Trump’s win is devastating to over half the people who voted, not to mention its effect on the rest of the world.
The Haunting of Hill House scares me more than The Lottery, which is more frightening than We Have Always Lived in the Castle. The “domestic memoirs” (as Penguin House calls them) about her children are delightful.
Little Boy Lost: I teared up just thinking about its ending.
Finally, having just discovered Slightly Foxed (thanks to you), I’ve spent far too much money on ordering second-hand copies of the magazine. (That’s a good thing)