x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Secret Life of Books

Sophie Gee and Jonty Claypole

Every book has two stories: the one it tells, and the one it hides.The Secret Life of Books is a fascinating, addictive, often shocking, occasionally hilarious weekly podcast starring Sophie Gee, an English professor at Princeton University, and Jonty Claypole, formerly director of arts at the BBC.Every week these virtuoso critics and close friends take an iconic book and reveal the hidden story behind the story: who made it, their clandestine motives, the undeclared stakes, the scandalous backstory

arts books

All Episodes

1:17:21

Hercule Poirot, a Tunisian dagger and an evening of...

Secret Life of Books ·

2025/04/22

The three best-selling authors of all time are, in order, God, Shakespeare and Agatha Christie. Exact figures are hard to know, but the gulf between Christie and the second division is big enough to guarantee her place. She has sold over 2 billion books (and just to make that number easier to comprehend, that’s two thousand million). There are a handful of contenders for her greatest book overall, but The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - first serialised exactly 100 years ago in 1925 - is usually amongst

en

1:04:03

Who watches the Watchmen?: Alan Moore and Dave...

Secret Life of Books ·

2025/04/15

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes, wrote the Roman poet Juvenal two thousand years ago. And just in case your Latin isn’t up to scratch, we’ll translate it for you: Who watches the watchmen? That line provided inspiration to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen - arguably the first graphic novel to join the ranks of classic literature.Published as a stand-alone comic in twelve issues between 1986 and 1987, and compiled later that year, Watchmen did for comics what Sergeant Pepper’s did for pop music,

en

58:07

SLoB's Secret Life of Pets

Secret Life of Books ·

2025/04/07

From Macavity to Samuel Johnson’s Hodge, Buck to Rochester’s Pilot, what is classic literature without its pets?One of the most affecting scenes in The Odyssey, that foundation stone of western literature, occurs when Argos, Odysseus’ aged dog, dies at the moment of reunion with his long lost owner. Not even the knowledge of his afterlife as a shopping catalogue can relieve the pathos of the moment.In this episode, Sophie and Jonty make amends for slaughtering Boxer the carthorse in their episode on

en

55:49

George Orwell 6: What's in Room 101? 1984 Part 2

Secret Life of Books ·

2025/04/04

As Shakespeare almost wrote: Orwell That Ends Well. While our six-part series on George Orwell comes to a triumphant end, Orwell’s life - alas - did not. He died too young and deeply pessimistic about the future of the world.In this last episode, Sophie and Jonty look at the bright side of life in Airstrip One, speculate what really lies within Room 101, and - REFORMATION ALERT - take a deep dive into the possible influence of 16th Century theological revolution on Winston Smith’s life (and

en

57:41

George Orwell 5: Sex crime, anyone? 1984 pt1

Secret Life of Books ·

2025/04/01

Newspeak, Big Brother, the Thought Police, Room 101, doublethink, sex crime, the Ministry of Truth. Few books have generated quite as many outlandish yet unforgettable concepts as George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. So much so that Orwell’s name is now an adjective - Orwellian - which, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary means ‘relating to or suggestive of the dystopian reality depicted in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.Published in 1949, Nineteen Eighty-Four is a nightmare from start to

en

1:00:06

George Orwell 4: Come on, Eileen! Anna Funder, Mrs...

Secret Life of Books ·

2025/03/28

George Orwell is one of the most famous names in classic literature, thanks to his novels Animal Farm and 1984, both dystopian fables of worlds gone mad, ruled over by autocratic pigs and authoritarian governments who monitor their citizens– or barnyard companions – every move.And yet for all his commitment to political and social justice, or at least the calling out of injustice and repression, Orwell’s private relationships were troubled and difficult, particularly his relationship with his wife

en

1:20:13

George Orwell 3: Murder in the Barnyard: Animal Farm

Secret Life of Books ·

2025/03/25

Animal Farm is George Orwell’s micro masterpiece, an animal fable that offers a devastating critique of Stalinist Russia and the rise of totalitarianism. Orwell described it to a friend as a “little squib,” but it’s much more than that: a tiny atom bomb that lands a structurally perfect hit on mid-20th century political authoritarianism and communism’s failure to protect the people it purported to serve.Written over the winter 1943/1944, Animal Farm is the closest Orwell came to a piece of

en

54:19

World Poetry Day Double-Bill: Can poetry change the...

Secret Life of Books ·

2025/03/21

Together, Siegfried Sassoon’s The Old Huntsman (1917)and Counter-Attack and Other Poems(1918) are among the greatest examples of protest art in British history. Sassoon was a decorated war hero, who took a stand - when few others dared - on the moral emptiness, institutional corruption and brutality of the First World War.Alongside his poetry, Sassoon took the shocking measure of writing an open letter, which was read out in parliament, in which he accused the British government and military of

en

1:23:03

George Orwell 2: The Revolution SHOULD NOT be...

Secret Life of Books ·

2025/03/18

War is boring; revolution is boring; politics is boring. That’s the message of George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia. But, somehow, Homage to Catalonia itself is NOT boring. Published in 1938, it charts Orwell’s experience on, behind and beyond the front line of the fight against Fascism in the Spanish Civil War.Through the course of his narrative, written in the weeks immediately following his return to England, adrenalin still pumping in his veins, Orwell takes us through the complexity of

en

51:10

World Poetry Day Double-Bill: Elizabeth Bishop's...

Secret Life of Books ·

2025/03/13

Elizabeth Bishop is one of those poets who’s often referred to as a writer’s writer, but this doesn’t mean her poems are hard to read. On the contrary: as one of the most loved and admired twentieth-century poets, Bishop has the rare ability to do high-low. She’s enjoyable and accessible and also intensely artful and complex, not to mention very funny. In this special episode, Sophie and Jonty chat to American writer and critic Rachel Cohen about her decades-long admiration for Bishop and deep

en

1:20:03

George Orwell 1: The Best Gap Yah, great food writing...

Secret Life of Books ·

2025/03/11

In the winter of 1927, George Orwell dropped his aitches, pulled on his distressed tailored trousers, and took the first of many trips to the underbelly of London society. Over the following years, he spent long stints amongst the homeless and starving people of both Paris and London. He collected these experiences into his first book Down and Out in Paris and London (1933), conveniently leaving out the weekends and kitchen sups with mater and pater.Orwell’s intention was partly to draw attention to

en

49:44

International Women's Day Bonus: Was Shakespeare a...

Secret Life of Books ·

2025/03/08

Legendary bestseller Jodi Picoult is also a graduate of the Princeton English Department, and this week she came back to teach class! Sophie recorded a live episode at the Princeton Public Library in front of a packed house of Jodi fans who were delighted to hear why she believes that when it comes to Shakespeare's best plays, a women was holding the quill!Jodi's newest novel "By Any Other Name," tells an intense, gripping story about a real-life woman who might just have written many of

en

1:24:39

Magnetic chemistry, social anxiety, and the in-laws...

Secret Life of Books ·

2025/03/04

By many reckonings, this is the most famous novel in English. It’s also the book Jane Austen described as her own “Darling Child.” As we head to the milestone of Jane’s 250th Birthday in December (get ready for the minced chicken and negus party) Sophie and Jonty dig into one of the most joyful, funny, sexy stories ever told.In this episode we ask why this small novel of village life exploded into a global cultural icon, inspiring retelling upon retelling, and catapulting Mr. Darcy and Lizzie

en

54:17

Self-Help, dodgy marriages and the siren call of...

Secret Life of Books ·

2025/02/28

In Part 2 of David Copperfield, we pick up David where we left him, sobbing at the door of Betsey Trotwood’s house in Dover. From this low, David’s life changes - he is no longer a victim, but embarks on a (very long) journey towards self-reliance, re-encountering old friends like Micawbers and Steerforth, but also new characters like Uriah Heep and the simpering Dora.To make sense of this long, rambling journey of redemption, Sophie and Jonty reveal the influence of the emerging self-help movement

en

1:01:58

‘Umble beginnings, childhood neglect, and did Dickens...

Secret Life of Books ·

2025/02/25

David Copperfield is the name of an American illusionist, whose feats included levitating over the Grand Canyon, walking through the Great Wall of China and making an airplane disappear. It’s also the name of novel by Charles Dickens.Published in serial form between 1849 and 1850, David Copperfield charts the degradation and eventual success of its narrator - a figure based closely on the author himself. So much so that Dickens later referred to the book as a ‘favourite child’, which considering his

en

43:48

BONUS: SLoB's Secret Crushes and Clandestine...

Secret Life of Books ·

2025/02/21

In part 2 of SLoB's Valentine's special, more heroes and heroines from the world of classic books get the brutal Tinder treatment as Sophie and Jonty assess the romantic moves of your literary faves. They are in full agreement concerning the lead characters of Sense & Sensibility and Go Tell It On The Mountain, but the conversation turns fractious as they lock horns over whether Frankenstein or his monster is the greatest lover in Mary Shelley's famous novel. Fortunately, Dracula - that great

en

1:19:48

Free love in Paris, male wrestling and murder:...

Secret Life of Books ·

2025/02/18

It's Black History Month and Sophie and Jonty are bringing their analytical chops once again to the giant of 20th-century literature, James Baldwin.In his debut novel, Go Tell It On the Mountain, Baldwin had captured the experience of growing up in 1930s Harlem. In his second novel, Giovanni’s Room, published in 1956, he focused instead on his experiences as a gay man, living in Paris. But, unlike Baldwin, the narrator of this novel is white.The hero David is torn between two desires - his

en

49:20

BONUS: SLoB's Secret Crushes and Clandestine...

Secret Life of Books ·

2025/02/14

It's Valentine's Day and love is quite literally in the air as the Secret Life of Books beams, via a complex network of satellites and data banks, to your ears. In this Bonus Episode, Sophie and Jonty reflect on what they've learnt about love from the classics, and rank the leading men and ladies of the books covered so far as lovers. St Valentine first appears in English literature in Geoffrey Chaucer's Parliament of Fowls and weaves his way via Jane Austen and Charles Dickens through to the

en

58:58

Shakespeare does 'Succession': Rory Stewart on King Lear

Secret Life of Books ·

2025/02/11

“Now, gods, stand up for bastards!”King Lear is the Mount Everest of Theatre - a sprawling masterpiece of political turmoil, personal betrayal, horrifying gore and great poetry. It makes ‘Succession’ look like The Midsomer Murders. Lear is the pagan king who decides to divides his kingdom between two daughters (and banishing a third), only to find himself outcast, succumbing to madness, adrift in a world collapsing into civil war.Who better to tackle this cautionary tale of domestic and political

en

23:40

Love and Beauty Bonus: Geraldine Brooks picks Gilead...

Secret Life of Books ·

2025/01/31

The Pulitzer Prize winner, fan-favorite Geraldine Brooks first readGileadon a packed flight and found herself clambering over passengers for a Kleenex. Find out why Robinson’s quiet, meditative, multi-generational story remains a model and touchstone for one of the most admired and loved novelists writing today.Or, to echo Jonty’s effort to sound like the cool kids: why isGileadsuch a stone-cold classic?Geraldine talks openly about love, beauty and her determination not to turn away from the world

en

93 results

Similar Podcasts

Start The Breakthrough Full Audiobook Now, Thriller Fans!

thebookvoice.com

Get Hooked On The Life-Enhancing Full Audiobook Experience!

thebookvoice.com

西四五条

主播郑捕头

Podcast Patapoe

0d0a

On Mic Podcast

Jordan Rich