Podcast
Lost Ladies of Lit
Hosted by Amy Helmes & Kim Askew · EN
A book podcast hosted by writing partners Amy Helmes and Kim Askew. Guests include biographers, journalists, authors, and cultural historians discussing lost classics by women writers. You can support Lost Ladies of Lit by visiting https://www.patreon.com/c/LostLadiesofLit339.
10episodes
Episodes
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ENCORE: Jane White —Quarry with Helen Hughes
1w ago00:41:30Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailWe're celebrating summer with another sultry, almost-suffocating novel from our podcast vaults, one clearly written with William Golding's Lord of the Flies in mind. 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. Mentioned in this episode:Oxford's summer Lifelong Learning seminar on Josephine TeyQuarry by Jane WhiteNorfolk Child by Jane WhiteThe Lord of the Flies by William GoldingProxy by Jane WhiteBeatrice, Falling by Jane WhiteThe Neglected Books page on Jane WhiteSupport the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack newsletter.Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast
Transcribe →ENCORE WITH UPDATE! Ruth Prawer Jhabvala — Heat and Dust with Brigitte Hales
3w ago00:49:08Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailWith Counterpoint Press's new editions of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's work (including her Booker-Prize winning novel Heat and Dust and a new short story collection Disinheritance: The Rediscovered Stories) we're inspired to revisit our 2022 episode on this prolific writer of fiction and films. Pivotal to the success of Merchant/Ivory films like A Room With a View and Howard's End, Jhabvala used her experiences as an "initiated outsider" to tell stories brimming with nuance, humor, truth and beauty.Mentioned in this episode:Heat and Dust by Ruth Prawer JhabvalaDisinheritance: The Rediscovered Stories by Ruth Prawer JhabvalaBrigitte Hales Disenchanted (2022 film)Merchant Ivory ProductionsA Room with a View (1985 film)Howard’s End (1992 film)The Householder by Ruth Prawer JhabvalaNissim EzekielThe Householder (1963 film)Heat and Dust (1983 film)Support the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack newsletter.Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast
Transcribe →Nettie Jones — Fish Tales with Hannah Eko
May 2600:46:28Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailFirst published in 1983 after being championed by Toni Morrison, Nettie Jones’s Fish Tales recounts one woman’s trauma-filled, hedonistic quest for personal freedom amidst a “Disco-Era,” drug-fuelled backdrop — one inspired by Jones’s own lived experiences in 1970s Detroit and New York City. Nigerian-American author and Lit Club founder Hannah Eko joins us to discuss the ways power, pleasure and pain converge in Jones’s transgressive work, which was reissued by Farrar Straus and Giroux in 2025Mentioned in this episode:Fish Tales by Nettie JonesHoney is the Knife by Hannah EkoThe Lit Club’s 2026 event calendarToni MorrisonVillage Well bookstoreLucumiOshunCharles AbramsonJean ToomerLongreads article on Nettie Jones by Michael GonzalezNuma PerrierZola filmLess Than Zero by Bret Easton EllisBright Lights, Big City by Jay McInernyHunter S. ThompsonAnais NinGayl JonesThe Hitachi Magic WandYoruba ArtLost Ladies of Lit Patreon pageSupport the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack newsletter.Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast
Transcribe →Josephine Tey — The Daughter of Time with Jennifer Morag Henderson
May 1200:43:45Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailConsidered one of the greatest crime novels of all time, Josephine Tey’s The Daughter of Time flipped 450 years of British history on its head by re-examining Richard III’s purported involvement in the murder of his two young nephews, the Princes in the Tower. How did a shopkeeper’s daughter-turned-high-school gym teacher become one of the 20th century’s greatest writers of mystery, literary fiction and theatrical plays? Tey’s biographer, Jennifer Morag Henderson, joins us to discuss the double life that allowed Tey to rocket to stardom while also flying under the radar in her home town of Inverness, Scotland.Mentioned in this episode:Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine TeyThe Daughter of Time by Josephine TeyKif: An Unvarnished History by Josephine TeyThe Man in the Queue by Josephine TeyClaverhouse by Josephine TeyRichard of Bordeaux by Josephine TeyJosephine Tey: A Life by Jennifer Morag HendersonDaughters of the North: Jean Gordon and Mary, Queen of Scots by Jennifer Morag HendersonJofrid Gunn by Jennifer Morag HendersonWolf Hall by Hilary MantelGaudy Night by Dorothy L. SayersThe Richard III SocietyAnstey Physical Training CollegeRichard III: The King in the Car Park documentarySupport the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack newsletter.Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast
Transcribe →Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry—The Tale of the Rose with Sara Kippur
Apr 2800:42:14Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailThough her high-flying literary husband took center-stage, Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry was more than just the metaphorical “rose” in his novella The Little Prince. She was a writer and artist in her own right, with a gift for storytelling that’s evidenced in the now out-of-print novel Oppède. Following her death, an undiscovered memoir she wrote about her marriage to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry surfaced among her belongings and was published to great acclaim in 2000 as The Tale of the Rose. Wellesley professor Sara Kippur joins us in conversation to discuss the glittering life and literary merits of this often-overlooked 20th-century figure.Mentioned in this episodeThe Tale of the Rose: The Love Story Behind The Little Prince by Consuelo de Saint-ExupéryOppède or Kingdom of the Rocks by Consuelo de Saint-ExupéryNew York Nouveau: How Postwar French Literature Became American by Sara KippurThe Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-ExupéryJosé VasconcelosEnrique Gomez CarrilloNelly de VogüéAlain VircondeletJosé Martines FructuosoLost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 117 on Zelda FitzgeraldAndré GideAndré BretonOppèdeWebsite with photos of Consuelo’s artVarian FryElsa TrioletTropisms by Nathalie SarrauteThe Sea Wall by Marguerite DurasThe Volcano Daughters by Gina Maria BalibreraSupport the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack newsletter.Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast
Transcribe →María Amparo Ruiz de Burton — Who Would Have Thought It? with Quite Literally Books
Apr 1400:42:00Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailThe first Mexican-American woman novelist to be published in English, María Amparo Ruiz de Burton chose a surprising subject matter—East Coast high society—for her first novel, Who Would Have Thought It? She was uniquely qualified to skewer the hypocrisy of Northern abolitionists, lampoon corrupt politicians and even mock Abraham Lincoln as a figure she deems more “party-boy” than presidential. Bremond Berry MacDougall and Lisa Endo Cooper, founders of Quite Literally Books, join us to discuss their new reissue of this 1872 book and why it still resonates so loudly in the era of Donald Trump.Discussed in this episode:María Amparo Ruiz de BurtonWho Would Have Thought It? By María Amparo Ruiz de BurtonQuite Literally BooksLost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 246 on Jessie Redmon FausetLost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 79 on Frances Harper’s Iola LeRoyLittle Women by Louisa May AlcottUncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher StoweIncidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet JacobsHenry S. BurtonMary Todd LincolnAbraham LincolnVarina DavisJames BaldwinDr. Jessie Alemán1863 Habeas Corpus Suspension ActThe Squatter and the Don by María Amparo Ruiz de Burton on Project GutenbergSupport the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack newsletter.Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast
Transcribe →Juanita Harrison—My Great, Wide, Beautiful World with Cathryn Halverson
Mar 3100:50:53Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailDetermined from a young age to escape the Jim-Crow South and see new places, Mississippi native Juanita Harrison managed, as a working-class Black woman, to cultivate her own version of a grand world tour, paying for her globe-trotting by picking up piecemeal work as a maid, nanny or cook in far-flung places. My Great, Wide, Beautiful World, her remarkable written account of this eight-year international adventure became a bestseller in 1936 and was the most commercially successful book by a Black author at that time. Cathryn Halverson, author of a brand-new biography on Harrion, joins us this week to discuss this “born writer,” whose sheer pluck and adventurous spirit helped her take the world by storm. Mentioned in this episode: My Great, Wide, Beautiful World by Juanita Harrison (free online version).A Born Writer: Juanita Harrison and Her Beautiful World by Cathryn HarrisonLost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 210 on Mary MaclaneLost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 246 on Jessie Redmon FausetChimene JacksonMildred MorrisMary Poppins by P.L. TraversAnthony BourdainEra Bell ThomsonSupport the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack newsletter.Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast
Transcribe →Magda Szabó — Abigail with Deborah H. Sussman
Mar 1700:43:27Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailA literary icon in her native Hungary, Magda Szabó was relatively unknown to English-speaking readers until recent translations of her work opened the door to her powerful storytelling. In today’s episode we focus on her 1970 novel Abigail, which follows a headstrong teenager at an all-girls boarding school during WWII. Dangerous secrets, emotional complexity and an unexpected guardian angel add intrigue to this poignant coming-of-age tale. Our guest, Deborah H. Sussman of the ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, brings her perspective as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor to our discussion about preserving innocence in the midst of darkness.Mentioned in this episode:Abigail by Magda SzabóThe Door by Magda SzabóLen Rix translations of Magda SzabóPhotos of the Dóczy High School of the Debrecen Reformed College which inspired Matula AcademyMagda Szabó Memorial House museum“More Than a Survivor” by Deborah H. SussmanVillette by Charlotte BronteThe Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel SparkThe HoldoversThe Sound of Music2015 Musical production of Abigél from Ady TeátrumTrailer for Abigél 1978 miniseries for Hungarian television2012 film adaptation of The Door starring Helen MirrenSupport the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack newsletter.Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast
Transcribe →Mary Elizabeth Braddon — Lady Audley's Secret with Kristine Huntley
Mar 300:42:49Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailPass the smelling salts! Readers of the Victorian Era eagerly (or furtively) set scruples aside to read Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s 1862 sensation novel Lady Audley’s Secret — the title of which was enough to tempt even the most puritanical schoolmarm into sneaking a peak. But it was Braddon’s sumptuous prose, eye for drama and sophisticated understanding of social mores which won her the admiration of contemporaries like William Makepiece Thackery, Alfred Lord Tennyson and Robert Louis Stevenson. Booklist reviewer and television writer Kristine Huntley joins us this week to discuss Braddon’s remarkable prowess in navigating scandalous secrets … including her own!Mentioned in this episode:2026 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction shortlist and longlistBooklistLady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon“Abducted by my Teacher” Lifetime movie“Freakish” on Hulu“Mind Games” on ABC“Two Sentence Horror Stories” on the CWThe real case that partially inspired Lady Audley’s SecretJohn MaxwellAurora Floyd by Mary Elizabeth BraddonThe Woman in White by Wilkie CollinsThe Doctor’s Wife by Mary Elizabeth BraddonThe Trail of the Serpent by Mary Elizabeth BraddonThree Times Dead by Mary Elizabeth BraddonDaniel Deronda by George EliotLost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 268 on Rosalind AsheSupport the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack newsletter.Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast
Transcribe →ENCORE and updates! Elizabeth Garver Jordan — The Case of Lizzie Borden and Other Stories with Jane Carr and Lori Harrison-Kahan
Feb 1700:44:33Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailHer Life in Ink, a brand new biography by Sharon Harris about Elizabeth Garver Jordan, provides a good reason to plunder our podcast vault this week to revisit an episode about this star journalist, editor and mystery author. Jordan’s riveting coverage of the Lizzie Borden trial for The New York World captivated true-crime junkies of the late 19th-century, and her lengthy career as a journalist, fiction writer and literary editor still resonates today. Lori Harrison-Kahan and Jane Carr, editors of a brand new collection of Garver Jordan’s work, join us to discuss her courtroom dispatches, her connection to today’s #MeToo movement and how her “invisible labor” shaped the writing of literary giants like Sinclair Lewis and Henry James. Mentioned in this EpisodeASU/FIDM screening of Virginia Faulkner's "Bridal Suite" followed by a Q&A with Brad BigelowHer Life in Ink: Elizabeth Jordan, Journalist, Editor and Mystery Author by Sharon Harris The Case of Lizzie Borden & Other Writings by Jane Carr and Lori Harrison-KahanElizabeth Garver Jordan’s work:The Sturdy OakThe Whole Family The Lady of PentlandsThree Rousing Cheers“Ruth Herrick’s Assignment”“The Cry of the Pack”The Superwoman and Other Writings by Miriam MichelsonHeirs of Yesterday by Emma WolfThe New York WorldNellie BlyThe Lizzie Borden caseThe Lizzie Borden house in Fall River, Mass.Harper’s BazaarHarper and BrothersThe White Negress: Literature, Minstrelsy, and the Black Jewish Imaginary by Lori Harrison KahanAmish Rumspringa“Baby McKee”The Woman in White by Wilkie CollinsCNN article by Lori Harrison Kahan on the seeds of the #MeToo moSupport the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack newsletter.Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast
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