Category: Research

Ep. 127: Henriette Lazaridis on Secrets, Suffrage, and a Race to the South Pole

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This week my guest is Henriette Lazaridis, author of the new novel, Terra Nova, a haunting story of love, art, and betrayal, set against the heart-pounding backdrop of Antarctic exploration.

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“From Viola, willing to risk all for women’s suffrage, to her husband—traveling with her secret lover—who risks all to be the first to reach the South Pole, this novel is an intelligent, literary page-turner of the best type.”—B.A. Shapiro, NYT bestselling author of Metropolis

 

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

 

About the Author:

Henriette Lazaridis is the author of The Clover House, which was a Boston Globe bestseller. Her short work has appeared in ELLE, The New York Times, New England Review, The Millions, and more, and she has earned a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artists Grant. She is a graduate of Middlebury College, Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar, and the University of Pennsylvania. Having taught English at Harvard, she now teaches at GrubStreet in Boston. She founded The Drum Literary Magazine and currently runs the Krouna Writing Workshop in northern Greece. She writes the Substack newsletter The Entropy Hotel, at henriettelazaridis.substack.com. For more, visit henriettelazaridis.com.

 

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

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Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is now an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep 126: LaToya Watkins on Method Writing and the Evolution of Her Debut Novel, Perish

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This week my guest is Latoya Watkins, author of the powerful debut novel, Perish, about a Black Texan family, exploring the effects of inherited trauma and intergenerational violence as the family comes together to say goodbye to their matriarch on her deathbed.*

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“With Perish, Watkins joins a tradition of Southern writers who delve into the taboo and grotesque to expose a dark past and a dim, backtracking present. . .Like Walker’s The Color Purple and Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, Perish lures readers past the pain with a spellbinding, buoyant use of language.”—Texas Monthly

 

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

 

About the Author:

LaToya Watkins’s writing has appeared in A Public Space, The Sun, McSweeney’s, Kenyon Review, The Pushcart Prize Anthology (2015), and elsewhere. She has received grants, scholarships, and fellowships from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, MacDowell Colony, Hedgebrook, and A Public Space. She holds a PhD from the University of Texas at Dallas. Perish is her debut novel. Learn more here.

 

*Perish delves into some really difficult topics including the trauma of sexual abuse so if that’s not something you’re in a mental space to hear discussed you might want to switch to another episode.

 

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

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Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is now an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep 116: Julia Kelly on Capturing the End of One Era for the Queen and British High Society

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Today Julia Kelly is on the podcast to discuss her historical novel, The Last Dance of the Debutante, a masterful, glittering novel that whisks you to midcentury Britain as it follows three of the last debutantes to be presented to Queen Elizabeth II.

We recorded this conversation before the Queen’s passing. It’s fascinating to hear more about the ending of one era for England in the 1950s as we witness another time of change today.

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“Julia Kelly elegantly brings to life the last official presentation of debutantes at court with her exquisitely researched and beautiful written detail in The Last Dance of the Debutante. This story was so decadent, I wanted to don silk and crinoline and read it with a glass of champagne.”  —Madeline Martin, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Bookshop in London

You can also listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

 

About the Author:

Julia Kelly is the international bestselling author of historical women’s fiction books about the extraordinary stories of the past. Her books have been translated into 13 languages. She has also written historical romance. In addition to writing, she’s been an Emmy-nominated producer, journalist, marketing professional, and (for one summer) a tea waitress. Julia called Los Angeles, Iowa, and New York City home before settling in London.

You can find out more about her books at her website https://www.juliakellywrites.com/.

 

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

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Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is now an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep. 97: Jennieke Cohen, Author of My Fine Fellow

Posted in History, Research, Young AdultLeave a comment

Jennieke Cohen is on the podcast this week to discuss her new young adult novel, My Fine Fellow, which is a retelling of My Fair Lady set in 1830s London. 

I adored My Fine Fellow and agree with author Stacey Lee who called it “a fun dish of a novel with a healthy sprinkle of feminism. My Fine Fellow is fresh as the rain in Spain.” 


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You can also listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Jennieke Cohen is a Filipina-American author of young adult historical fiction. Her debut novel, Dangerous Alliance, was a Junior Library Guild selection and has been translated into multiple languages. Jennieke studied English history at Cambridge University and has a master’s degree in professional writing from the University of Southern California.

To learn more about Jennieke Cohen and follow her on social media visit https://www.jenniekecohen.com.

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

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Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is now an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep. 96: Patti Callahan Henry, Author of Once Upon a Wardrobe

Posted in Books for Adults, History, Research1 Comment

Bestselling novelist and Friends & Fiction co-host Patti Callahan Henry joins the show this week to tell us about her new book Once Upon a Wardrobe, which pulls back the curtain on the early life of C. S. Lewis. 

We discussed what the Narnia books have meant to Patti, how the pandemic set this novel in motion,  soaking up the magic of the setting on a research trip, and much more.

 

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“I advise you to read this book, then wait for a while and then read it again, for while it may not be Narnia, there is magic in it.”  —Douglas Gresham, C.S. Lewis’ Stepson

You can also listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

 

Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of sixteen novels and podcast host. She is the recipient of The Christy Award 2019 Winner “Book of the Year”; The Harper Lee Distinguished Writer of the Year for 2020 and the Alabama Library Association Book of the Year for 2019. She is the co-host and co-creator of the popular weekly online Friends and Fiction live web show and podcast. Patti is also a contributor to the monthly life lesson essay column for Parade Magazine. A full-time author and mother of three, she now resides in both Mountain Brook, Alabama, and Bluffton, South Carolina with her husband.

To learn more about Patti Callahan Henry and follow her on social media visit https://www.patticallahanhenry.com/.

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

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Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

 

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is now an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep. 95: Catherine Ostler, Author of The Duchess Countess

Posted in Books for Adults, History, ResearchLeave a comment

This week, I’m speaking with Catherine Ostler about her new book, The Duchess Countess: The Woman Who Scandalized Eighteenth-Century London, which explores the life of the stylish and infamous Elizabeth Chudleigh, Duchess of Kingston.

We discuss Elizabeth Chudleigh’s notoriety and what it reveals about the Georgian era, writing the book you want to read, the literary characters the Duchess Countess inspired, transporting readers to the past, and much more.

 

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“The real-life tale of Elizabeth Chudleigh is begging for a Netflix adaptation, with shades of Jane Austen, Bridgerton, and a dash of The Scarlet Letter.” —The New York Times

 

 

You can also listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

 

Catherine Ostler is an author and journalist who has been editor-in-chief of Tatler, the Evening Standard (London), and editor of The Times (London) Weekend Edition. She has also written for a wide range of publications, including Vogue, Daily Mail (London), and Newsweek. She read English at Oxford University, specializing in literature. 

To learn more about Catherine Ostler and follow her on social media visit https://www.catherineostler.com.

 

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

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Screen Shot 2022-02-23 at 9.16.53 AMHappy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

 

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is now an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.