The Literary Life Podcast

This week on The Literary Life podcast we bring you an episode from our vault, the opening of a series from Season 1 all about Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. For this introductory episode, Cindy Rollins and Angelina Stanford are joined by Thomas Banks. Together they discuss the advent of the novel as a form, as well as some predecessors of Austen.
Angelina points out Austen's satirical voice in poking fun at the sentimental novel in the first few chapters. She also encourages us to look for the real life dangers the main characters encounter in contrast to those sensations of the popular sentimental or gothic novel. Furthermore, we ought to notice who is reading various genres of literature and what that says about those characters.
Cindy and Angelina also talk about Jane Austen's writing and her economy of style and the lasting quality of her books. Along with criticism of sensationalism, Austen also adds a healthy dose of criticism of the education given young women in her day. We also learn that this is a novel of development as we watch Catherine Moorland learn her way around the world.
Don't forget to head over to House of Humane Letters to check out the upcoming fall webinars, the 2027 Literary Life Online Conference, and the HHL annual sale coming up November 21-December 31, 2026. Also, Cindy has a new "Advent to Epiphany" group Morning Time coming up in December now open for registration at MorningTimeforMoms.com.
And for the full show notes for this episode, you can visit https://theliterary.life/351.

On The Literary Life podcast today, Angelina and Addison will wrap up the final installment of our series covering George MacDonald's Lilith. Throughout this conversation they make more connections to other books and stories that they have brought up throughout this series. They also talk about how this story highlights the realities of the journey of the soul, the problem of reading a story like this theologically instead of poetically, the pictures of repentance and judgment, and so much more!
To view the full show notes for this episode, please visit https://theliterary.life/350.

On today's episode of The Literary Life podcast, Angelina and Addison are back to continue their book series on Lilith by George MacDonald. Before diving into chapters 17-32, they talk about the great influence that George MacDonald was on so many other authors. Addison also shares some further information on the character of Lilith in the literary tradition. Then they turn to examining each chapter in this section of the book, including highlights such as the skeleton couple, Mr. Vane awakening Lilith, the people of Bulika, Lilith's palace, the image of the horse, and so much more!
Don't forget to check out everything going on over at HouseofHumaneLetters.com, and sign up for the newsletter to stay up to date on all the upcoming new autumn classes and webinars, including more information about the 2027 Literary Life Online Conference taking place January 22-29, which is now open for registration!
To view the full show notes for this episode, please visit https://theliterary.life/349.

This week Angelina and Addison are back on The Literary Life podcast to continue their discussion series on George MacDonald's Lilith. Today's episode will cover chapters 6-16. They open the conversation with some thoughts on the disorientation we experience when reading MacDonald in general and Lilith in particular. In comparing this work to episodic medieval romances, they give some advice on how to orient yourself as you read this story. Addison shares what it means that the images in this book are "un-displaced." After many preliminary thoughts, Angelina and Addison start moving through the chapters and talking about the major images and symbols we see throughout this section of the book.
Don't forget to check out everything going on over at HouseofHumaneLetters.com, and sign up for the newsletter to stay up to date on all the upcoming new autumn classes and webinars, including more information about the 2026 Literary Life Online Conference, which is now open for registration!
To view the full show notes for this episode, please visit https://theliterary.life/348.

On The Literary Life Podcast this week, Angelina and Thomas are joined by Addison Hornstra as they open a new book discussion series covering George MacDonald's Lilith: A Romance. This introductory conversation on the book opens with some thoughts on both the book's title and the epigraph. Addison shares some background on the story from MacDonald's own son and how this book was written and sent out into the world. They discuss the form of Lilith as a literary romance, as well as the ways in which MacDonald points the reader to admit his limits of understanding. Another major topic is the way in which this story relates to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.
Don't forget to check out everything going on over at HouseofHumaneLetters.com, and sign up for the newsletter to stay up to date on all the upcoming new autumn classes and webinars. You will also be among the first to know when the 2026 Literary Life Online Conference tickets go on sale!
If you would like to view the full show notes for this episode, please visit https://theliterary.life/347.