The Brit Lit Podcast

A show of news and views from the world of British books and publishing

78: Murmuration, with Blake Auden 12/02/2021

Bonus episode: The Idea Of You, with Robinne Lee 11/18/2021

77: The Party Crasher, with Sophie Kinsella 11/04/2021

76: Careless, with Kirsty Capes 10/07/2021

75: The Roxy Letters, with Mary Pauline Lowry 09/02/2021

75: The Roxy Letters, with Mary Pauline Lowry This month’s guest is Mary Pauline Lowry, who wrote . Mary is married to a Brit, and she had lots of fascinating insights about the cultural differences between the countries, and I loved talking to her back about Bridget Jones and Jane Austen too. The Roxy Letters was one of my favourite reads of 2020. It was really fun and just what I needed. It’s out now in paperback.  Mary and I talked about why we love epistolary novels, took a bit of an accidental deep dive into books about Hollywood, chatted about the difference between British humour and American humour, and lots more! ***** Want to help the Brit Lit Podcast survive and thrive? . ***** Books Mentioned on the Podcast: , by Mary Pauline Lowry , by Helen Fielding , by Maria Semple , by Julie Schumacher , by John Kennedy O'Toole , by Alice Walker , by Jane Austen , by Jane Austen , by Jane Austen , by Jane Austen , by Jane Austen , by Karen Joy Fowler , by Curtis Sittenfeld , by John Gray , by Claire Handscombe , by Claire Handscombe , by Ash Davidson , by Emma Jane Unsworth , by Mieko Kawakami, transl. Sam Bett and David Boyd  , by Kristy Greenwood , by Taylor Jenkins Reid , by Taylor Jenkins Reid , by Robinne Lee , by Elizabeth Gonzalez James , by Alexis Hall , by Alexis Hall , by Owen Nicholls , by Paula Hawkins , by Paula Hawkins , by Sarfraz Manzoo ***** In the US and now the UK, buy your hardbacks and paperbacks from  to support the podcast, as well as independent bookshops! In other countries, you can support the podcast by using this link to buy from , which ships internationally at inexpensive rates. Get your first two audiobooks for just $14.99 with the code BRITLIT on . Buy Claire’s novel, . Pre-order Claire's YA novel, . Sign up for Claire's mailing list. Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at ***** The Brit Lit Podcast  /  /  /  Mary Pauline Lowry  /  /  Claire  /  /  /  /    /episode/index/show/britlitpodcast/id/20334938

74: The Summer Job, with Lizzy Dent 08/05/2021

73: Star-Crossed, with Minnie Darke 07/01/2021

72: Who's Loving You: Love Stories by Women of Colour, with Sareeta Domingo 06/03/2021

71: Exciting Times, with Naoise Dolan 05/06/2021

The Most Fun Job, with Laurie Gillman of East City Bookshop 04/24/2021

70: This Time Next Year, with Sophie Cousens 04/01/2021

69: Uncoupling with Lorraine Brown 03/04/2021

68: How The One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House, with Cherie Jones 02/04/2021

67: I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day, with Milly Johnson 11/26/2020

66: Afraid of the Dark, with Lucy Farfort 10/29/2020

65: Eudora Honeysett Is Quite Well, Thank You, with Annie Lyons 09/24/2020

64: Everything Is Fine, with Gillian Harvey 08/27/2020

63: Come Again, with Robert Webb 07/30/2020

Ordinary People, with Diana Evans 06/25/2020

62: Would Like to Meet, with Rachel Winters 05/28/2020

61: The Book of Echoes, with Rosanna Amaka 04/30/2020

60: The Authenticity Project, with Clare Pooley 03/19/2020

59: Everything I Know About Love, with Dolly Alderton 02/19/2020

58: Stay Up with Hugo Best, by Erin Somers 01/15/2020

57: Get a Life, Chloe Brown, with Talia Hibbert 11/28/2019

56: The Little Library Year, by Kate Young 11/14/2019

55: You, Me and the Movies, with Fiona Collins 10/31/2019

54: Our Child of the Stars, with Stephen Cox 10/17/2019

54: Our Child of the Stars, with Stephen Cox On this episode, we hear from Stephen Cox, whose debut novel came out earlier this year. And he’s also part of an innovative new bookshop in North London that’s being run by a cooperative. He and I talked about what makes the '60s such an interesting time to set a novel, the importance of bookshops on the high street, what makes a great writers’ group, and more. Books Mentioned on the Podcast: , by Stephen Cox , by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone , by Margaret Atwood Today would have been my dad's 76th birthday. In his honour, I've made five of his songs public on iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, and all (or most of) the other places people listen to music. These songs were part of the soundtrack to my childhood. You On My Mind is my favourite of these, and I love that Have Another Drink really showcases his piano playing -- the riffs are very him, very representative of his best musicianship. In his later years, he got a bit obsessed with adding electronic music effects, and I much prefer the original song-and-piano only versions of his songs. I hope some of those survive somewhere, and that I'll be able to share them one day. He also got a bit obsessed with the Obama campaign in '07-'08, and wrote a whole load of songs about that. They're not his best work, but I'll share them at some point too. Heck, maybe the Crooked media boys will get a kick out of them. I miss my dad often and a lot these days -- a lot of his heroes and influences are hitting milestones, releasing memoirs, and, sadly, passing away. I wish I could have seen Rocketman with him, and bought him Elton John's memoir. I wish I could have ranted about Brexit with him, too -- though it's probably best he never had to live through it. I know he'd be pleased that his music lives on, though. I hope people will enjoy it. https://open.spotify.com/album/6Gw81dZOrnvx2kpFKpKN8P?si=NG9WPRjpQSSQPNod7CtN5w , by Margaret Atwood , by Donna Tartt , by Bram Stoker , by Mary Shelley , by Zadie Smith , by Elton John , Julie Andrews , by Sophie Kinsella , by Sophie Kinsella , by Claire Handscombe ***** Get your first three audiobooks for under $5 each with the code BRITLIT on . Buy Claire’s novel, . Support to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations. Buy to show your love for your podcast and help support it. Sign up to to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts. For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the . Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at ***** The Brit Lit Podcast / / / Claire / / / Stephen Cox / All Good Bookshop / /episode/index/show/britlitpodcast/id/11686046

53: All The Books, with Liberty Hardy 10/03/2019

52: Love Unscripted, with Owen Nicholls 09/19/2019

The Brit Lit Podcast

TOPICS