The 19th Century Novel Podcast

EPISODE 32: William Morris, "News from Nowhere" (1890), Part Two

Chapters 9-14: 0:00—Lunatic affairs.  2:42—Jane (Burden) Morris. 8:40—The position of women. 10:07—Education. 16:21—Political science. 19:27—Violence.  23:48—Governance. 25:05—Labor. 26:51—Interlude.

Chapters 15-22: 27:54—Marx & More & Bellamy. 34:59—Everything was sacrificed. 36:52—British imperialism. 39:09—How the change came. 44:27—The General Strike, 1926. 46:26—Britain, 1952. 48:52—The Great Smog. 50:13—British citizens. 53:17—Literary criticism. 59:58—Interlude.

Chapters 23-32: 1:01:01—Murder & morbid brooding. 1:03:31—Not an age of inventions. 1:06:46—Leaving nowhere behind. 1:11:16—Cottagecore. 1:12:40—Shiny, happy people. 1:16:23—The Techno-Optimist Manifesto. 1:20:19—A discovery machine. 1:21:33—Enemies list. 1:22:42—Paths to utopia. 1:27:00—Closing.

Text: William Morris, News from Nowhere. 1890. Oxford Univ. Press, 2003.

Interludes: Edward Elgar, Serenade for Strings in E Minor, Op.20 (1892), performed by A Far Cry at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.

Illustration: William Morris, photograph by Frederick Hollyer, 1884, Victoria & Albert Museum.

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

Thanks to Professor Steven Vincent and the students of History 522: European Intellectual History, NCSU Fall 2023.

EPISODE 31: William Morris, "News from Nowhere" (1890), Part One

Chapters 1-3: 0:00—Cranks & fire-eaters. 5:54—Nowhere man. 7:53—Morris the craftsman & owner & educator. 12:01—The Great Stink. 14:59—Bridging the past. 16:27—Colney Hatch. 20:08—Housing. 21:37—Upholstered women. 23:58—The Hammersmith Socialists.  26:06—Happy expressions. 27:20—Interlude.

Chapters 4-8: 28:04—Poor country people. 32:54—Good work. 38:31—Bookkeeping. 39:34—Institutions. 41:19—The Houses of Parliament. 45:21—Gladstone & the Liberals. 49:48—Bloody Sunday. 55:22—On the verge. 59:30—Closing.

Text: William Morris, News from Nowhere. 1890. Oxford Univ. Press, 2003.

Interlude: Gustave Holst, "In the Bleak Midwinter" (1905), performed by Steve's Bedroom Band (string quartet), IMSLP.

Illustration: William Morris (detail), photograph by Frederick Hollyer (c. 1890), Wikimedia.

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

Thanks to Professor Steven Vincent and the students of History 522: European Intellectual History, NCSU Fall 2023.

EPISODE 30: Louis Couperis, "The Hidden Force" (1900), Part Three

Chapters 18-24: 0:00—A man of duty and principle. 9:24—A dark, swirling tide. 11:11—Force of words. 13:40—The charity ball. 15:27—A frenzied downpour. 20:33—Strange things. 23:15—Naturalism. 24:54—Eva’s funk. 26:20—Forced to believe. 28:46—The climate of Java. 30:32—Interlude.

Chapters 25-26: 30:47—Impression: sunrise. 33:00—Setting & theme & style. 34:08—Pontianaks. 37:08—Moans & cries & sobs. 38:52—White and trembling. 40:25—Leonie in the bath. 43:16—The hidden force. 44:27—Filthy vermillion. 47:00—Scenes like this. 49:54—Betel juice. 53:02—Other forces. 54:51—Other monsters. 56:00—Interlude.

Chapters 27-32: 58:16—Strange happenings continue. 59:18—Leonie & Addy. 1:01:48—Benevolent & hostile forces. 1:05:45—East vs West. 1:07:23—Leonie & Addy. 1:09:25—Addy & Doddy. 1:10:21—Leaving Lubawangi. 1:15:09—Flying foxes. 1:16:37—Eva & Van Oudijck. 1:17:59—That strange, unnatural business. 1:21:31—Interlude.

Chapter 32 continued: 1:21:49—Mysticism & Islam. 1:24:24—Stoning. 1:26:06—Islam & the hidden force. 1:28:29—A hollow triumph. 1:30:48—The virgin & the dynamo. 1:33:30—The immense natural world. 1:35:24: A heretofore hidden force. 1:36:02—Endangered Indonesia. 1:41:36—Denying mystery. 1:43:12—Closing.

Text: Louis Couperus, The Hidden Force. Translated by Alexander Texiera de Mattos; revised and edited by E.M. Beekman. Univ. of Massachusetts Press, 1985. 

Interludes: Arnold Schoenberg, “Verlarte Nacht for String Sextet, Op. 4” (1899), performed by A Far Cry Chamber Orchestra, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. 

Sound effects: Pixabay.

Illustration: Louis Couperus as King Assuérus (detail), Java, 1899 (Wikipedia).

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EPISODE 29: Louis Couperus, "The Hidden Force" (1900), Part Two

Chapters 11-13: 0:00—Family history. 5:23—Racial diversity. 6:36—Addy de Luce. 9:43— Léonie’s desires. 12:41—A feverish depravity. 14: 27—Perversely admirable. 16:30— Couperus & Léonie & the fin de siècle. 20:38—Addy & Doddy. 21:18—Addy & Léonie. 23:51—Interlude.

Chapters 14-16: 24:06—Léonie doesn’t object. 25:33—Addy & Theo. 27:26—Sun worship. 30:05—Theo & si-Oudijck. 33:24—Otto Van Oudijck. 35:27—Housekeeping. 38:08—Residents. 39:19—Life under life. 40:54—The language of the unconscious. 43:20—Volcanism. 46:25—Male blindness. 48:12—Interlude.

Chapter 17: 48:07—Bowing submissively. 51:44—A world created. 53:12—The hidden force. 54:40—Resident & regent. 55:59—Secret language, metaphor & mystery. 1:00:17—Closing.

Text: Louis Couperus, The Hidden Force. Translated by Alexander Texiera de Mattos; revised and edited by E.M. Beekman. Univ. of Massachusetts Press, 1985.

Interludes: Richard Strauss, Salome (1905), performed by the Orchestra of the Hamburg State Opera, Karl Böhm conductor, 1971, Deutsche Grammophon recording, Internet Archive.

Illustration: Louis Couperus in Java, 1899 (detail), Der Groene Amsterdamer

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EPISODE 28: Louis Couperus, "The Hidden Force" (1900), Part One

Chapters 1-4: 0:00—Dutch rule. 6:08—Narrative structure and theme. 7:50—Dusk in Labuwangi. 17:25—Couperus & Conrad. 18:46—Imperial twilight. 21:16—Doddy, Theo & Otto Van Oudijck.  22:36—The creamy Leonie. 26:40—The lovely Léonie. 28:12—The dreamy Léonie. 30:18—Silent, correct depravity. 33:21—Terror & taunting. 35:35—Interlude.

Chapters 5-6: 36:30—Van Oudijck’s delight & regret. 40:20—Behind the velvety banyans. 41:40—Profound dissonance. 43:33—Chinatown. 50:00—The hidden force. 51:18—Interlude

Chapters 7-8: 52:08—Eva’s Orient.  54:11—Confronting Sunario. 56:00—European Eva. 58:15—Racial identities. 1:03:55—Dutch exhibitionism. 1:13:53—Bewitched Debussy.  1:15:33—Balzac’s Java. 1:19:54—Interlude.

Chapters 9-10: 1:20:44—The problem with the regent. 1:25:25: Something new & something menacing. 1:27:29—Table turning. 1:30:04—The truth of spiritualism.  1:34:19—Table talk. 1:36:32—An exhausted colony. 1:39:35—Melancholic Eva. 1:40:42—Closing.

Text: Louis Couperus, The Hidden Force. Translated by Alexander Texeira de Mattos; revised and edited by E.M. Beekman. Univ. of Massachusetts Press, 1985.

Interludes: Claude Debussy, Estampes, “Pagodes” (1903), Audiartist.com / soundcloud.com.

Additional music: Javanese gamelan, performed by the Yogyakarta Gamelan Ensemble, National Museum of Asian Art, Washington, D.C., November 1, 2013.

Sound effects: Pixabay.

Illustration: Portrait of Louis Couperus, by H.J. Haverman, 1897, Wikipedia.

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

EPISODE 27: Multatuli, "Max Havelaar" (1860), Part Three

Chapters 16-17: 0:00—Back in Lebak. 3:41—Drystubble objects, punishes & reasons. 12:52—Lazy, sick & pedantic. 13:50—Tone & style. 15:48—The tale of Saijah & Adinda. 25:10—The larger picture. 27:10—What should a writer do? 30:56—Art & politics. 36:18—End notes. 39:56—Interlude.

Chapters 18-20: 40:32—Max & the Adipati. 44:07—Drystubble’s pleasant outing. 51:43—The Resident arrives. 53:30—The former Assistant Resident. 54:57—Java Man. 56:23—Zigzag. 57:22—Belief system. 1:02:27—Multatuli takes up the pen. 1:08:52—Personal grievance & cultural misunderstanding. 1:11:07—Writing, publishing, editing. 1:15:43—Reception. 1:17:18—Dekker & colonialism. 1:18:36—Omissions & distortions. 1:11:57—And yet.

Text: Multatuli, Max Havelaar. Translated by Ina Rilke and David McKay, New York Review Books, 1999).

Interludes: Sundanese Water Music, Unknown Artist, Folkway Records, Internet Archive. 

Illustration: Multatuli (Eduard Douwes Dekker), by César Mitkiewicz, 1864, Wikipedia.

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.co

Thanks to Professor David Gilmartin and the students of History 519: Modern European Imperialism, NCSU Spring 2024.

EPISODE 26: Multatuli, "Max Havelaar" (1860), Part Two

Chapters 5-9: 0:00—Principled Havelaar. 7:25—Havelaar & the chiefs. 12:30—How to read. 13:45—Drystubblian digression. 17:37—Moral instruction. 18:55—Interlude.

Chapter 10: 19:21—Parson Waffler’s sermon. 20:15—The Curse of Ham. 26:27—The Dutch slave trade. 29:11—The Curse continues. 31:30—The sermon continues. 32:21—False prophets, 34:12—The sermon continues. 35:12—Anti-secular-humanism. 35:56—The sermon continues. 36:42—Fire & brimstone. 38:11—The sermon continues. 38:57—Black skin. 41:50—The sermon continues. 42:35—Saving the Javanese. 44:18—Voltaire. 46:56—Harriet Beecher Stowe. 48:19—Frederick Douglass 50:09—Race, religion & imperialism. 51:12—Drystubble on poetics. 55:11—Interlude.

Chapters 11-15: 55:39—Beautiful women. 1:00:21—Si Upi Keteh. 1:0437—Havelaar’s troubles. 1:07:46—Dekker’s career. 1:10:42—Max & Tine. 1:12:22—Grounds. 1:13:47—A corrupt system. 1:20:06—The limits of satire. 1:21:38—Closing.

Text: Multatuli, Max Havelaar. Translated by Ina Rilke and David McKay, New York Review Books, 1999).

Interludes: Javanese gamelan music, performed by the Yogyakarta Gamelan Ensemble, National Museum of Asian Art, Washington, D.C., November 1, 2013.

Illustration: Multatuli (Eduard Douwes Dekker), c. 1862, Radio Netherlands Archives.

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

Thanks to Professor David Gilmartin and the students of History 519: Modern European Imperialism, NCSU Spring 2024.

EPISODE 25: Multatuli, "Max Havelaar" (1860), Part One

Chapter 1: 0:00—Imperialism and the novel. 12:00—Max Havelaar. 15:14—Missing Max. 16:26—No. 37 Lauriergracht. 17:54—Batavia. 21:00—Drystubble. 25:12—Interlude.

Chapter 2: 26:00—Burden & Co. 28:33—Kalverstraat. 33:48—Poetry at the Rosemeyers. 38:16—A comic farrago. 41:52—Making Max. 47:33—Interlude.

Chapters  2-4: 48:33—The Dutch East Indies. 52:47—The VOC. 55:48—The coffee trade. 58:10—Dutch decline. 1:01:58—Interlude.

Chapter 5: 1:02:38—Postmodern aesthetics. 1:11:24—Administration. 1:15:50—The Regent. 1:18:07—The Culture System. 1:20:05—The NHM. 1:26:18—How to manage a colony. 1:30:37—Max’s character. 1:33:21—A peculiar digression. 1:34:15—Who is I? 1:35:38—Multatuli & Dutch literature. 1:37:30—Havelaar & Shawlman. 1:39:48—Closing.

Text: Multatuli, Max Havelaar. Translated by Ina Rilke and David McKay, New York Review Books, 1999.

Interludes: "Wein Neêrlands Bloed," performer unknown, Internet Archive, and Javanese gamelan music, performed by the Yogyakarta Gamelan Ensemble, National Museum of Asian Art, Washington, DC, Nov. 1 2013.

Illustration: Multatuli (Eduard Douwes Dekker), by H.C. Overman/Koene & Büttinghausen, Oct. 1853, Wikipedia.

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

Thanks to Professor David Gilmartin and the students of History 519: Modern European Imperialism, NCSU Spring 2024.

EPISODE 24: Honoré de Balzac, "Cousin Pons" (1848), Part Two

Chapters 12-17: 0:00—Bourgeois, high and low. 3:38—Stereotypes. 11:30—Cibot seeks her fortune. 14:10—Cartomancy. 20:40—A serpent hatched. 21:34—French Jews. 25:58—Pons’s collection. 27:37—Pons floored. 29:32—Mute despair. 35:09—The terrible comedy. 35:39—Interlude.

Chapter 18-Conclusion: 36:00—The lawyer Fraisier. 38:53—The Gothic. 40:07—Fraisier’s warnings. 43:08—Creditor & caregiver. 46:05—Remonencq & Cibot. 48:30—These two vipers. 51:04—Carrion crows around a corpse. 53:00—Criminal homeopathy. 56:04—Murder by verdigris. 59:16—Complications & wills. 1:02:05—R.I.P. Pons. 1:03:59—Tombstone Street. 1:13:00—Helpful Topinard. 1:14:36—Muddling Schmucke. 1:17:58—Character & corruption. 1:24:27—R.I.P. Balzac.

Text: Honoré de Balzac, Cousin Pons. Translated by Herbert J. Hunt, Penguin, 1968.

Interludes:  Beethoven, Symphony #2 (1802), performed by the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Bruno Walter, 1959.

Illustration: Balzac's burial memorial, Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris

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EPISODE 23: Honoré de Balzac, "Cousin Pons" (1848), Part One

Chapters 1-7: 0:00—A glorious relic. 4:02—The aging artist. 6:44—A taste for antiquities. 10:15—Gourmand syndrome. 12:24—Good taste. 16:37—Such a Schmucke. 18:36—Bette & Valerie vs. Pons & Schmucke. 21:40—Connoisseurship. 27:37—Family & food. 31:28—Dinner at the Camusots. 34:20—Gastric nostalgia. 38:17—Interlude.

Chapters 8-11: 38:40—Frankfurt-am-Main. 39:40—A wicked stepmother. 41:52—Fritz & Werther. 42:54: Rich Fritz. 43:38—Salad days. 47:18—Pons’s proposal. 49:06—Pons’s paintings. 52:00—Pons the killer. 55:00—Pons the monster. 58:31—Pons the pariah. 59:43: Dr. Poulain. 1:01:35—The tale end.

Text: Honoré de Balzac, Cousin Pons. Translated by Herbert J. Hunt, Penguin, 1968.

Interludes: Beethoven, Symphony #2 (1802), performed by the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Bruno Walter, 1959.

Illustration: Honoré de Balzac, by David d'Angiers (aka Jean Pierre David), 1843.

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

 

EPISODE 22: A 19th Century Miscellany--Women and Marriage

Introduction. 0:00—Brontë, Collins, Fowles. 7:41—Haunted heroines. 10:13—Interlude.

Education. 10:42—Exemplary vs. exceptional. 11:57—From Episode 1: Brontë, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. 13:26—From Episode 5: Wood, East Lynne. 14:27—Training girls. 15:37—From Episode 1: Brontë, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. 16:42—From Episode 2: Brontë, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. 22:29—Resistance. 22:59—From Episode 3: Brontë, Agnes Grey. 26:27—Interlude.

Marriage. 26:58—Marriage, meaning & money. 28:17—From Brontë, Agnes Grey. 34:48—Intimate details. 38:38—From Episode 2: Brontë, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. 40:16—Sexual failing. 41:18—From Episode 18: Balzac, Cousin Bette.  43:37—Cultural prudishness. 44:08—Interlude.

Adultery. 44:38—Women seeking comfort. 45:15—From Episode 2: Brontë, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. 47:32—Causes of female adultery. 48:08—From Episode 5: Wood, East Lynne. 52:41—From Episode 3: Brontë, Agnes Grey. 56:16—From Episode 17: Balzac, Cousin Bette. 58:41—Interlude.

Employment. 59:11—Governessing. 59:54—From Episode 3: Brontë, Agnes Grey. 1:04:39—Her best alternative. 1:06:04—From Episode 16, Braddon, Lady Audley’s Secret. 1:08:23—Interlude.

Women Beware Women. 1:08:52—Frustrated women. 1:09:59—From Episode 7: Broughton, Cometh Up as a Flower. 1:17:02—From Episode 17: Balzac, Cousin Bette. 1:20:56—From Episode 19: Balzac, Cousin Bette. 1:23:02—From Episode 4: Wood, East Lynne.

Conclusion. 1:32:45—Chipping away at an institution. 1:34:24—Contemporary novelists on marriage. 1:35:22—Happy endings. 1:35:41—From Episode 2: Brontë, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. 1:36:55—From Episode 16, Braddon, Lady Audley’s Secret.  1:38:24—From Episode 5: Wood, East Lynne. 1:39:40—From Episode 3: Brontë, Agnes Grey. 1:41:37—True love ways. 1:42:07—Notes. 1:42:36—Wilhelm Schlegel on the Gothic. 1:43:35—Vera Brittain on Victorian. dating. 1:46:31—Closing.

Interludes: Clara Schumann, Prelude in B-flat Major (1845), performed by Alison Hasselquist.

Illustration: A portrait of the podcaster as an old man.

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

EPISODE 21: A 19th Century Miscellany--Imperialism and Anti-Semitism

0:00—Digressive pleasure. 1:14—From Episode 17: Balzac, Cousin Bette. 5:43—Syntactic tangles. 6:47: From Episode 13: The Sensation Novel & Episode 8: Epistolary and Sentimental. 8:57—British imperialism. 13:04—From Episode 14: Broughton, Lady Audley’s Secret. 15:12—Allusions of empire. 16:52—From Episode 7: Broughton, Cometh Up as a Flower. 26:12: Braddon’s reaction. 26:32—From Episode 14: Braddon, Lady Audley’s Secret. 31:47—Mutiny & sensation. 32:04—From Episode 13: Braddon, Lady Audley’s Secret. 40:33—French imperialism. 41:27—From Episode 17: Balzac, Cousin Bette. 50:30—Interlude.

51:59—Anti-Semitism in Britain. 53:13—From Episode 4: Wood, East Lynne. 1:00:22—From Episode 7: Broughton Cometh Up as a Flower. 1:02:00—Anti-Semitism in France. 1:02:48—From Episode 19: Balzac, Cousin Bette. 1:09:53—Closing: politics & the novel. 1:12:11—From Episode 12: Walter Scott and the Historical Novel, Part Two.

Interludes: Anton Bruckner, Symphony # 8 (1890), performed by the Vienna Philharmonic, 1944.

Illustration: Leonid Pasternak, The Passion of Creation (detail, date unknown), Wikimedia.

Click here for transcript To contact me: jimjneilson@gmail.com

EPISODE 20: A 19th Century Miscellany--Method and Mania

0:00—Methodology. 8:40—New Criticism. 9:10—Context. 10:10—Repression. 10:35—From Episode 10: Historicizing & Analyzing the Gothic. 16:37—Repression & Ideology. 17:42—From Episode 14: India in Lady Audley’s Secret. 21:18—Repetition. 22:32—From Episode 16: Fire imagery in Lady Audley’s Secret. 32:14—Interlude.

32:48—Fear of the novel. 33:33—From Episode 8: Inferiority of the novel. 37:26—Attacking novel genres. 37:52—From Episode 10: Attacking the Gothic. 47:40—After the Gothic. 47:59—From Episode 9: Attacking the Silver Fork. 53:00—Mid-Victorian vogue. 53:18—From Episode 13: Attacking the Sensation Novel. 1:08:52—Novel fears.

Interludes: Niccolo Paganini, 24 Caprices, peformed by Michael Rabin, 1958.

Illustration: Firs Zhuralev, The Clerk, 1884 (detail), Wikipedia.

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EPISODE 19: Honoré de Balzac, "Cousin Bette" (1846), Part Three

Chapters 84-91: 0:00—Honor & ruin. 5:35—The majesty of virtue. 8:31—Big darling & Little lovey-dovey. 13:54—Interlude.

Chapters 92-102:  14:40--Male honor. 24:24—Hulot leaves home. 25:29—Jews in France. 32:53—Recurring characters. 33:18—Crazy about women. 34:15—Olympe Bijou and the claws of sensuality. 36:22—A worthy son. 38:21—Rue de la Paix. 39:39—Valerie’s miscarriage and marriage. 40:38—Interlude.

Chapters 103-112: 41:23—Situating ourselves. 42:49—Boulevard of crime. 44:28—Adeline & Josepha. 46:56—Judith & Holofernes. 51:40—Madonna & Mistress. 52:57—Class privilege & sex education. 54:33—Madonna worship. 59:38—Bette warns the Baron. 1:01:49—Rue de Charonne. 1:04:12—Rightful manias. 1:06:37—Crevel and Valérie. 1:09:00—Criminal underground & secret police.  1:15:25—Interlude.

Chapters 113-132: 1:16:00—The world of the courtesan. 1:17:11—Combabus. 1:18:31—Montès & Cydalise. 1:23:04—Slaves & poison. 1:25:30—Paradise lost.  1:29:31—Valérie & Crevel & Montès. 1:30:57—A curse of ugliness. 1:35:33—Infinite compassion. 1:36:38—A child of Voltaire & Rosseau. 1:39:20—Reactionary politics.  1:42:29—Haute bourgeois arrivisite.1:45:44—Poor neighborhoods & charity. 1:51:41—Monsieur Vyder & Atala Judici. 1:52:59—Faubourgs. 1:55:03—Attala & Adeline. 1:56:39—A kind of monster. 1:59:15—Passages. 2:00:19—Adeline & Baron Hulot reunited. 2:03:03—Bitter Bette. 2:04:40—Conventional closing. 2:06:30—An appalling ending.

Text: Honoré de Balzac, Cousin Bette. Translated by Sylvia Raphael. Oxford Univ. Press, 1992.

Interludes: Giachino Rossini, String Sonata No. 3 in C Major (1804), performed by the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, 1953.

Illustration: Caricature of Balzac, by Nadar, 1850, Wikimedia.

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

Thanks to Professor Steven Vincent and the students of History 530: Modern France, NCSU Spring 2023.   

 

EPISODE 18: Honoré de Balzac, "Cousin Bette" (1846), Part Two

Chapters 38-48: 0:00—Crevel’s cravings. 4:06—Immoral French novels. 14:34—The sensation novel. 17:00—Wilde on Balzac. 19:43—Bette and Valérie’s closeness. 21:48—Sexual fluidity. 24:06—Creole? 25:15—Emasculating Hulot. 26:19—Doglike devotion. 32:28—Valérie’s lovers. 35:40—Interlude.

Chapters 49-56: 36:13—Enter the Brazilian. 39:05—The rich get richer. 41:59—Valérie’s speculations. 45:46—Balzac & women. 46:34—Virginity. 47:35—The Physiology of Marriage. 50:11—Tricked like shareholders. 51:34—Interlude.

Chapters 57-83: 51:57—Enticing corruption. 59:06—Physiology. 1:01:36: A very nervous attack. 1:05:16—The five fathers. 1:07:55—More than a dagger blow. 1:10:09—Much entanglement & deceit.  1:12:07—Blackmail in the boudoir.1:14:39—The ideal & the sensual.

Text: Honoré de Balzac, Cousin Bette. Translated by Sylvia Raphael. Oxford Univ. Press, 1992.

Interludes: Frederic Chopin, Impromptu No. 1, in A Major, Op. 29 (1837), performed by Robert Stahlbrand.

Illustration: Portrait of Balzac (detail), by Louis Boulanger, 1836, Wikimedia.

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

Thanks to Professor Steven Vincent and the students of History 530: Modern France, NCSU Spring 2023.   

 

EPISODE 17: Honoré de Balzac, "Cousin Bette" (1846), Part One

Introduction: 0:00—London to Paris. 8:00—Paris in the 1840s. 12:56—Balzac’s home. 15:50—Balzac at work. 20:35—Interlude.

Chapters 1-17: 21:09—Military & Nobility. 25:06—“de.” 28:57—Dissent & consent.  41:38—Bette vs. Adeline. 50:53—"A kind of god.” 52:59—Bette the common worker. 55:26—Bette the old maid. 55:55—Bette’s neighborhood. 58:10—Balzac’s Paris. 59:43: Special military operation in Poland. 1:02:52—Saving Steinbock. 1:07:36—Domestic perfection. 1:09:01—La Comédie Humaine. 1:10:30—A new economic reality. 1:16:39—Marx & Engels. 1:17:57—Balzac’s reactionary politics. 1:19:58—The bourgeoisie. 12:20:08—Interlude.

Chapters 14-32: 1:22:36—Hulot’s gaze. 1:25:05—Meeting the Marneffes. 1:29:09—Balzac’s realism. 1:32:43—Upper-class display. 1:35:00—Hulot rejected. 1:40:36—Hortense & Steinbock. 1:44:26—Rue Vaneau. 1:48:12—A new way to love. 1:50:50—Smothering Steinbock. 1:55:41—Bette & Valerie, bff. 2:00:45—Losing Steinbock. 2:02:33—Interlude.

Chapters 33-37: 2:05:15—The conquest of Algeria. 2:18:42—“The most consummate devilry.”

Text: Honoré de Balzac, Cousin Bette. Translated by Sylvia Raphael. Oxford Univ. Press, 1992.

Interludes: Frederic Chopin, Waltz in A Flat Major, No. 3, Op. 64 (1847), performed by John Robson.

Illustration: Honoré de Balzac, portrait by Louis-Auguste Bisson, 1842, Wikimedia.

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

Thanks to Professor Steven Vincent and the students of History 530: Modern France, NCSU Spring 2023.           

EPISODE16: Mary Elizabeth Braddon, "Lady Audley’s Secret" (1862), Part Three

Vol. 3, Chapters 1-6. 0:00—In her hands. 2:49—Wrestling with a mad woman. 6:28—His pretty nurse & a monster. 11:26—Will anything stop him? 13:05—Staring into the fire. 19:04—Back to normal. 21:42—Interlude. 22:53—No longer a woman. 26:10—A public hanging. 27:44—Lady Audley’s mother’s secret. 29:00—Marriage & madness. 31:10—Becoming (and remaining) Lady Audley. 32:52—Sir Michaels distress. 33:39—Mania sans delire. 37:20—She is dangerous. 38:21—Diminished, disheveled & discolored. 42:16—This creature. 43:18—Interlude.

Vol. 3, Chapters 7-10. 43:51—The Indian Mutiny. 47:16—Luke on his deathbed. 49:28—Her bounden slave. 50:25—His lost friend. 50:42—An Edenic conclusion. 53:40—Wrestling with Lady Audley. 1:00:15—Matters religious. 1:05:06—Sympathizing with Lady Audley. 11:14:30—Mary Braddon’s secret. 1:19:34—Closing.

Text: Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Audley's Secret. 1862. Oxford Univ. Press, 2012.

Interludes: Beethoven, Piano Sonata 23 in F Minor, Op. 57 (1804-06), performed by Stephen Kopp.

Illustration: M. E. Braddon, wood engraving by Edward Linley Sambourne, Punch (5 March 1881), from The Victorian Web.

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

Thanks to Professor Anna Gibson and the students of English 453: Studies in Nineteenth-Century British Literature (The Sensation Novel), NCSU Fall 2022.   

 

EPISODE 15: Mary Elizabeth Braddon, "Lady Audley’s Secret" (1862), Part Two

Vol. 2, Chapters 1-5. 0:00—Rail travel. 5:40—Women on the rails. 11:24—Losing letters, finding inscriptions, saving Georgey. 16:43—George’s father & sister.

Vol. 2, Chapters 6-9. 19:50—Petticoat government. 22:22—Interlude. 23:-03—Homosociality. 30:37—Effeminacy. 41:44—The Audley name. 51:33—Interlude. 52:03—Confronting Lady Audley. 54:33—The connecting link. 55:57—Off to Wildersnea. 59:03—Assembling the pieces. 1:01:37—Digging further. 1:01:37—Fugue. 1:02:03—Closing.

Text: Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Audley's Secret. 1862. Oxford Univ. Press, 2012.

Interludes: Beethoven, Piano Sonata 27 in F Minor, Op. 90 (1814),, performed by Randolph Hokanson.

Additional music: Felix Mendelssohn, Fugue in F Minor (1836), performed by Professor Robert Parkins, Duke University, 1982.

Illustration: Mary Elizabeth Braddon  (Robert Lee Wolff Collection, Univ. of Texas).

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

Thanks to Professor Anna Gibson and the students of English 453: Studies in Nineteenth-Century British Literature (The Sensation Novel), NCSU Fall 2022.   

EPISODE 14: Mary Elizabeth Braddon, "Lady Audley’s Secret" (1862), Part One

Vol 1. Chapters 1-6. 0:00—Audley Court. 3:54—Ingatestone Hall. 8:48—Skisdon Lodge. 11:48—Lucy Graham. 14:52—Long flaxen curls. 17:04—The widowed baronet & “the sweetest girl that ever lived.” 23:03—Back from the Outback. 24:28—George & Helen. 25:46—The Australian gold rush. 28:36—Companion and clodhopper. 32:33—Robert Audley, bachelor barrister. 33:00—Death announcement. 34:12—Off to Ventnor. 34:31—Why Ventnor? 36:00—Headstone & hair. 37:16—Captain Maldon. 38:00—Interlude.

Vol. 1. Chapters 7-12. 38:20—George’s wound. 39:24—Contemporary literary practice. 41:49—The Indian Mutiny. 48:47—Lady Audley. 49:45—Childish women. 52:30—Alicia Audley. 53:56—Portrait of a beautiful fiend. 56:44—Demon & angel. 59:44—Pre-Raphaelite women. 1:01:17—George disappears. 1:01:58—Paradoxical Lady Audley. 1:02:53—Clues at Southampton. 1:03:41—Interlude.

Vol. 1. Chapters 13-18. 1:04:00-Robert’s dreams. 1:07:10—Reading The Times. 1:09:28—Off to Liverpool. 1:10:05—Journal of facts. 1:12:50—Lady Audley & Phoebe. 1:13:24—French novels. 1:18:01—Phoebe will marry Luke. 1:22:46—Audley Court vs. Mt. Stanning. 1:26:40—Castle Inn. 1:30:00—The larger picture. 1:31:43—Horses & dogs and cat & mouse. 1:35:36—Perfect beauty. 1:37:55—Appearance & character. 1:42:12—Physiognomy. 1:43:48—Victorian tension. 1:44:29—Lady Audley’s art. 1:46:20—Leaving Audley Court. 1:47:17—Robert & Lady Audley at Castle Inn. 1:51:30—Off to London. 1:51:53—Unfinished. 1:53:12—Interlude. 1:53:30—Braddon’s family. 1:54:51—Braddon’s education. 1:57:31—Braddon the actress. 2:00:07—Braddon the writer. 2:00:53—John Gilby, patron. 2:02:24—John Maxwell, publisher & lover. 2:04:52—Penny bloods. 2:06:46—A haunting at the Haymarket.

Text: Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Audley's Secret. 1862. Oxford Univ. Press, 2012.

Interludes: Beethoven, Piano Sonata 32 in C Minor, Op. 111 (1822), performed by Francois de Larrard.

Illustration: Mary Elizabeth Maxwell (née Braddon), (detail) by William Powell Frith, Wikipedia.

Click here for transcript To contact me: jimjneilson@gmail.com

Thanks to Professor Anna Gibson and the students of English 453: Studies in Nineteenth-Century British Literature (The Sensation Novel), NCSU Fall 2022.   

EPISODE 13: The Sensation Novel

0:00—Origins (The Woman in White). 5:10—Definition & Recipe. 7:20—Genres. 12:32—The Gothic. 16:17—Interlude. 16:53—Marriage acts. 18:03—Social stigma. 21:54—Interlude. 22:22—The Indian Mutiny. 23:07—British militarism. 24:20—A lurid footnote. 24:52—Atrocities. 27:03—The national soul. 29:01—Dark underside. 31:45—Theorizing the dark. 33:14—Interlude. 33:42—Spirit of the Age. 35:01—Tech. 37:38—The popular press. 38:53—Alt culture. 40:27—Interlude. 40:55—Kitchen vs. Drawing Room. 43:25—Consuming. 46:05—Nervous sensation and the feminine. 48:30—Conclusion.

Interludes: Felix Mendelssohn, Piano Trio #2 in C Minor, op. 66 (1845), performed by the Claremont Trio at the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum, Boston.

Illustration: The Woman in White (detail), Frederick Walker, 1871, the Victorian Web.

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

Thanks to Professor Anna Gibson and the students of English 453: Studies in Nineteenth-Century British Literature (The Sensation Novel), NCSU Fall 2022.