The 19th Century Novel Podcast

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.   

 

EPISODE 12: Walter Scott and the Historical Novel, Part Two

0:00—Ivanhoe sources. 6:36—A Romance. 8:36—Code of chivalry. 10:30—Medievalism. 13:50—Tournament at Eglinton. 16:50—Pseudohistory. 17:22—Tushery. 19:45—Ivanhoe summarized. 22:06—Sources. 26:42—The Norman Yoke. 29:11—Teutonic roots. 32:09—Anglo-Franco. 36:19—English pig dogs. 38:20—Interlude. 39:05—Flints or dunghills. 45:47—Rowena or Rebecca. 50:06—Realism. 54:33—Dialect. 1:04:31—Historiography. 1:11:14—Differences. 1:15:10—Rational Richard. 1:19:46—Good old times. 1:21:47—The princess and the president. 1:25:28—Claims and acclaim. 1:28:45—The children’s department. 1:30:30—Conclusion.

Interludes: Felix Mendelssohn, Hebrides Overture (1832), performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, 2012.

Additional audio: from The Album of the Soundtrack of the Trailer of the Film of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Purchased from Amazon.com Services LLC.

Illustration: Eugene Delacroix, Rebecca and the Wounded Ivanhoe (detail), 1823, Wikimedia

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

 

EPISODE 11: Walter Scott and the Historical Novel, Part One

0:00—The Columbus of our literature. 3:17—Mistakes of Udolpho. 5:49—The enchanter of the North. 8:14—Waverley novels. 11:29—Turn to history. 14:32—History as propaganda. 15:54—18^th Century histories. 19:43—History and nationalism. 22:40—British nationalism. 23:43—Tom Paine and the French Revolution. 30:39—Interlude. 31:24—English literature. 33:10—National histories. 32:23—Scott’s moment. 39:43—The architect of historical realism. 41:46—Scott’s conservatism. 43:40—War and national identity. 45:58—Warning. 46:12—The turmoil of history. 49:26—Waverley. 50:10—Uniting the kingdom.

Interludes: Felix Mendelssohn, Hebrides Overture (1832), performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, 2012.

Illustration: An Incident in the Rebellion of 1745 (detail), by David Morier (c. 1747-1765), Wikimedia.

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

 

EPISODE 10: The Gothic Novel

Part One. 0:00—"Gothic Romance." 7:47—The novel criticized. 9:49—Birth of the Gothic. 11:50—Walpole, Castle of Otranto. 14:11—Barbarous Middle Ages. 17:20—Anti-Catholic. 22:70—Return of the Repressed. 23:46—The political unconscious. 27:47—Why the Gothic? 28:11—The French Revolution. 31:55—Tottering Structures. 33:47—Death and sex. 36:00—The sublime. 40:02—Interlude.

Part Two. 41:50—Trivial and amoral. 47:06—Female Gothic and bourgeois domesticity. 53:24—Soft porn. 57:39—Gothic Architecture. 1:01:32—Medievalism. 1:02:25—Miracles of the modern. 1:06:12—Victorian Gothic.

Interludes: Franz Schubert, Piano Sonata in A Major (1819), performed by Chiara Bertoglio, 2011.

Additional music: Franz Liszt, Totentanz (1859), performed by Neal O' Doan with orchestra, 2018.

Illustration: The Nightmare (detail), by Henry Fuseli, (1790), Wikipedia.

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

 

 

EPISODE 9: Jane Austen and the Silver Fork Novel

Part One: Jane Austen. 0:00—Free indirect discourse and character. 5:15—Implied author. 6:33—Publication and reception. 11:36—Henrietta (“Harriet”) Ponsonby, Countess of Bessborough. 15:42: Reception continued. 22:00—The marriage plot. 26:55—Interlude.

Part Two: The Silver Fork Novel. 32:08—Pride and Prejudice and Romance and Reality. 41:55: Regency romance. 45:27—Silver Fork criticized. 49:11—Commercial literary culture. 52:50: Disraeli, Vivian Grey. 54:35: Panic of 1825. 57:34: Guide for the middle class. 1:02:12—Social unrest. 1:05:03—Silver fork tarnished.

Interludes: Franz Schubert, Symphony No. 2 (1815), performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, December 20, 1949.

Illustration: Miss L.E. Landon, "engraved for Burton's Gentlemen's Magazine" (1838), Jackson Collection of American Lithographs," Philadelphia Free Library.

Click Here for Transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

 

EPISODE 8: Epistolary and Sentimental

Part One: The Epistolary Novel. 0:00—The “Victorian” novel. 4:16—Novel inferiority. 6:00—Epistolary popularity. 6:38—Pamela. 7:33—Austen’s epistles. 7:57—Victorian epistles. 9:03—Interlude.

Part Two: The Novel of Sentiment. 9:27—Sentiment defined. 11:54—Female and male. 12:57—Mawkishness. 13:48—Richardson, Pamela and Clarissa. 15:48—18^th century wokeness. 17:11—MacKenzie, Man of Feeling. 20:00—Crying. 21:47—Melodrama. 26:00—Interlude. 26:37—Sentiment assaulted. 31:22—Austen’s satires. 33:38—Anne Radcliffe and the danger of sentiment. 34:37—Cult of sensibility. 35:23—Sentimentalism and capitalism. 39:25—Sentiment and slavery. 42:36—Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. 43:50—Sentiment and the Victorian novel. 44:53—Human nature. 46:11—Artistic sensibility. 47:38—Sentiment and the Victorian novel continued.

Epistolary Interludes: Georg Philipp Telemann, Overture in A Minor (1736) , performed by Akademie fur altemusik Berlin, 2004.

Sentimental Interludes: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Symphony 23 (1773), performed by WDR Symphony Orchestra, Cologne, 1995.

Illustration: Young Woman Reading a Letter, Her Head Propped Up, by Pietro Rotari (before 1762), Wikimedia.

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

 

EPISODE 7: Rhoda Broughton, "Cometh Up as a Flower: (1867), Part Two

Chapters 20-24: 0:00--Morbidity & Theodicy. 3:30—Poetry. 6:32—Comedy. 7:35—A jumble. 8:30—Dolly vs. Nell. 12:45—Women vs. women. 13:15—Angel in the House. 14:10—Dying father. 15:55—Interlude.

Chapters 25-38: 16:40—Civil War & Cotton. 19:30—Pax Britannica. 21:10—India in Britain. 23:40—The British in India. 28:45—Nell’s possible probable fate. 30:50—Anti-Semitism. 33:30—Lamb to the slaughter. 37:00—High dudgeon. 39:05—Newlywed Nell. 41:40—Code of arms. 42:45—At Wentworth. 43:40—The return of Dick. 45:25—A forgery discovered. 46:00—Ruin averted. 48:10—Poetic justice denied. 50:09—Fireworks fizzled. 52:15—The Admiral’s Daughter rebutted.  55:25—Dolly married. 56:20—Nell growing and awakening. 1:00:15—Reunion, reward, redemption. 1:04:10—Out of time.

Text: Rhoda Broughton, Cometh Up a Flower. 1867. Broadview, 2010.

Interludes: Charles Guonod, Romeo and Juliet (1867), performed by Opera National de Paris, 1953.

Illustration: Rhoda Broughton, by Cyril Flower (detail)
platinum print, 1890s, National Portrait Gallery.

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

 

EPISODE 6: Rhoda Broughton, "Cometh Up as a Flower" (1867), Part One

Chapters 1-10: 0:00—Tiresome ladies. 4:40—Meeting Dick. 6:35—Lestrange family history. 8:00—Fortune’s wheel. 8:50—Cottonopolis. 12:18—Nell, a gawky young stranger. 14:25—Dick’s severe Greek beauty. 17:25—Unmaidenly behavior. 18:40—Without a mother. 20:00—Poor, naughty, handsome wolf. 22:43—Too much clingingness. 24:05—Dating Victorians. 25:12—Broughton bio. 28:13—Rhoda writes. 31:08—The facts (and fiction) of life. 33:36—Poor little pussycat. 35:42—Sir Hugh. 37:26—Interlude.

Chapters 11-19: 38:11—Jaded realist Dolly. 40:03—Class consciousness. 42:15—The Coxes. 46:04—Dog pictures. 48:15—Dick, Dolly, and dogcart. 52:43—Nell & Hugh visit a pub. 57:12—Nell bares her arm. 1:00:39—Sexual deviance. 1:00:52—Horribly honeymoonish. 1:04:31—Newfoundlands. 1:07:36—Dog & hyena & tigress. 1:09:40—Closing.

Text: Rhoda Broughton, Cometh Up a Flower. 1867. Broadview, 2010.

Interludes: Charles Guonod, Romeo and Juliet (1867), performed by Opera National de Paris, 1953.

Illustration: Rhoda Broughton (detail), National Portrait Gallery.

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

EPISODE 5: Ellen Wood, "East Lynne" (1861), Part Two

Chapters 20-38. 0:00—Levison sur mer. 4:45—Flushing and blushing. 7:16—Back to East Lynne. 9:13—Levison arrives. 10:57—A Thorny problem. 11:31—That bold, bad man. 13:18—Isabel flees. 15:10—Interlude. 15:52—Reticence & Omission. 17:26—Madame Bovary & Lady Vane. 22:54—Isabel gets no satisfaction. 24:27—Women get no satisfaction. 27:36—The beauty of provocation. 29:30—Adder stings. 33:25—Abandonment & Illegitimacy. 36:57—Narrative train wreck. 38:28—Infanticide. 42:14—Interlude.

Chapters 39-62. 42:56—A governess in Germany. 43:47—Return to East Lynne.  49:26—Motherhood. 51:50—A sick child. 53:20—Consumption. 56:30—Dying children. 1:00:44—Lord & Lady Levison.  1:05:19—Justice Hare & son. 1:05:03—Isabel unveiled. 1:07:40—Instruction for the middle class. 1:11:14—Something off. 11:13:35—The sin of adultery. 1L15:06—Status quo or subversion? 1:23:06—Success in print and on stage and screen. 1:26:50—Losing & regaining favor.

Text: Ellen Wood, East Lynne, 1861. Oxford Univ. Press, 2008.

Interludes: Johannes Brahms, Piano Quartet No. 1, Op. 25 (1861), performed at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2012, by musicians from the Ravinia Steans Music Institute.

Illustration: Still from East Lynne, starring Theda Bara (1915), moviessilently.com.

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

EPISODE 4. Ellen Wood, "East Lynne" (1861), Part One

Chapters 1-14. 0:00—The popularity of novels. 8:30—Ellen Wood biography. 12:30—Publication. 14:11—Isabel Vane and her father. 16:00—Carlyle meets Isabel. 16:45—Isabel, Emma & Levison. 19:30—Welcome to East (and West) Lynne. 20:24—Aristocracy, gentry, professional. 28:00—Isabel dazzles. 29:40—Barbara & Carlyle. 30:04—Interlude. 30:47—Corny. 33:05—Death and destitution. 34:00—Anti-Semitism. 40:40—Isabel, Emma & Levison again. 44:23—Carlyle to the rescue.

Chapters 15-19. 45:21—Interlude. 46:05—Mean girls. 52:00—A wild Hare. 54:41—Jealous women. 56:50—Isabel vs. Barbara. 58:00—Murder. 1:00:36—Isabel, Barbara, Carlyle.

Text: Ellen Wood, East Lynne, 1861. Oxford Univ. Press, 2008.

Interludes: Johannes Brahms, Piano Quartet No. 1, Op. 25 (1861), performed at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2012, by musicians from the Ravinia Steans Music Institute.

Illustration: Ellen (Mrs. Henry) Wood (detail), by Joseph Sydney Willis Hodges (1875), Wikimedia.

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

EPISODE 3: Anne Bronte, "Agnes Grey" (1847)

Chapters 1-5. 0:00-Governesses in fact & fiction. 5:39-Writing & publishing Agnes Grey. 6:48-Educated middle-class women. 8:40-Anne as governess. 9:28-The novel begins. 10:00-Agnes’s family. 13:20-Leaving home. 14:13-Welcome to the Bloomfields. 15:10-The meating. 17:45-Animal cruelty. 21:00-Class & intelligence. 22:27-Class & violence. 23:30-Male violence. 26:40-Educating boys. 30:30-The Bloomfield daughters. 31:28-Victorian views of children. 33:35-Misbehavior & Miss Grey. 35:00-Governesses remembered.

Chapters 6-16. 38:00-Meet the Murrays. 39:38-Rosalie, the coquette. 42:08-Rosalie torments Hatfield. 44:55-Suitors & power. 47:40-Mathilda, hoyden & tomboy. 52:35-Agnes, anemic & heroic. 54:57-Upper class superiority. 56:15-Class & character. 57:30-Invisible Agnes.

Chapters 17-25. 1:02:40-Hatfield vs. Weston. 1:05:28-Hatfield & Rosalie vs. Weston & Agnes. 1:07:23: Mathilda & the forbidden regions. 1:09:00-Rosalie & heartlessness. 1:10:12-Rosalie, Lady Ashby. 1:12:10-Dissipation & daughter. 1:18:00-On the beach with Edward & Snap. 1:19:00-Married with children. 1:20:05-No happy ending.

Text: Anne Bronte, Agnes Grey. 1847. Oxford Univ. Press, 2010.

Interludes: Frederic Chopin, Polonaise-Fantasy in A-flat major, Op. 61 (1846), performed by Jonathan Bliss, 2009.

Illustration: Anne Bronte, by Charlotte Bronte (c. 1845), Wikipedia.

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

EPISODE 2: Anne Bronte, "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" (1848), Part Two

Chapters 23-44. 0:00-Sexuality & subservience. 5:57-Women & marriage. 7:15-Annabella teases & torments. 8:45-Double standard. 12:00-Branwell. 13:02-Mortality & morality. 15:50-Universal salvation. 16:44-Annabella. 18:30-The affair. 20:48-Helen vs. Annabella. 22:08-Piano playing. 26:00-Monstrous Annabella. 32:00-Admirable Annabella. 33:27-Trapped. 34:40-Coarse masculinity. 36:41-Escape.

Chapters 45-53. 38:51-Gilbert’s letter. 39:37-Helen nurses Huntingdon. 42:42-Helen & Gilbert reunited. 44:27-Literary legacy.

Text: Anne Bronte, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, 1848. Oxford Univ. Press, 2008.

Interludes: Frederic Chopin, Posthumous Waltz, no. 19 in A minor (1847), performed by Harald Vetter.

Illustration: Possible photo of Anne Bronte. For more information: https://brontesisters.co.uk/

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

 

EPISODE 1: Anne Bronte, "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" (1848), Part One

Chapters 1-15. 0:00-Background. 7:07-Gilbert, Helen, Eliza. 14:07-Women’s education. 15:16-Why a letter? 17:01-Gilbert, Jane, Eliza. 18:01-Gilbert & Helen. 18:43-Helen & Frederick. 20:08-Anne in love? 23:43-Gilbert & Helen. 24:44-Why letter & diary? 25:33-Print culture. 26:49-Male narrative.

Chapters 16-22. 28:43-Helen enters society. 29:56-Helen meets Huntingdon. 31:04-Victorian vices. 33:09-Prostitution. 33:46-Annabella. 34:37-Helen & Huntingdon. 35:13-Three questions. 39:39-Huntingdon proposes.

Text: Anne Bronte, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, 1848. Oxford Univ. Press, 2008.

Interludes: Chopin, Posthumous Waltz, no. 19 in A minor (1847), performed by Harald Vetter.

Illustration: Portrait of Anne Bronte (detail), by her brother Branwell (1834), Wikipedia.

Click here for transcript Contact: jimjneilson@gmail.com

Preface

 

Illustration from Punch magazine, 27 January 1877, from the  Victorian Web.

 

About this podcast: A retired professor of English discusses 19th Century novels: plot summary, literary analysis, author biography, historical and cultural context. Each episode closely examines one 19th Century novel or focuses on important background material.

All music in this podcast is in the public domain.

Opening theme: Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor (1803), performed by Arthur Rubenstein, 1955.

Closing theme: Gustav Mahler, Symphony 3 (1896), performed by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Hermann Scherchen, 1960.

Podcast images: Man on Balcony, Boulevard Huassmann, by Gustave Caillebotte, 1880; La Lecture, by George Croegaert, 1890.

To contact me: jimjneilson@gmail.com