This week, we’re talking about forgotten novelists, scandalous carriage rides, and Jane Austen with two of our favorite authors. First up, Devoney Looser tells us more about Jane and Maria Porter, the subjects of her nonfiction book Sister Novelists: The Trailblazing Sisters, Who Paved The Way for Austen and the Brontës. And later, we are joined by…

In this action-packed episode, we discuss our favorite reads of 2022, YOUR favorite reads of 2022, and interview some very special literary guests. First up - authors Lorraine Tosiello and Jane Cavolina discuss their book, "The Bee and the Fly: The Improbable Correspondence of Louisa May Alcott and Emily Dickinson". Roseann Backlin from Love’s Swee…

This week, we’ve come to the end of our Silas Marner read-along! Voice actress Katie Mosley joins us one last time as we recap chapters 17-22 and discuss all of the Silas Marner adaptations, including Steve Martin’s A Simple Twist of Fate.Bonnets At Dawn

We’re still banging on about George Eliot and Silas Marner! This week, we recap chapters 13 -16, talk nature and Wordsworth, and are rejoined by voice actress Katie Mosley as the voice of George Eliot.Bonnets At Dawn

This week, we continue our discussion on George Eliot, her entanglements, and Silas Marner. The book is getting very Eastenders as we recap chapters 5-12 and are rejoined by voice actress Katie Mosley as the voice of George Eliot to highlight our favorite quotes from the book.Bonnets At Dawn

For the next few weeks, we’ll be discussing George Eliot, her entanglements, and reading Silas Marner through a fairytale lens. This week, we recap chapters 1-4, and are rejoined by voice actress Katie Mosley as the voice of George Eliot to highlight our favorite passages of the book.Bonnets At Dawn

This week we’ve specially selected pieces with a strong sense of place by Zitkala Sa, Alice Dunbar Nelson, Emily Lawless, and George Eliot for another B@D Mixtape. Come with us as we explore an English country garden, the Yankton Reservation, a bustling alleyway in New Orleans, and a quiet London drawing room.Special thanks to Sassy, Katie, Desiree…

This week, we’ve curated a selection of haunting short stories and poems by Virginia Woolf, Amy Levy, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Emily Dickinson, for another B@D Mixtape - part podcast, part audiobook.Bonnets At Dawn

This week, spooky story specialist Dr. Melissa Edmundson talks to us about her Broadview edition of The Uninhabited House by Charlotte Riddell and helps us understand why the Victorians were so obsessed with ghost stories. We also discuss “Business Gothic'' and recommend some scary stories by Edith Nesbit.…

This week, we are discussing My Contraband by Louisa May Alcott and The Half-Caste by Dinah Craik. These stories may seem different on the surface, but share quite a few similarities. We talk about how these authors handle interracial relationships, the East India Company, and make comparisons to Sense & Sensibility and Jane Eyre. Spoilers ahead. Y…

This week is all about the beloved/hated novel, Wuthering Heights! We sat down with Dr. Lydia Craig to discuss Tylney Hall (a possible source text and inspiration for WH) and reading Heathcliff as a person of color. We also talk adaptations, Wuthering Heights as horror, Charlotte Brontë’s Villette, and the musical Cats.…

FINALLY. This week, we’re talking about Passing by Nella Larsen. We also compare and contrast it to the 2021 film adaptation by Rebecca Hall and the short story Passing by Langston Hughes. Spoilers ahead.Bonnets At Dawn

This week is all about Pauline Hopkins! Hopkins was an author, activist, and editor, who served as the driving force behind The Colored American magazine and her serialized novel, Of One Blood, has been described at Black Panther meets Indiana Jones. We’re joined by Eurie Dahn and Brian Sweeney to discuss this fascinating novel, early speculative f…

This week, we’re continuing our conversation about Harriet Beecher Stowe and performative activism. And we are joined by Dr. Koritha Mitchell to discuss her upcoming edition of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, as well as the connections between Frances Harper and Harriet Jacobs.Bonnets At Dawn

This week, we’re talking about the business of abolitionist literature. We start by discussing the author and activist Lydia Maria Child and her short story The Quadroons. Then, PhD candidate Felicia Gabriele joins us to discuss her Rambling article entitled “The Problem of Fashionable Abolition: Performative Allyship Then and Now.”…

We’re baaack! This week, we’re going on a micro-mini-roadtrip to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s House in Cincinnati and talking about one of one of her most baffling books - Pink & White Tyranny (great band name, btw). We can’t tell if this novel is a Mansfield Park fanfic or response to Wuthering Heights. Listen in and let us know! Spoilers ahead!…

Hey, hey, we’re back with a new format! This is the first Bonnets at Dawn Mixtape, which is part audiobook and part podcast. In honor of National Poetry Month, we have asked some excellent voice actors to read poems about authors. Listen to hear what Dorothy Parker wrote about Harriet Beecher Stowe, a Tribute to George Sand by Elizabeth Barrett Bro…

This week, Dr. Arielle Zibrak and Dr. Sarah Mesle join us to discuss our love of Kate Winslet, The Holiday, the pleasures of knitwear, and our favorite reads of 2021. We also talk about romcoms, Austen and Ephron, comfort reading, and read just a few of your amazing book recommendations.Bonnets At Dawn

We’re wrapping up our mini-series on Sex, Scandal, and Social Climbers with Dr. Arielle Zibrak, who is here to discuss the role of bonnets in 19th century literature, bodice rippers, and guilty pleasures. We also carry on our discussion about race in literature, Taylor Swift, and even get into Jane Austen’s Emma and Keanu Reeves. Find Arielle on th…

This week, we’re talking ghosts, gossip, and gambling with Clio O’Sullivan from Chawton House Library! We discuss the scandalous actress and author Mary Robinson and the connection she shares with Scottish botanical illustrator Elizabeth Blackwell.Bonnets At Dawn

This week, we are talking to Dr. Jack Orchard and Dr. Anna Louise Senkiw, who are currently working on digitizing the letters of Elizabeth Montagu, noted literary influencer and Queen of the Bluestockings. We also discuss the poet Ann Yearsley, her feud with Hannah More, and how she is like Taylor Swift.You can access Montagu’s letters online at ht…

This week, we’re welcoming Dr. Fiona Sampson back to the show to discuss her new book entitled Two-Way Mirror: The Life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. We also get into specifics regarding EBB’s family money, illness, legacy, and what should be included in her biopic.Bonnets At Dawn

We’re kicking off our mini-season on Sex, Scandal, and Money with an episode about social climbers, upstarts, and Jamaican heirs in Regency England. We cover a lot in this one including Sanditon’s Miss Lambe, Leigh Hunt’s Black ancestry, Charles Dickens, the scandalous life of George Eliot, the Real Housewives, and Alicia LeFanu’s novel Fashionable…

This week, we’re bringing together Dr. Eleanor Rust and curator Barabara Heller for an in depth discussion about the process behind creating the letters for the Pride and Prejudice and Little Women Letters editions for Chronicle Books. We also discuss Barbara’s job as a set decorator for television and film, calligraphy and postal history.…

We’re back with an expanded version of our 2020 B@D Live Literary Ghost Tour! This week, we’re talking about spooky books, the ghost of Charles Dickens, and whether or not Anne Brontë is haunting a certain staircase in New York.Bonnets At Dawn

This action-packed episode is our first ever entirely dedicated to Harriet Beecher Stowe. We discuss Harriet’s time in Cincinnati, the unauthorized stage adaptations of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and her connection to The King and I. We also interview Kelly and Tammy Rundle from Fourth Wall Films about their documentary Becoming Harriet Beecher Stowe, as w…

This week, we are talking to playwright Sharmini Kumar about the origins of 24 Carrot Productions, as well as the challenges of adapting Austen to stage, and diversifying her productions. We also read from Emma Thompson’s Sense and Sensibility production diaries, and Lauren realizes that she is actually a Marianne.…

This week, we’re talking to Christina Calvit from Lifeline Theatre about adapting Austen and Brontë for the stage.Bonnets At Dawn

This week, we’re continuing our discussion about Emily Dickinson and the art of adaptation with filmmaker Madeleine Olnek. Olnek wrote and directed the romantic comedy Wild Nights with Emily starring Molly Shannon as Dickinson. You can find out more about the film, including where to stream or purchase it, at http://www.wildnightswithemily.com/…

This week, we’re comparing and contrasting the ways Emily Dickinson has been portrayed on screen in Dickinson, Wild Nights with Emily, and A Quiet Passion. For those that are worried about spoilers - we do a basic synopsis of each, and discuss some moments that we like (or don’t like). Light spoilers for Dickinson, medium for Wild Nights, and heavy…

We’re back and this season we are discussing stage, film, and comic adaptations! This week, we’re talking about literary biopics, Brontë vibes, and comics, with artists Kaley Bales and Glynnis Fawkes. Bales is the illustrator for our book, Why She Wrote, and Glynnis is the writer/illustrator of Charlotte Brontë Before Jane Eyre.…

This week, we’ve invited L.M. Montgomery scholar Dr. Trinna Frever back to break down regionalism for us. We start with L.M. Montgomery and The Blue Castle and work our way towards a discussion about Zora Neale Hurston, Sarah Orne Jewett, and Willa Cather and what they all have in common. We also discuss James Thurber, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William …

Hannah returns to breakdown the final chapters of The Blue Castle! Dr. Sarah Mesle shares her takeaways from the book, and we talk about sex, women’s health, Henry David Thoreau vs. John Foster vs. Susan Fenimore Cooper, and read some listener comments. It’s an action-packed episode.Bonnets At Dawn

This week, we are talking about soooo many women writers in relation to L.M. Montgomery including Christina Rossetti, Pauline Johnson, Charlotte Brontë, and Jane Austen (again). Dr. Amber Pouliot joins us in the co-host chair to discuss chapters 16-30 of The Blue Castle, Goblin Market, and sex. We also interview Dr. Brenton Dickieson, host of The M…

We’re kicking off season 5 with a read-along of The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery. This week, we have not one, but two doctors in the house! Eleanor Rust joins us as co-host to discuss chapters 1-15, and Dr. Kate Scarth from the L.M. Montgomery Institute returns to talk about pairing L.M. Montgomery with Jane Austen. We also read some insightful l…

This week, we discuss YOUR favorite reads of 2020, and talk to Bea Koch about her book Mad & Bad: Real Heroines of The Regency. Stick around to the end for a very special announcement! And warning - this episode may contain a bit of adult language.Bonnets At Dawn

This week, we’re talking about the parallel lives of African American writers Pauline Hopkins and Dorothy West, and our hopes for a sexy Harlem Renaissance mini-series. Our guest, Professor Cherene Sherrard-Johnson, is the President of the Pauline Hopkins Society and the author of Dorothy West’s Paradise: A Biography of Class and Color.…

This week, we’re going back to 1854 to compare and contrast the diaries of African American activist, educator, and writer Charlotte Forten and Louisa May Alcott. These two have so much in common, and we found their journals and letters highly relatable and excellent reads.Bonnets At Dawn

This week, we’re bringing you another literary detective story. We’re talking to OSU Professor Elizabeth Renker and Special Collections Curator Jolie Braun about their work to uncover the life and work of American poet Sarah Piatt. If you’re an Emily Dickinson fan, check this one out!Bonnets At Dawn

This week, we’re talking about rare books, forgeries, and biblio curiosities with Patrick Olson, proprietor of Olson Rare Books. We also discuss Phillis Wheatley’s legacy and the new book of poetry by Honoree´ Fanonne Jeffers entitled The Age of Phillis. Find Pat online at www.olsonrarebooks.comBonnets At Dawn

Academic Lydia Craig returns to the show to tell us all about her quest to piece together the life of Sarah E. Farro, the lost 19th century African American novelist. Spoilers ahead, as we discuss Farro’s book True Love: A Story of English Domestic Romance.Bonnets At Dawn

This week, we are going back to the Lake District to revisit Dorothy Wordsworth. We discuss her partnership with William, relationship with nature, and dive into some of our favorite journal entries with Dr. Jo Taylor.Bonnets At Dawn

This week, we’re chatting with the hilarious poet and academic Rachel Feder about Mary Shelley, Mathilda, and whether or not Percy would have been a contender on reality tv. Warning - this is a deep dive into Mathilda, so there are spoilers.Bonnets At Dawn

This week, we’re discussing The Woman of Colour: A Tale by Anonymous with Professor Kerry Sinanan. This unique 18th century text features a Black heiress in Regency England and draws comparisons to the film Belle. We talk about why it would make a great adaptation and revisit some thoughts from our Mansfield Park series.…

We’re back! And this week, we’re discussing issues surrounding diversity and inclusion within the Austen community with our guests Nandita Shenoy (actress and playwright), Nikki Payne (reformed academic and JAFF writer), and Bianca Hernandez (JASNA regional coordinator).Bonnets At Dawn

This week, we’re comparing and contrasting Agnes Grey to Louisa May Alcott’s Behind a Mask. We’re also bringing you some highlights from Dr. Amber Pouliot’s B@D Live talk about Victorian Governess Life. You can get into contact with Amber via twitter @AmberTPouliot.Bonnets At Dawn

We’re celebrating Anne Brontë’s bicentenary by reading her first novel Agnes Grey. This week, we’re covering chapters 16-25 and chatting with Sharon Wright, author of The Mother of the Brontës: When Maria met Patrick. Find Sharon online at Sharon-Wright-Agency.co.uk.Bonnets At Dawn

We’re celebrating Anne Brontë’s bicentenary by reading her first novel Agnes Grey. This week, we’re covering chapters 9-16, and chatting with Finola Austin, author of Brontë’s Mistress. Find Finola online at FinolaAustin.comBonnets At Dawn

We’re celebrating Anne Brontë’s bicentenary by reading her first novel Agnes Grey. This week, we’re covering chapters 1-8, and chatting with Adelle Hay, author of Anne Brontë Reimagined.Bonnets At Dawn

This week, we’re going on a literary graveyard tour with Roberta Wedge from The Mary Wollstonecraft Society. Plus, Ashley Olson, Executive Director of The National Willa Cather Center, gives us a crash course in all things Cather and we discuss some exciting plans for the future.Bonnets At Dawn