EP11: Castles, Space, and Cigarettes ... no Slippers

Episode 11 of the Four Books a Fortnight podcast, hosted by Hannah Harlow and Sam Pfeifle, titled "EP11: Castles, Space, and Cigarettes ... no Slippers" was published on March 26, 2026 and runs 30 minutes.

March 26, 2026 ·30m · Four Books a Fortnight

0:00 / 0:00

Episode Description

If you're going to do a retelling of Cinderella, you gotta include some slippers, right? Apparently not! Liberties have been taken. And that's just the start of an episode that takes you from Shakespeare's England to the International Space Station — with a quick stop at Joan Didion's NYC apartment for a smoke. Man, can she write. We have some thoughts on what makes her so good and why some of that energy is missing nowadays. Somehow, it hangs together better than you might think. This fortnight, we read:

"Lady Tremaine," by Rachel Hochhauser
"Hamnet," by Maggie O'Farrell
"Blue Nights," by Joan Didion
"Orbital," by Samantha Harvey

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out! Also, don't miss our treatise on not leaving reviews and make sure you follow the instructions.

Share this episode

Similar Episodes

The Maid's Progress Part 2

Apr 13, 2026 ·41m

Pilgrims To Mecca

Apr 13, 2026 ·49m

The Harshaw Bride Part 1

Apr 13, 2026 ·33m

The Harshaw Bride Part 2

Apr 13, 2026 ·33m

The Harshaw Bride Part 3

Apr 13, 2026 ·30m

The Harshaw Bride Part 4

Apr 13, 2026 ·36m

Similar Podcasts

Hilda Lessways by Arnold Bennett Loyal Books This book is the second in Bennett’s four books about life in the Five Towns (the real life Potteries in Staffordshire). It tells the story of Hilda before her marriage to Edwin Clayhanger (from the first book). Bennett explores Hilda's ambition to make a career for herself, her coming of age and her working experiences as a shorthand clerk and keeper of a lodging house in London and Brighton. He also shows her intensifying relationship with the enigmatic George Cannon that ends in her disastrous bigamous marriage and pregnancy, and finally her reconciliation with Edwin Clayhanger Fiction Between Friends Josephine Angelini, Aileen Calderon, Alisa Hilfinger, Lauren Sanchez Part book club, part podcast, Fiction Between Friends is a celebration of how a really good book can come into your life and change it. No scathing reviews or negative commentary, just great books and engaging conversations. Hosted by four childhood friends from the suburbs of Massachusetts, each episode covers either four books they’ve loved from the past, or a new release that just hit the bookshelves. It is an idyllic place for bibliophiles to rekindle their love for an old favorite or find a new one to read. Tacitus' Histories Publius Cornelius Tacitus The Histories was written between 110 and 100 B.C. It covered the Year of Four Emperors following the downfall of Nero, the rise of Vespasian, and the rule of the Flavian Dynasty up to the death of Domitian.Only the first four books and 26 chapters of the fifth book have survived, covering the year 69 and the first part of 70. The work is believed to have continued up to the death of Domitian on September 18, 96. As a prelude to the account of Titus's suppression of the Great Jewish Revolt, Book 5 features a short ethnographic survey of the ancient Jews as seen from the Roman point of view. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia.) How to Live on 24 Hours a Day (version 2) by Arnold Bennett Loyal Books Are you really 'living', or just existing? Do you want to improve yourself or just continue to muddle through? Do you use the time given you each day, or just throw most of it away? These questions Bennett asks each of us and for those who want to really live and learn, offers very valuable advice. Time is the most precious of commodities states Bennett in this book. Many books have been written on how to live on a certain amount of money each day. And he added that the old adage "time is money" understates the matter, as time can often produce money, but money cannot produce more time. Time is extremely limited, and Bennett urged others to make the best of the time remaining in their lives. Which of us lives on twenty-four hours a day? And when I say "lives," I do not mean exists, nor "muddles through." Which of us is free from that uneasy feeling that the "great spending departments" of his daily life are not managed as they ought to be? [...] Which of us is not saying to hims

URL copied to clipboard!