All Episodes - Novel Conversations
Novel Conversations is a podcast summarizing the world’s greatest works of classic literature: you get the whole story from cover to cover. If CliffsNotes had an audio-bestfriend, it would be us! Each episode, Frank Lavallo hosts two readers, and the three of them share their reactions to the story and read their favorite passages along the way. If you're looking for a good story, you're in the right place. *This podcast is a production of the Ohio Film Tax Credit.
View Podcast Details40 Episodes
"The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett
This classic children's novel follows the journey of Mary Lennox, a sad and lonely orphan who discovers a hidden, neglected garden on her uncle's estate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
Immortalized by Alfred Hitchcock's movie adaptation, Rebecca tells the story tells the story of a nameless protagonist who falls in love with a wealthy bachelor only to be haunted by memory of his late wife. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"Metropolis" by Thea Von Harbou
Metropolis is a pioneering dystopian science fiction novel which tells the story of Frieder, the son of the a futuristic megacity's ruler, who opens his eyes to the injustice of his society and its industrial underbelly through his romance with a compassionate working-class woman named Maria. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Season 12 Coming Soon!
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"The Hobbit" by J.R.R Tolkien
In this landmark fantasy novel, Tolkien introduces us to his richly imagined world of Middle Earth, where we meet a small creature named Bilbo Baggins, who reluctantly heeds the call of adventure to help reclaim a treasure from the dragon Smaug. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"True Grit" by Charles Portis
This classic western novel tells the story of a Mattie Ross, a young girl who, with her unlikely companions, traverses the American West to avenge the death of her father. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"Moby Dick" by Herman Melville
Herman Melville's landmark novel follows the obsessive quest of Captain Ahab as he seeks revenge on Moby Dick, the huge white wale which had previously maimed him, leading to a perilous and philosophical journey for the crew of the whaling ship The Pequod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities is one of the most prolific fictional works to every be written in the English language. Its story explores the nature of sacrifice, revenge, and resurrection amongst several characters set around the French Revolution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"Age of Innocence" by Edith Warton
Edith Wharton's 1920 novel is set in 1870s New York City, and explores the conflict between individual desire and cultural expectations in New York City's high society. This landmark jazz-age novel won Wharton the Pulitzer Prize in 1921, the first woman to recieve the award. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" by James Joyce
The landmark debut novel of author James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man tells the story of young Stephen Dedalus's spiritual and intellectual awakening in turn-of-the-century Ireland. Its modernist stylings and use of strict realism would come to define Joyce as an author. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"The Bear" by William Faulkner
Originally published alongside other famous Falkner works in an anthology titled "Go Down Moses", The Bear is about Issac "Ike" McCaslin, who trains to hunt and kill the legendary bear Old Ben. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson
In Robert Louis Stevenson's seminal adventure novel "Treasure Island." The story follows young Jim Hawkins' journey aboard a pirate vessel, chasing hidden treasure and battling the fearsome Long John Silver. The novel's iconic pirate imagery, and rich and complex characters have made it a timeless classic in the adventure sub-genre. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"A Handful of Dust" by Evelyn Waugh
A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh is a satirical novel that follows the lives of members of London's wealthy elite. The focus of our story, Tony Last, his wife Brenda, and their son John Andrew, endure hardship and turmoil. By utilizing a satirical stance for the narrative, Waugh paints a farcical, tragic picture of 20th century religion and morality. The novel also famously features an alternate ending, setting a very different tone for the conclusion of the novel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
FEED DROP: Thoughts From A Page - Dixon, Descending
Hey there listeners! We're nearly ready to get started with the next season of Novel Conversations, but in the meantime, we have a show that we think you'll love! If you enjoy this episode, be sure to go give Thoughts From A Page a follow. We appreciate it! We'll be back with fresh episodes of Novel Conversations before you know it. Thanks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"The End of The Affair" by Graham Greene
Graham Greene's final contribution to his 4 "Catholic Series" novels, The End of the Affair tells the story of Maurice Bendrix and his internal struggles navigating an affair with his partner, Catherine Walston. The novel's deeply introspective narrative is contrasted by the escalation of WWII in 1940s England. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"Heart Of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad
In Conrad's landmark novel from 1899, English sailor Charles Marlow describes his voyage into the interior of the African jungle aboard a Belgian shipping vessel. The work levees a striking criticism of the imperial mindset of its era, reflected in its inclusion as one of the greatest texts of Western literature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
One of the greatest all-time works of American fiction, 'To Kill A Mockingbird' is a timeless account of the American South as seen through the eyes of a young girl named Scout. The novel's warm and approachable dissection of gender, society, and race have made it an enduring staple of the American literary canon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" by Jules Verne
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea is classic science-adventure novel written by Jules Verne, and released serially through 1870. It tells the story of the Nautilus, a futuristic deep-sea submarine, and its long voyages through the ocean's depths through the eyes of our protagonist, the marine biologist Professor Aronnax, who is captive aboard the vessel with his companions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte
Emily Bronte's only novel, Wuthering Heights tells the story of the turbulent relationships between the Earnshaws and the Lintons, two families of landed gentry in 1847 West Yorkshire. In its time, the novel was controversial for its depictions of cruelty and abuse, and for its challenges to Victorian ideals and morality. In the time since however, has come to be regarded as one of the greatest novels ever written. Special thanks to our readers, Anthony Mahramus and Elizabeth Flood, our Producer and Sound Designer Noah Foutz, our Engineer Gray Sienna Longfellow, and our executive producers Brigid Coyne and Joan Andrews. Here's to hoping you find yourself in a novel conversation! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"Robinson Crusoe" by Daniel Defoe
Titled "The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner: Who Lived Eight and Twenty Years, All Alone in an Un-inhabited Island on the Coast of America, Near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having Been Cast on Shore by Shipwreck, Wherein All the Men Perished but Himself. With an Account how he was at last as Strangely Deliver’d by Pyrates. Written by Himself,” at publication, Robinson Crusoe is an enduring fiction that set the standard for the adventure novel for centuries to come. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
This classic of English literature was originally penned under the name "Currer Bell", and details the story of the titular Jane as she struggles to find comfort and self-worth through the ups and downs of her life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"The Invisible Man" by H.G. Wells
in 1897's West Sussex, a strangely dressed and unfriendly man named Griffin takes up lodging at a local inn, causing havoc and disharmony with his rude antics and constant scientific investigation. As the novel progresses, we see more and more of the evil within Griffin, even as he is seen less and less. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"Bleak House" by Charles Dickens
"Bleak House" is a novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode serial between March 1852 and September 1853. The story centers around a variety of characters whose livelihoods depend on the outcome of an active court case, Jarndyce and Jarndyce. Throughout the novel, our perspective shifts between an omniscient third person and the personal perspective of our main protagonist, Esther Summerson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
FEED DROP – Introducing “Countdown to Dallas: The Kennedy Assassination”
Evergreen Podcasts, the network that brought you From First Lady to Jackie O, is pleased to introduce Countdown to Dallas, another podcast from Host Paul Brandus. On the sixtieth anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, former White House correspondent Paul Brandus takes an in-depth look at the seemingly unconnected events that led to that infamous afternoon in Dallas, Texas. He explores the troubled and broken life of Kennedy’s killer, Lee Harvey Oswald, and challenges six decades worth of conspiracy theories—none of which have been proven. Enjoy this episode of Countdown to Dallas and subscribe for more in your favorite listening app or at EvergreenPodcasts.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"My Antonia" by Willa Cather
My Antonia, the third of Willa Cather's "prairie trilogy", follows the story of a young bohemian immigrant to the town of Blackhawk, Nebraska. Narrated by our protagonist Jim Burden, Cather uses vivid imagery and beautiful prose to paint a picture of immigrant life on the prairie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson
In this famous Robert Louis Stevenson novel, we follow Gabriel Utterson, a London legal-practitioner who investigates the relationship between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and a criminally abominable man by the name of Mr. Hyde. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"The Hound of the Baskervilles" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
In "The Hound of the Baskervilles" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, we see the preeminent Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes' solve the eerie murder of a Sir Arthur Baskerville on the moors of Dartmoor by an apparent fiendish hound. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"This Side of Paradise" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
In F. Scott Fitzgerald's debut novel, published in 1920, he tells the story of Amory Blaine, a smart, attractive, ivy-league dropout with whom Fitzgerald makes observations about the greed and loneliness of the post WWI era. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"The Loved One" by Evelyn Waugh
The Loved One tells the story of Dennis Barlow, a British ex-patriot living in Los Angeles and working at a funeral home for pets. Throughout the book, we see Dennis struggle to balance his reputation for the British community in Hollywood, the demands of his position, and the glitz and glamor of the film industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"Around The World In 80 Days" by Jules Verne
Around The World in 80 Days tells the story of Phileas Fogg, a London gentleman with meticulous habits, and his bet that he can circumnavigate the globe in 80 days or less. Accompanied by his loyal valet Passepartout, Fogg's whirlwind journey weaves a fantastical tale of heroics and adventure as they try to beat the clock back to London to cash in on his wager. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"The Picture Of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde
'The Picture of Dorian Gray' is a story of a young, beautiful man named Dorian whose wish is granted his wish when his portrait ages on his behalf, but records his mistakes also. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"To The Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf
"To The Lighthouse" is a philosophical, introspective story about the Ramsay family, a large English family that visit their summer home in northeast Scotland. Through the lens of 3 separate trips to the family's Scottish estate, we examine the small joys and quiet tragedies of an everyday life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"Sir Gawain & The Green Knight" by Gawain Poet
The famous Arthurian tale of Sir Gawain, nephew of King Arthur, who must travel to face his demise at the hands of the supernatural Green Knight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"Billy Budd" by Herman Mellville
"Billy Budd" was Herman Melville's final novel, released 33 years posthumously. It tells the story of abeautiful, gregarious English sailor during the Napoleonic Wars who finds himself in conflict with his Master-at-arms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"Death Comes for the Archbishop" by Willa Cather
"Death Comes for the Archbishop" tells a fictionalized version of the real-life story of Father Latour, the first Catholic Bishop of the newly acquired U.S. territory of New Mexico in the late nineteenth century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis
"It Can't Happen Here" is Sinclair Lewis's prescient story of a fascist ruler coming to power in the United States in the 1930s. From the perspective of Doremus Jessup, a journalist in a small Vermont town, we see the effects of a totalitarian takeover unfold. Inspired by Nazi Germany and the rise of populism in his time, Lewis shows us that it in fact, it can happen here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
In "And Then There Were None," a group of strangers are called to a remote island with hopes of treasure, employment and more, but are soon haunted by the mistakes of their past and a grim poem. Join host Frank Lavallo and readers Phil Setnik and Elizabeth Flood as they discuss all the gruesome details of Agatha Christie's classic mystery novel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"Dracula" by Bram Stoker
Dracula tells the story of the supernatural Count Dracula, a vampire who comes to haunt the English seaside town of Whitby. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Evergreen Podcasts presents Five Minute News
Evergreen is proud to present Five Minute News hosted by Anthony Davis. Independent. Unbiased. Essential. Five minutes of verified and truthful world news, daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Season 7 Blooper Reel
Another epic outtake reel featuring Host, Frank Lavallo, and Readers, Elizabeth Flood, Phil Setnik, Peter Toomey & Katie Smith as they blunder and fumble during the making of Novel Conversations Season 7. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices