# Secret Life of Books

A podcast by Sophie Gee and Jonty Claypole. Every book has two stories: the one it tells, and the one it hides. The Secret Life of Books is a fascinating, addictive, often shocking, occasionally hilarious weekly podcast starring Sophie Gee, an English professor at Princeton University, and Jonty Claypole, formerly director of arts at the BBC. Every week these virtuoso critics and close friends take an iconic book and reveal the hidden story behind the story: who made it, their clandestine motives, the undeclared stakes, the scandalous backstory and above all the secret, mysterious meanings of books we thought we knew. -- To join the Secret Life of Books Club visit: www.secretlifeofbooks.org -- Please support us on Patreon to keep the lights on in the SLoB studio: https://patreon.com/SecretLifeofBooks528?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink insta: https://www.instagram.com/secretlifeofbookspodcast/ youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@secretlifeofbookspodcast/shorts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feed: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a

## Latest episodes

- [Classic Australia 2: The Harp in the South by Ruth Park](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/0dd62c289364) (2026-10-27, 68 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6adec409959e7ea69d51546a/media.mp3
- [From Pemberly With Love. SLOB picks the next James Bond.](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/a9fd68f5a334) (2026-10-23, 11 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6adaffa04281670f07c596f6/media.mp3
- [Classic Australia 1: My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/b060741679fe) (2026-10-20, 72 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6ad0614765f99a36eb939016/media.mp3
- [SLoB & SLoBability: Diana Reid on adapting Austen's masterpiece for the screen](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/13921701f84f) (2026-10-13, 45 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6acc4689937a3c900f87601f/media.mp3
- [Small-talk emergency kit: who the heck is Anne Carson?](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/1becbd11701a) (2026-10-09, 21 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6ac87bd729b9fbfbe2c03a9f/media.mp3
- [Factory settings: Elizabeth Gaskell's North & South](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/9b03c70f93c1) (2026-10-06, 85 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6ac3626fab90e256c32d74fe/media.mp3
- [Gothic horror in the age of AI: Alma Katsu on her new novel Incarnate](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/318c898645c5) (2026-10-02, 32 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6abb5d5b6ffb28f8d6a708a2/media.mp3
- [Trashing Up Troy: Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/c0bb89373488) (2026-09-29, 74 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6ab6347f079b46c819fe9d67/media.mp3
- [Secret Life of Planes](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/5add2b681646) (2026-09-25, 35 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6ab222619def0199ccd96519/media.mp3
- [Secret Life of the River Thames](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/36a747830457) (2026-09-22, 68 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6aacb398964bc344095e3d2f/media.mp3
- [Secret Life of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/b4f9b81fb575) (2026-09-18, 31 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6aac8c1e8a1508074dd52ba7/media.mp3
- [Secret Life of the British Museum](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/a7c066fc175a) (2026-09-15, 61 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6aa88ae8b54f356fc7cb762a/media.mp3
- [Secret Life of Reading (with Maggie O'Farrell and Ben Alderson-Day)](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/0669a78ea68e) (2026-09-08, 55 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a9b2673d024784c999e7471/media.mp3
- [Secret Life of Edinburgh](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/b644930b1f1a) (2026-09-01, 60 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a9680c1b0faeccb23a64871/media.mp3
- [Secret Life of Trains 2 (Choo choo!)](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/1e97be3dbb34) (2026-08-31, 38 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a9543123255edf60483c872/media.mp3
- [Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/9a2bd039f945) (2026-08-25, 84 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a87f5bfb0d5e24ea4079720/media.mp3
- [Charlotte Higgins on Ukrainian Lessons: Art in a Time of War](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/3f4471a8b923) (2026-08-21, 51 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a826f8ef8e81c4395b18976/media.mp3
- [James Joyce 3: Ulysses](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/0a21eda33f3a) (2026-08-18, 70 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a826b7c6e5b5bfda64d9df9/media.mp3
- [Greek Lessons by Han Kang](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/b0721083916f) (2026-08-11, 69 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a7a6790523b3dfcd883a515/media.mp3
- [James Joyce 2: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/f207d213dc0a) (2026-08-04, 60 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a6ac522a585d3be78b87afd/media.mp3
- [Emily Wilson, the Odyssey and Why Epics Matter](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/87ae9ec69ac4) (2026-08-03, 35 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a6d065ff7c2060a1f0f33eb/media.mp3
- [A Podcast of One's Own x SLOB: Special Collaboration](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/3469a7f3b96c) (2026-07-29, 55 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a6a1266fdc89d3427ddb918/media.mp3
- [James Joyce 1: Dubliners](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/56ec048030a9) (2026-07-28, 81 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a61bf7744c9eabf3c7c92e2/media.mp3
- [The Odyssey 4: Christopher Nolan's Odyssey review](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/e0230f8f8273) (2026-07-21, 59 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a5ee8e246407ff54ee07f17/media.mp3
- [The Odyssey 3: Tennyson's Ulysses](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/9ddc9129929e) (2026-07-14, 82 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a503b66f8a80edf856e6da1/media.mp3
- [The Odyssey 2: How the Odyssey conquered the world](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/796c1e6fe835) (2026-07-07, 68 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a4ae02404fac73b24983dd4/media.mp3
- [The Odyssey 1: Mary Beard on Homer’s masterpiece](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/0cfdde9cdc81) (2026-07-06, 57 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a4b693d1e8214612a162ca8/media.mp3
- [The Declaration of Independence at 250](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/50912bb88347) (2026-06-30, 77 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a423999f045c2057f3aa8a1/media.mp3
- [TS Eliot 2: The Waste Land](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/60a0dc2f6cc3) (2026-06-23, 81 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a3870624a8189f2c390a8f0/media.mp3
- [TS Eliot 1: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/58d2c718bff1) (2026-06-16, 72 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a308769e6540bec0fedb238/media.mp3
- [Bleak House by Charles Dickens - SLoB Book Club returns! (feat. Bret Walker SC)](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/0af291f142a4) (2026-06-09, 77 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a275e7c427484b4a4f88934/media.mp3
- [Sucking the Forbidden Fruit: Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/9e9ef32a45b4) (2026-06-02, 77 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a193cd669630795d8ed9dab/media.mp3
- [Wings and Things: John Keats' Ode to a Nightingale](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/c3ed33aee42c) (2026-05-26, 74 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a13a6749feea1b67e0b4b43/media.mp3
- [Paths of Glory: Thomas Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/ec063de3b072) (2026-05-19, 78 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a094a80d98ee73f63a9a0f3/media.mp3
- [Literary Pilgrimage in New York: From the Mixes Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/ed27eacaf737) (2026-05-15, 34 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a06e387382d6c4030096fe2/media.mp3
- [Canterbury Tales (General Prologue) by Geoffrey Chaucer](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/6803df0e78c5) (2026-05-12, 83 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6a029e93b4433645562af59c/media.mp3
- [The Other Bennet Sister with author Janice Hadlow](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/6f309654608c) (2026-05-05, 54 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/69f433858466468ab01a3b28/media.mp3
- [Back to School 4: Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/04bfee4bf2bf) (2026-04-28, 73 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/69f040aa1c25ec341eaaae77/media.mp3
- [Back to School 3: A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/c8a9952bca64) (2026-04-21, 85 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/69e5b050738b0d0aa554fec5/media.mp3
- [Back to School 2: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/f5b5af4da565) (2026-04-14, 67 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/69d9760ccdaa3e377ca39fb2/media.mp3
- [Back to School 1: Tom Brown's School Days](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/16609abebb71) (2026-04-07, 69 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/69d440d5f44b357ce92f1eda/media.mp3
- [The Secret Life of (Literary) Honeymoons](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/86c39169da8b) (2026-03-31, 69 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/69c8e71826c1fb9c0754432b/media.mp3
- [Beowulf: Inside the Anglo-Saxon mind](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/a574a33f3ad5) (2026-03-24, 82 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/69c1d3797878605e11ab1bcf/media.mp3
- ["On Morrison": a conversation with Namwali Serpell](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/1dc9f0e036c2) (2026-03-21, 40 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/69bd7ad162f6c66afebb0dbd/media.mp3
- [Toni Morrison 3: Beloved](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/99cfe16a7795) (2026-03-17, 74 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/69b774d8cad04b62229b9f50/media.mp3
- [SLoB Goes to the Oscars: Frankenstein vs Hamnet](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/4b2c6d2f1777) (2026-03-10, 49 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/69af5161a2ae95013b1e0449/media.mp3
- [Saved from Fire: the Toni Morrison Archives](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/76faac7ce0c3) (2026-03-06, 38 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/69aa854d7036d73902e49dd6/media.mp3
- [Toni Morrison 2: Song of Solomon](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/acbea771e12d) (2026-03-03, 63 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/69a61a953df6e19cf768c259/media.mp3
- [The Other Bronte Girl: Anne Bronte's Tenant of Wildfell Hall](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/15447e936077) (2026-02-24, 68 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/69978f454c238f5dca79e71b/media.mp3
- [Jane Austen's Birthday: why everyone wants to party with Jane](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1755803199/759f14e8f697) (2026-02-21, 30 min): audio https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/679c3267811ecd43a9f19b7a/e/6999cf3568ec8626d271b9e5/media.mp3

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.