Reading The Custom of the Country this winter has felt like stepping into the most lush, dramatic, and marathon-worthy period piece–so today we’re sharing some of our favorite period dramas and pairing them with excellent books for cozy winter reading. We discuss the appeal of watching historical fiction versus reading it, the throughline from reading Dear America books to watching Downton Abbey as a comfort show, and the complex nature of colorblind casting. We hope you find a new, or old, TV series or novel to enjoy after listening to today’s episode.
PS: if you hear some odd background noises in this episode, just imagine little toddler feet stomping above Chelsey's head!
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Shows Mentioned:
Downton Abbey
Poldark
Miss Scarlet and the Duke
Gentleman Jack
The Gilded Age
Bridgerton
Queen Charlotte
The Crown
Outlander
The Empress
The Great
The Good Lord Bird
The Underground Railroad
Reign
Books Mentioned:
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin
Longbourn by Jo Baker
Poldark series by Winston Graham
Veronica Speedwell series by Deanna Raybourn
Knockout by Sarah Maclean
Lady Sherlock series by Sherry Thomas
Sarah Waters
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K.J. Charles
The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton
The Age of Witches by Louisa Morgan
The Davenports by Krystal Marquis
Fiona Davis
Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn
A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting by Sophie Irwin
Jane Austen
The Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney Milan
The Countess by Sophie Jordan
Victoria by Daisy Godwin
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
Shakespeare’s history plays
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
The Lost Queen by Signe Pike
Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller
Margaret the First by Danielle Dutton
James McBride
John Brown by W.E.B. DuBois
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
The Water Dancer by Ta Nehisi Coates
Royal Diaries series
My Lady Jane by Brodi Ashton, et al
Alison Weir
Philippa Gregory
Margaret George
114. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
113. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis and The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
112. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
111. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
110. Not Without Laughter by Langston Hughes and stories of community, music, and home
109. Reading classic children's literature with Alice, Anne and Aslan
108. Our favorite (and least favorite) books of 2022
107. The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo and adapting the classics for modern readers
106. Revisit West Egg with Novel Pairings: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
105. A stack of sparkling novels set in the Roaring 20s
104. The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare and pairings for theatrical, political, or fantastical readers
103. Shakespearean titles to topple your To Be Read stack
102. Perplexed by Persuasion on Netflix
101. Ask a Shakespeare Professor
100. Persuasion by Jane Austen and romantic novels with plenty of pining
99. Literary adaptations we can't wait to read this fall
98. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry and stories as big as Texas
97. Romance in Marseille by Claude McKay and postcolonial novels to expand your world
96. Must-read books of the summer paired with beach-worthy backlist titles
95. Love and Freindship by Jane Austen and adding pure FUN to your TBR list
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