Lost Ladies of Lit

Subscriber-only episode

Send us a text

Long before an insatiable press laid siege to Catherine, Princess of Wales, Princess Diana, Meghan Markle and in-law to America’s “royal family,” Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, Empress Elizabeth of Austria was the beautiful royal everyone wanted a piece of. Feeling like a prisoner in a gilded cage, “Sisi” managed her frustrations through an unhealthy obsession with her appearance and by writing poetry that maligned the monarchy and revealed her deep yearning for freedom. In this week’s bonus episode, Amy discusses Sisi’s life and poems, which were finally published almost a century after her 1898 assassination.

For episodes and show notes, visit:

LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack newsletter.

Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit.

Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast

Subscriber-only episode

Send us a text

The recent hatching of baby eaglets in Big Bear, CA has Amy thinking a lot about patriotism and what it actually means in turbulent times for our country. Lost lady of lit Katharine Lee Bates — a staunch activist for social justice who decried America’s isolationist policies — must have considered the same when, during a trip across the country in 1893, she penned what would eventually become the lyrics to “America the Beautiful.” The original words to her poem are a bit more pointed than the version we know today, offering a new perspective on pure (but not blind) patriotism.

Mentioned in this episode:

Big Bear Eagle Cam

Friends of Big Bear Valley

Katharine Lee Bates

“America the Beautiful” and changing lyrics over time

“America the Beautiful”: The Stirring True Story Behind our Nation’s Favorite Song by Lynn Sherr

Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893

“America the Beautiful” rendition by Ray Charles

“Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride” by Katharine Lee Bates

For episodes and show notes, visit:

LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack newsletter.

Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit.

Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast

Subscriber-only episode

Send us a text

Amy discusses the good and bad of audiobook narration in this week’s bonus episode, then dives into the origins of the commercial audiobook industry. Founded in 1952, Caedmon Records was the brainchild of two young women who achieved their smash debut success by convincing Dylan Thomas to record himself reading some of his most popular work, including “A Child’s Christmas in Wales.” The recording company went on to record LPs of work by a wide array of literary stars, including Gertrude Stein, Sylvia Plath, Ernest Hemingway, T.S. Eliot and J.R.R. Tolkien, thus paving the way for today’s burgeoning audiobook market.

For episodes and show notes, visit:

LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack newsletter.

Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit.

Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast

Send us a text

Dying by suicide shortly after her novel, Love and Silence, was rejected for publication in 1963, Egyptian writer Enayat al-Zayyat gained brief recognition when the book was finally published four years after her death. Discovering the novel in a Cairo market some 30 years later launched acclaimed Egyptian writer Iman Mersal on a decades-long, life-altering quest to solve the many mysteries about al-Zayyat’s life, death and legacy. Mersal joins us in this episode to discuss the recent English translation of her award-winng 2019 book, Traces of Enayat, and the nexus between al-Zayyat’s story and her own.

Mentioned in this episode:

Traces of Enayat by Iman Mersal

How to Mend: Motherhood and Its Ghosts by Iman Mersal

The Threshold by Iman Mersal
Love and Silence by Enayat al-Zayyat

The Open Door by Latifa al-Zayyat

The Open Door film

Egyptian Actress Nadia Lutfi

City of the Dead cemetery in Cairo

Ludwig Keimer

German Institute of Antiquities

Support the show

For episodes and show notes, visit:

LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack newsletter.

Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit.

Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast

Subscriber-only episode

Send us a text

In this week’s bonus episode, Amy draws a throughline between the 1970s-era Esquire magazine writing of Nora Ephron and the sharp-witted book reviews of Dorothy Parker. A recent McNally Editions collection of these reviews called Constant Reader: The New Yorker 1927-28 provides a perfect opportunity to explore Parker’s opinions on some lost ladies of lit, from Zona Gale and Elinor Glyn to Fannie Hurst and Elinor Wylie. Which women earned Parker’s praise and which drew her disdain? Listen to find out — (and be prepared to laugh!)

Mentioned in this episode:

Crazy Salad and Scribble Scribble: Some Things About Women and Notes on Media by Nora Ephron

Constant Reader: The New Yorker from 1927-28 by Dorothy Parker

Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 126 on Elinor Glyn with Hilary A. Hallett

It by Elinor Glyn

Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 13 on Nathalia Crane

Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 69 on Margery Latimer with Joy Castro

Yellow Gentians and Blue by Zona Gale

Mr. Hodge and Mr. Hazard by Elinor Wylie

A President is Born by Fannie Hurst

In the Service of the King by Aimee Semple McPherson

Beauty and the Beast by Kathleen Norris

For episodes and show notes, visit:

LostLadiesofLit.comSubscribe to our substack newsletter.

Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit.

Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast