Brigid Brophy — The King of a Rainy Country

If Brigid Brophy’s The King of a Rainy Country had a soundtrack, it might include the soft patter of rain on a garret window, jazz drifting from a smoky cafe, the hum of a Vespa on narrow cobblestone streets … and the obnoxious griping of a few dozen uncultured Americans! As the description suggests, Brophy’s 1956 novel has a little bit of everything  — atmosphere, nostalgia and poignancy mixed with subversive wit and madcap antics. Kim and Amy play “tour guide” examining Brophy’s life and accomplishments, including this wonderfully quirky book, recently reissued by McNally Editions.

Mentioned in this episode:

McNally Editions The King of a Rainy Country by Brigid Brophy

Marginalia article about Brigid Brophy and Iris Murdoch by Maria Popova

Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 51 on Rosamond Lehmann

Dusty Answer by Rosamond Lehmann

Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 150 on Elizabeth Smart

By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept by Elizabeth Smart

Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 184 on Elizabeth Taylor Vs. Elizabeth Taylor

BBC program “Take it Or Leave It”

In Transit by Brigid Brophy

Hackenfeller’s Ape by Brigid Brophy

The Snowball by Brigid Brophy

Fifty Works of English Literature We Could Do Without by Brigid Brophy, Michael Levey and ??

The Crown Princess and Other Stories by Brigid Brophy

“Spleen” by Beaudelaire

Death in Venice by Thomas Mann

“As You Like It” by William Shakespeare