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The Norton Library Podcast
Welcome to the Norton Library Podcast, where we explore influential works of literature and philosophy with the leading scholars and teachers behind Norton’s newest series of classics. In each episode, with a Norton Library editor or translator as our guide, we'll learn something new and surprising about these classic works—why they endure, and what it means to read them today. Hosted by Mark Cirino and produced by Michael Von Cannon, the co-creators of the Hemingway Society's popular show One True Podcast.
Episodes
72 episodes
Tears with a Purpose (Uncle Tom's Cabin, Part 1)
In Part 1 of our discussion on Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, we welcome editor Susan M. Ryan to discuss the author's background and politics, the book's reception as both political commentary and nonpolitical drama, and th...
Life is Made of Ever So Many Partings Welded Together (Great Expectations, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on Charles Dickens's Great Expectations, editor Daniel Wright returns to discuss the appropriately rich color scheme of the Norton Library edition, his favorite awkward and heartbreaking line from the novel,...
Trying to Be Funny Again (Great Expectations, Part 1)
In Part 1 of our discussion on Charles Dickens's Great Expectations, we welcome editor Daniel Wright to discuss the author's busy and eventful life, the historical context and social issues behind his creation of Great Expecta...
Pulling Back the Curtain (A Room of One's Own, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, editor Dora Zhang returns to discuss the original cover and the design of the Norton Library edition, her first encounter with Woolf's writing during college, an...
Shakespeare's Sister and a Spider's Web of Fiction (A Room of One's Own, Part 1)
In Part 1 of our discussion on Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, we welcome editor Dora Zhang to discuss the author's early life in a literary and artistic household, the enduring nature and distinctive prose of Woolf's works, and ...
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Subtle, Remorseful—Self-Loathing?—Hypocrites (The Scarlet Letter, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, editor Justine Murison returns to discuss the cover design of the Norton Library edition, her first encounter with The Scarlet Letter in high school (and...
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The Perfect Time to Read The Scarlet Letter (The Scarlet Letter, Part 1)
In Part 1 of our discussion on Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, we welcome editor Justine Murison to discuss Hawthorne's life and views, the iconic symbolism in the text and how to analyze it, and the lasting relevance of ...
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How is the World Reading You? (The Tale of Genji, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji, editor Dennis Washburn returns to discuss the importance of the colors of the Norton Library edition, the ways the text spoke to him during his translation process, a...
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Beauty, Loneliness, and Scandal (The Tale of Genji, Part 1)
In Part 1 of our discussion on Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji, we welcome editor Dennis Washburn to discuss the life and times of Murasaki Shikibu, the process of abridging The Tale of Genji for the Norton Library editio...
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Happy Birthday, Jane! (Jane Austen at 250)
For our special celebration of Jane Austen's 250th birthday, we welcome editors Jenny Davidson (Pride and Prejudice, 2023), Stephanie Insley Hershinow (Sense and Sensibility, 2024; Emma, 2022), and Patricia Matthew (<...
Listen to This—Then Play Happy Music! (Utilitarianism, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism, co-editor Peter Singer returns to discuss the cover design of the Norton Library edition, the formation of an argument about a philosophical thought, and a soundtrack fo...
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Better Socrates Dissatisfied than a Fool Satisfied? (Utilitarianism, Part 1)
In Part 1 of our discussion on John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism, we welcome co-editor Peter Singer to discuss the author's life and other writings, to provide context on the philosophical tradition and historical era in which Mill wro...
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The Importance of Fun (The Decameron, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron, editor Wayne A. Rebhorn returns to discuss his first encounter with Boccaccio, the nature of translating the text's layered meanings from Italian to English, and modern...
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The Stealth Classic (The Decameron, Part 1)
In Part 1 of our discussion on Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron, we welcome editor Wayne A. Rebhorn to discuss the author's life and historical times, similarities among Boccaccio, Petrarch, and Dante, and the use of storytelling to ...
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I Write Only That Whereof I Know (Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Written by Herself, editor Evie Shockley returns to discuss her first encounter with this text in graduate school, the book's place in the ...
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Less Like You're Reading Her, More Like You're Listening to Her (Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Part 1)
In Part 1 of our discussion on Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Written by Herself, we welcome editor Evie Shockley to discuss the author's family background, lively language as a storyteller, and influe...
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It's Never Too Late to Discover Hemingway (A Farewell to Arms, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms, Norton Library podcast host Mark Cirino returns to the guest seat (with producer Michael von Cannon stepping behind the microphone as host). The two discuss the cover desig...
A Tale of Love and a Tale of War (A Farewell to Arms, Part 1)
In Part 1 of our discussion on Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms, we welcome Norton Library podcast host Mark Cirino to the guest seat for the first time (with producer Michael von Cannon stepping behind the microphone as host). The two d...
Hector and Achilles are More Alike Than You Think (The Iliad, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on Homer's Iliad, translator Emily Wilson returns to discuss the red and gold cover design of the Norton Library edition, recount her decision to recreate a new translation of the epic, and give a performanc...
Achilles's Job is Beach (The Iliad, Part 1)
In Part 1 of our discussion on Homer's Iliad, we welcome translator Emily Wilson to discuss Homer's life as an "author," the meaning of free will in the context of intervention from gods, and how the relationship between Achilles and P...
Jo's Elastic Heart (Little Women, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, editor Sarah Blackwood returns to discuss the inspiration behind the cover of the Norton Library edition, the book's intended audience, and key elements of gender theory—...
Life Planning 101 with Louisa May Alcott (Little Women, Part 1)
In Part 1 of our discussion on Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, we welcome editor Sarah Blackwood to discuss the importance of Alcott's family background; her distinct authorial voice in books, journals, and letters; and how her time ...
Tell Your Students about Edith Wharton! (The Age of Innocence, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence, editor Sheila Liming returns to discuss challenges for first-time readers, the correlation between fluctuations in Wharton's reputation and historical literary (and p...
A Hieroglyphic World: Social Rules in Wharton's Novel of Manners (The Age of Innocence, Part 1)
In Part 1 of our discussion on Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence, we welcome editor Sheila Liming to discuss the author's friendship with Henry James, a culture of elitism in New York, and the ironic meaning of "innocence" in the no...
Taylor Swift's "Anti-Hero" and Hemingway's Flawed Characters (The Sun Also Rises, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, editor Verna Kale returns to discuss the vintage bullfighting posters that inspired the cover of the Norton Library edition, a "hot take" on the traditional hero of ...
