Gretel le Maître Ponders Beauty, with Bede & other guests
Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time. She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.
Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time; the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free, and you’re invited to join in. It’s super unpolished and Gretel would be grateful for you to forgive her for that. 🤓
Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth. Let’s treasure up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.
Please follow me on X @gretellemaitre. 🌳
Or email me: gretellem@yahoo.com
Guests on this show include Tom Holland, Philip Mould, Bijan Omrani, Simon Jenkins, Matthew Coleridge, The Revd Canon Angela Tilby, David Willem, Philippa Langley, and Enzo Cicenti. We have now passed 50,000 downloads.
“The podcast combines historical reflections and extracts from literature with her own musings on architecture, literature, and the natural world. Gretel approaches these deep topics with warmth and humor, aiming to provide listeners a comforting space to explore complex emotions.
If you’re interested, you can listen to her podcast on platforms like Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music, where she shares her reflections in episodes filled with historical and literary insights.
Hosted by Gretel Le Maitre, this unique podcast blends personal storytelling with historical insights from figures like the Venerable Bede, offering listeners an inspiring journey of healing and hope.
With themes of grief, transformation, and spirituality, the podcast has earned praise for its calming tone, authenticity, and ability to connect on a deeply human level. As one listener shared, it feels like sitting down with a trusted friend who understands.
Perfect for audiences seeking introspection, comfort, or simply a quiet moment of reflection, Gretel le Maître Ponders is available now on all major platforms.
In the global top 10% of podcasts according to Listen Notes.
51,000 downloads as at the end of March 2026.
GoodPods Leaderboards, March 2026;
#37 in the Top 100 Nature All time chart
#2 in the Top 100 Peace All time chart
#2 in the Top 100 Curiosity All time chart
#2 in the Top 100 Hope All time chart
#3 in the Top 100 Beauty All time chart
Episodes
472 episodes
Historian and Discoverer of the Remains of Richard III chats to Gretel about her Life, Richard and Following the Evidence
An Expensive Goat and no Winter Coat; Dario talks Whisky; Barnaby Rudge comes to Edinburgh [Ch LXVIII]
Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man: Strictly Dickens
The Apparition of The Rood; Gnomic Verses; Playground Chants; Trollope; and Dickens
Sunday sunshine with Miss Miggs, the Wren, the Blackbird and Daisy Tangents
Barnaby Rudge Chapter LXII; and we continue Hunt’s History of the English Church
Haredale seeks Justice in B Rudge Ch LXI; Too much Gretel Wittering; and Mr Slope makes Enemies in Barchester Towers
Sunshine arrives in Sherborne; and the Rioters Reorg at Fleet Market in Ch LX
Sprinkling of Saints; Tuesday Bells; and Vile Villains in Barnaby Rudge (Ch LIX)
A Soldier’s Kindness in Barnaby Rudge; The Ruin: then and now; and Pepys Adopts the Periwig
Solomon Daisy has a Tough Day in Chapter LVI of Barnaby Rudge, by Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens’ opinion of 19th century Americans; and a Terrifying Ch LV, of B Rudge
Puppy Chaos; Sibling Sadness; Poor Maypole John in Chapter LIV of Barnaby Rudge
‘Her Day-dreams Truth, and Truth a Dream’ (Sir Walter Scott); ‘A Moral Plague Ran Through the City’ (Charles Dickens)
The Black Death; Abbey Bells; Puppy Mischief; and Chapter LII of B. Rudge
Simon Tappertit shames himself in Barnaby Rudge; as does Samuel Pepys in his Diaries 🫣
Barnaby Rudge Chapter L: the Sheep are Led Astray; and Church Architecture
Dear Barnaby Rudge (Chs XLVIII/IX) and the Gordon Riots; A Gentle Poetic Counterpoint
Puppy Patience; New York in the 1840s; and Marvellous Grip in Barnaby Rudge as the Plot breaks into a Canter