Brit Lit Book Club

Why Performing Shakespeare Still Matters: A Conversation with Michael from Take Note TroupeWhy do we still perform Shakespeare 400 years after his death? In this special interview episode (the first for The Brit Lit Book Club) we sit down with Michael, director of Take Note Troupe's Shakespeare in the Park, to explore why Shakespeare's plays remain powerfully relevant for modern audiences, especially teenagers.Discover how Shakespeare's language shaped English as we know it, why his works are better performed than read, and which plays speak most powerfully to our current moment. Michael shares insights from directing Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and other Shakespeare classics, revealing how young performers connect with centuries-old texts through Play Theory principles.In this episode, we discuss:Why Shakespeare's relatability has given his works such staying powerHow performing Shakespeare outdoors connects to the Globe Theatre traditionThe surprising ways Shakespeare influenced modern English (including the word "bedazzled"!)Which Shakespeare play is best for first-time audiencesHow improv skills help actors tackle Shakespearean languageThe Garden of Eden themes hidden in Much Ado About NothingWhy live Shakespeare performance captures meaning that reading alone cannotThe Cedar City Shakespeare Competition and what it teaches young actorsWhether you're a Shakespeare skeptic or longtime fan, this conversation will change how you think about the Bard's enduring impact on storytelling, language, and human nature.Guest: Michael hosts The Happiness Playbook podcast, where he teaches life skills through Play Theory. Subscribe to his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJCE2mr6QBhXUgeoQx4HnzA?reload=9Love this podcast? Imagine walking the Yorkshire moors where the Brontës found inspiration, visiting Jane Austen's writing desk at Chawton, and exploring Shakespeare's birthplace with fellow book lovers. We do all this and more on The Book Club Tour! Follow along with our adventures, or join us! 🌐 Explore our tours: thebookclubtour.com 📸 Instagram: @thebookclubtour 👥 Facebook: @thebookclubtour

Journey through 300 years of British Christmas traditions with The Brit Lit Book Club! Discover how Christmas was celebrated in Shakespeare's England, Jane Austen's Regency world, and Charles Dickens' Victorian era.From the twelve days of Tudor revelry and the Lord of Misrule to the quiet family gatherings of Regency drawing rooms, and finally to the Victorian Christmas that shaped our modern celebrations, explore how Britain's greatest authors lived and wrote about the holiday season.Learn about wassailing, Yule logs, plum pudding, the invention of Christmas cards, and why the Puritans actually banned Christmas in 1647. Discover how Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" transformed the holiday forever, and what Jane Austen's letters reveal about Regency festivities.Perfect for Anglophiles, book lovers, history enthusiasts, and anyone curious about the origins of Christmas traditions. Whether you're planning a trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, Chawton House, or Rochester's Dickensian Christmas Festival, this episode brings British literary history to life.British literature, Christmas history, Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Victorian Christmas, Regency era, Tudor England, A Christmas Carol, literary tourism, British traditions, English literature, book club, literary travelBook Recommendations:For Shakespeare's Christmas and Tudor/Stuart Celebrations:📚 Christmas in Shakespeare's England by Liza Picard - Wonderfully readable social history of Elizabethan Christmas celebrationsFor Jane Austen's Regency Christmas:📚 Jane Austen's Christmas by Maria Hubert - Christmas references from Austen's letters and novels📚 Christmas with Jane Austen - Edited by the Jane Austen Society📚 What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew by Daniel Pool - Guide to 19th-century English lifeFor Dickens and Victorian Christmas:📚 The Man Who Invented Christmas by Les Standiford - The story behind "A Christmas Carol"📚 Christmas: A Biography by Judith Flanders - How Christmas evolved through historyFor Christmas Traditions:📚 The Battle for Christmas by Stephen Nissenbaum - British traditions and their evolutionFor Christmas Literature:📚 Christmas Stories by Charles Dickens - Beyond "A Christmas Carol"Love this podcast? Imagine walking the Yorkshire moors where the Brontës found inspiration, visiting Jane Austen's writing desk at Chawton, and exploring Shakespeare's birthplace with fellow book lovers. We do all this and more on The Book Club Tour! Follow along with our adventures, or join us! 🌐 Explore our tours: thebookclubtour.com 📸 Instagram: @thebookclubtour 👥 Facebook: @thebookclubtour

Dickens and His Illustrators: The Artists Who Drew Victorian Christmas Ever wonder who first gave visual form to Scrooge, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and Fezziwig's famous ball? Discover the fascinating world of Victorian book illustration and the artists who shaped how we visualize Dickens's most beloved stories.In this episode of The Brit Lit Book Club, we explore the crucial but often overlooked partnership between Charles Dickens and his illustrators—particularly John Leech, whose iconic images for A Christmas Carol created the visual vocabulary of Victorian Christmas that we still use today. Learn how these illustrations weren't just decorative add-ons but integral to the Victorian reading experience, serving Dickens's social reform mission and making his stories accessible to readers across all literacy levels.We'll dive into:John Leech's groundbreaking illustrations for A Christmas Carol and how they defined our image of Victorian ChristmasHow Victorian novels were published with illustrations as an essential part of the serialized reading experienceDickens's complex and sometimes contentious relationships with illustrators like "Phiz" (Hablot Knight Browne) and George CruikshankThe lasting influence of Victorian Christmas imagery on modern holiday celebrationsWhy illustrations were crucial to Dickens's work as a social reformerTo see the illustrations mentioned in this podcast, go to: https://thebookclubtour.com/dickensillustrators/Recommended Reading:If this episode inspires you to explore Victorian illustration further, here are my top recommendations:Dickens and Phiz by Michael Steig - The definitive study of Dickens's longest and most important collaboration with illustrator Hablot Knight BrowneCharles Dickens and His Original Illustrators by Jane R. Cohen - A comprehensive look at all of Dickens's illustrators and their various styles and contributionsJohn Leech and the Victorian Scene by Simon Houfe - An exploration of John Leech's work beyond Dickens, showing how he captured Victorian lifeConsumer Rites: The Buying and Selling of American Holidays by Leigh Eric Schmidt - Explores how Victorian Christmas became commercialized and standardized, with illustrations playing a key roleExperience Dickens's London:Want to walk the streets that inspired both Dickens and his illustrators? Visit the Charles Dickens Museum on Doughty Street and explore the atmospheric London locations that appear in both his writing and the illustrations that brought them to life. Learn more at thebookclubtour.com.Perfect for lovers of Victorian literature, book history, British Christmas traditions, and anyone curious about the intersection of art and literature.#Dickens #VictorianLiterature #AChristmasCarol #BookIllustration #JohnLeech #VictorianChristmas #BritishLiterature #LiteraryHistory #BookHistory #TheBritLitBookClubLove this podcast? Imagine walking the Yorkshire moors where the Brontës found inspiration, visiting Jane Austen's writing desk at Chawton, and exploring Shakespeare's birthplace with fellow book lovers. We do all this and more on The Book Club Tour! Follow along with our adventures, or join us! 🌐 Explore our tours: thebookclubtour.com 📸 Instagram: @thebookclubtour 👥 Facebook: @thebookclubtour

Charles Dickens & A Christmas Carol: Charles Dickens's Revolutionary Ghost Story Discover the untold story behind Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol in this deep dive into Victorian literature's most influential work. More than just a holiday tale, A Christmas Carol was a radical political manifesto that changed how we celebrate Christmas and think about poverty, wealth, and social responsibility.In this episode, we explore: • Why Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in just six weeks during the autumn of 1843 • How Dickens's childhood trauma in a blacking factory shaped his passionate advocacy for poor children • The Victorian social debates about poverty, workhouses, and the Poor Law that sparked the story • How Ebenezer Scrooge embodies Victorian capitalism and why his transformation matters today • The Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come as agents of social reform • How Dickens invented modern Christmas traditions through literature • The enduring relevance of A Christmas Carol to debates about living wages, income inequality, and corporate responsibilityWhether you're reading A Christmas Carol for the first time, teaching it in your English class, or rediscovering this classic novella, you'll gain a new appreciation for how Dickens used ghost story conventions to deliver powerful social commentary that resonates 180 years later.Perfect for fans of British literature, Victorian history, Christmas stories, and anyone interested in how great books shape culture and society.Join The Book Club Tour at thebookclubtour.com to walk the streets of Dickens's London and experience Victorian England firsthand.Recommended Reading:The Man Who Invented Christmas by Les StandifordThe Englishman's Christmas: A Social History by J.A.R. PimlottChristmas: A Biography by Judith FlandersThe Idea of Poverty by Gertrude HimmelfarbThe Lives and Times of Ebenezer Scrooge by Paul DavisScoff: A History of Food and Class in Britain by Pen VoglerLove this podcast? Imagine walking the Yorkshire moors where the Brontës found inspiration, visiting Jane Austen's writing desk at Chawton, and exploring Shakespeare's birthplace with fellow book lovers. We do all this and more on The Book Club Tour! Follow along with our adventures, or join us! 🌐 Explore our tours: thebookclubtour.com 📸 Instagram: @thebookclubtour 👥 Facebook: @thebookclubtour

Charles Dickens: The People's Author - The Brit Lit Book ClubJoin us for an in-depth exploration of Charles Dickens, the literary rock star of Victorian England! In this episode of The Brit Lit Book Club, we dive into the life and works of the author behind A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, and so many other beloved classics.We'll explore Dickens's fascinating (and complicated) life story—from his traumatic childhood working in a blacking factory while his father languished in debtors' prison, to his meteoric rise to international fame. Discover his contribution to radical social change, his quirky habits, and his darker side.Plus, we'll take you on a virtual tour of Dickens locations across England that you can visit on The British Book Club Tour!Extra Dickens Book Recommendations:Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva The Invisible Woman by Claire Tomalin The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London by Judith Flanders Drood by Dan Simmons Charles Dickens: A Life by Claire Tomalin The Mystery of Charles Dickens by A.N. Wilson Perfect for book clubs, British literature lovers, and anyone planning literary travel to England!Topics covered: Charles Dickens biography, Victorian London, British authors, classic literature, literary tourism England, A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, 19th century literature, book club discussion guidesLove this podcast? Imagine walking the Yorkshire moors where the Brontës found inspiration, visiting Jane Austen's writing desk at Chawton, and exploring Shakespeare's birthplace with fellow book lovers. We do all this and more on The Book Club Tour! Follow along with our adventures, or join us! 🌐 Explore our tours: thebookclubtour.com 📸 Instagram: @thebookclubtour 👥 Facebook: @thebookclubtour