Marilynne Robinson, Francis Spufford, empathy and sympathy! Welcome to episode 86, in which we talk about characters we feel empathetic towards and those we feel sympathetic towards. And if you aren’t sure of the distinction, don’t worry, we’ve got that

Marilynne Robinson, Francis Spufford, empathy and sympathy!


https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Tea-or-Books-86.mp3

Welcome to episode 86, in which we talk about characters we feel empathetic towards and those we feel sympathetic towards. And if you aren’t sure of the distinction, don’t worry, we’ve got that covered too.


In the second half, we compare two books with similar titles but very different contents: When I Was a Child I Read Books by Marilynne Robinson and The Child That Books Built by Francis Spufford.


Do get in touch if you have any suggestions for topics or a question for the middle bit – we’re at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com. Find us in your podcast app of choice, on Spotify, or on Apple Podcasts. And you can support us on Patreon, where there are also bonus ten-minute episodes from me.


The books and authors we mention in this episode are:


The Game by A.S. Byatt

Possession by A.S. Byatt

The Matisse Stories by A.S. Byatt

The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt

The Vanishing Act by Adrian Alington

Dorothy L Sayers

Agatha Christie

Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield

Mr Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood

Goodbye To Berlin by Christopher Isherwood

Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh

Henry James

Prater Violet by Christopher Isherwood

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Emma by Jane Austen

Ian McEwan

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Dr Thorne by Anthony Trollope

The Warden by Anthony Trollope

Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope

The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Lady Susan by Jane Austen

Ivy Compton-Burnett

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

Biggles series by W.E. Johns

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

Any Human Heart by William Boyd

The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel

The Way We Live Now by Meg Rosoff

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

Wish Her Safe at Home by Stephen Benatar

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald

White Cargo by Felicity Kendal

William Shakespeare

The Town in Bloom by Dodie Smith

Look Back With Love by Dodie Smith

Look Back With Astonishment by Dodie Smith

Look Back With Mixed Feelings by Dodie Smith

Opening Night by Ngaio Marsh

Wise Children by Angela Carter

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Lover’s Vows by Elizabeth Inchbald

Sea Change by Elizabeth Jane Howard

At Freddie’s by Penelope Fitzgerald

Molly Fox’s Birthday by Deirdre Madden

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson

Famous Five series by Enid Blyton

Bookworm by Lucy Mangan

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Little House on the Prarie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Golden Hill by Francis Spufford

Crossriggs by Jane and Mary Findlater

Emma by Jane Austen