This episode we speak with two experts to better understand Eleanor Scott and her story Randall’s Round, Dr Vicky Margree and Prof Dan Orrells. We discuss what’s known about Eleanor Scott, her time at Oxford University in the early 1900s and the role of gender, folklore and imperialism in her writing.
Vicky is a specialist in literary fiction and feminist theory. Her book British Women’s Short Supernatural Fiction, 1860-1930: Our Own Ghostliness looks at stories by Margaret Oliphant, Charlotte Riddell, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Edith Nesbit, Alice Perrin, Eleanor Scott and Violet Hunt.
Dan focuses on the history of the interpretation of classical literature. He’s interested in the Greeks and Romans in the Victorian imagination, including how these inspired Gothic and ghostly tales at the turn of the 20th century. He co-edited with Vicky a study of Richard Marsh, a fascinating late-Victorian author who wrote about “shape-shifting monsters, morally dubious heroes, lip-reading female detectives and objects that come to life.”
In our conversation we learn more about the folklore revival, Edward B Tylor’s ideas about primitive cultures and notions of “survivals” amd the experience of women at Oxford and Cambridge (Dan recommends the Dorothy L Sayers novel Gaudy Night!).
Massive thank you to Vicky and Dan for being such engaging and insightful guests and sharing their expertise with us! If you want to read ahead, we’ll be back next time with The Weird of the Walfords by Louisa Baldwin.
Episode 21 – The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance
Episode 20 – Speaker Lenthall’s Tomb
Episode 19 – John Humphreys
Episode 18 – An Episode of Cathedral History
Episode 17 – The Diary of Mr Poynter
Reading – Ghosts, Treat them Gently!
Episode 16b – The Residence at Whitminster Part 2
Episode 16a – The Residence at Whitminster
M.R. James 150th Birthday Special!
Episode 15 – Mr Humphreys and his Interitance
Episode 14 – Martin’s Close
Episode 13 – The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral
Episode 12b – Casting the Runes
Episode 12a – Casting the Runes
Episode 11 – The Tractate Middoth
Episode 10 – The Rose Garden
Episode 9 – A School Story
Episode 8 – The Treasure of Abbot Thomas
Episode 7b – Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad
Episode 7a – Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad
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