New Books Network Podcast

British Studies November 29, 2023

Shakespeare’s House

A Window onto his Life and Legacy

Richard Schoch

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

In the wide realm of Shakespeare worship, the house in Stratford-upon-Avon where William Shakespeare was born in 1564 – known colloquially as the 'Birthplace' – remains the chief shrine. It's …

East Asian Studies November 28, 2023

The Perils of Interpreting

The Extraordinary Lives of Two Translators Between Qing China and the British Empire

Henrietta Harrison

Hosted by Sarah Bramao-Ramos

The Perils of Interpreting: The Extraordinary Lives of Two Translators Between Qing China and the British Empire (Princeton UP, 2021) is a fascinating history of China's relations with the West--told through …

Military History November 27, 2023

The War for England's Shores

S-Boats and the Fight Against British Coastal Convoys

G. H. Bennett

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

The War for England's Shores: S-Boats and the Fight Against British Coastal Convoys (US Naval Institute Press, 2023) by Dr. G. H. Bennett examines the Kriegsmarine's S-Boat offensive along the …

General History November 27, 2023

British Cyprus and the Long Great War, 1914-1925

Empire, Loyalties and Democratic Deficit

Andrekos Varnava

Hosted by Ari Barbalat

Most of the Cypriot population, especially the lower classes, remained loyal to the British cause during the Great War and the island contributed significantly to the First World War, with …

Literary Studies November 25, 2023

The Feeling of Letting Die

Necroeconomics and Victorian Fiction

Jennifer Maclure

Hosted by Kendall Dinniene

In The Feeling of Letting Die: Necroeconomics and Victorian Fiction (Ohio State UP, 2023), Jennifer MacLure explores how Victorian novels depict the feelings that both fuel and are produced by …

British Studies November 24, 2023

Inventing the Working Parent

Work, Gender, and Feminism in Neoliberal Britain

Sarah E. Stoller

Hosted by Deidre Tyler

Sarah E. Stoller, Inventing the Working Parent: Work, Gender, and Feminism in Neoliberal Britain (MIT Press, 2023) is the first historical examination of working parenthood in the late twentieth century--and …

Early Modern History November 24, 2023

Love Spells and Lost Treasure

Service Magic in England from the Later Middle Ages to the Early Modern Era

Tabitha Stanmore

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Magic is ubiquitous across the world and throughout history. Yet if witchcraft is acknowledged as a persistent presence in the medieval and early modern eras, practical magic by contrast – …

Medieval History November 24, 2023

International Law in Europe, 700–1200

Jenny Benham

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Was there international law in the Middle Ages? Using treaties as its main source, International Law in Europe, 700-1200 (Manchester University Press, 2022) by Dr. Jenny Benham examines the extent …

Literary Studies November 24, 2023

Black Shakespeare

Reading and Misreading Race

Ian Smith

Hosted by John Yargo

In Black Shakespeare: Reading and Misreading Race (Cambridge University Press, 2022), Ian Smith urges readers of Othello, The Merchant of Venice, and Hamlet to develop “racial literacy.” Through both wide …

British Studies November 22, 2023

Living in Houses

A Personal History English Domestic Architecture

Ruth Dalton

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

In Living in Houses: A Personal History of English Domestic Architecture (Lund Humphries, 2022), Dr. Ruth Dalton presents a rich and rewarding history of houses in England through the stories …

British Studies November 21, 2023

Being Single in Georgian England

Families, Households, and the Unmarried

Amy Harris

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Being Single in Georgian England: Families, Households, and the Unmarried (Oxford University Press, 2023) by Dr. Amy Harris is the first book-length exploration of what family life looked like, and …

Economic and Business History November 20, 2023

Networks, Innovation, and Knowledge: the North Staffordshire Potteries, 1750-1851

Joe Lane

Hosted by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the industrial district of the North Staffordshire Potteries dominated the British earthenware industry, producing local goods that sold in global markets. Over this time …

American Studies November 19, 2023

The Liberty to Take Fish

Atlantic Fisheries and Federal Power in Nineteenth-Century America

Thomas Blake Earle

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

In The Liberty to Take Fish: Atlantic Fisheries and Federal Power in Nineteenth-Century America (Cornell University Press, 2023), Dr. Thomas Blake Earle offers an incisive and nuanced history of the …

Biography November 18, 2023

Lord Acton for Our Time

Christopher Lazarski

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

Extracting lessons for our current age, Christopher Lazarski focuses on liberty--how Acton understood it, what he thought was its foundation and necessary ingredients, and the history of its development in …

Asian Review of Books November 16, 2023

The Quest for Modern Assam

A History, 1942-2000

Arupjyoti Saikia

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

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The northeast Indian state of Assam has had a complex history. As independence loomed, Assam was a large British province, bordering the fellow British colony of Burma and covering a …

Intellectual History November 15, 2023

Theology, Horror and Fiction

A Reading of the Gothic Nineteenth Century

Jonathan Greenaway

Hosted by Stephen Dozeman

When one thinks of your typical horror movie and it’s usual imagery, a number of tropes may come forward. Graveyards behind old cathedrals, crucifixes and holy water, possessions and …

Medieval History November 14, 2023

Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians, and Women in Tenth-Century England

Rebecca Hardie

Hosted by Becky Straple-Sovers

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Æthelflæd (c. 870–918), political leader, military strategist, and administrator of law, is one of the most important ruling women in English history. Despite her multifaceted roles and family legacy, however …

Language November 12, 2023

Unlocking Scots

The Secret Life of the Scots Language

Clive Young

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

In Unlocking Scots: The Secret Life of the Scots Language (Luath, 2023), Dr. Clive Young sets out to uncover the secret life of Scots – the centuries of vibrant debate …

Military History November 12, 2023

Battle for the Island Kingdom

The Struggle for England's Destiny 1000-1066

Don Hollway

Hosted by AJ Woodhams

In a saga reminiscent of Game of Thrones and Battle for the Island Kingdom: The Struggle for England's Destiny 1000-1066 (Osprey, 2023) reveals the life-and-death struggle for power which changed the …

Irish Studies November 11, 2023

Power, Politics and Territory in the ‘New Northern Ireland’

Girdwood Barracks and the Story of the Peace Process

Elizabeth DeYoung

Hosted by Aidan Beatty

In the wake of the Good Friday Agreement, the redevelopment of the former Girdwood Army Barracks in North Belfast was hailed as a ‘symbol of hope’ for Northern Ireland. It …