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Backlisted

Backlisted

By: Backlisted
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The literary podcast that has been giving new life to old books since 2015. For show notes visit backlisted.fm and get an extra two shows a month by supporting the pod at patreon.com/backlistedAll rights reserved Art Literary History & Criticism
Episodes
  • Beloved by Toni Morrison - rerun

    Beloved by Toni Morrison - rerun
    Jun 2 2026
    Beloved by Toni Morrison was first published in 1987 by Knopf, it went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988, among many other prizes. In 2006, the New York Times declared Beloved the best work of American fiction of the previous twenty-five years. and more recently it came second in the Guardians top 100 novels of all time. This show was recorded in 2019 and our guest is Preti Taneja a novelist, a teacher and an activist. She won the Desmond Elliot Prize for her first book, We That Are Young (2017), and her creative non-fiction work, Aftermath (2022) was based on her own experience of teaching in prison. In this episode John also enthuses about Lisa Blower’s sparkling story collection It’s Gone Dark over Bill’s Mother’s published by Myriad Editions and Andy discovers the perfect holiday read in Paraic O’Donnell’s The House on Vesper Sands. published by Weidenfeld. * To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backlisted where all profits help to sustain this podcast and UK independent bookshops. * For information about everything mentioned in this episode visit www.backlisted.fm *If you'd like to support the show and join in with the book chat, listen without adverts, receive the show early and with extra bonus fortnightly episodes and exclusive writing, become a Patreon at www.patreon.com/backlisted *You can sign up to our free monthly newsletter here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • Springs of Affection by Maeve Brennan - rerun

    Springs of Affection by Maeve Brennan - rerun
    May 11 2026
    There can be few writers more deserving of Backlisted’s attention than the Irish writer, Maeve Brennan. An adopted New Yorker, Brennan died there in 1993 and was by that time so thoroughly forgotten in her native land, that she received no obituaries in any Irish papers. We are joined by the writers Sinéad Gleason and David Hayden to discuss her collection, The Springs of Affection – subtitled ‘stories of Dublin’ – which was first published posthumously by Houghton Mifflin in 1997, although all but one of these first appeared in the New Yorker, where Brennan was a staff writer for twenty-seven years. It was the enthusiastic praise from other writers including Alice Munro, Edna O’Brien and Mavis Gallant among others, that helped get The Springs of Affection the kind of international attention that the two collections published in Maeve’s lifetime failed to achieve. Since then, Maeve Brennan’s reputation has grown steadily, and her stories are now regularly and favourably compared to those of Joyce, Chekov and Colette. In Ireland, in particular, she has won the admiration of a new generation of women writers, who in Anne Enright’s phrase, see her as ‘a casualty of old wars not yet won.’ This episode also features Andy revisiting the Linda Nochlin’s classic 1971 essay, Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists? while John is impressed by Orlam, P.J. Harvey’s dark and brooding verse novel, written entirely in Dorset dialect. * To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backlisted where all profits help to sustain this podcast and UK independent bookshops. * For information about everything mentioned in this episode visit www.backlisted.fm *If you'd like to support the show and join in with the book chat, listen without adverts, receive the show early and with extra bonus fortnightly episodes and exclusive writing, become a Patreon at www.patreon.com/backlisted *You can sign up to our free monthly newsletter here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • De Profundis by Oscar Wilde

    De Profundis by Oscar Wilde
    Apr 27 2026
    Back in 2022, our guest was Stephen Fry, writer, actor and polymath, who joined John and Andy to discuss Oscar Wilde's De Profundis, the essay addressed to Lord Alfred Douglas in 1897 'from the depths' of Wilde's incarceration in Reading Gaol. It has been described by Colm Tóibín as 'one of the greatest love letters ever written'; it is also Wilde's most powerful testament of the sacred duty of the artist as he conceived it. We discuss the work's convoluted publication history, Wilde's posthumous reputation and his ongoing relevance in the 21st century.This feels like a good time to promote the brilliant series John has written on all the living species on this incredible planet. It is narrated by Stephen Fry and is available for free to Audible subscribers - just search 'Wonderful Life with Stephen Fry'. * To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backlisted where all profits help to sustain this podcast and UK independent bookshops. * For information about everything mentioned in this episode visit www.backlisted.fm *If you'd like to support the show and join in with the book chat, listen without adverts, receive the show early and get extra bonus fortnightly episodes + original writing, become a patron at www.patreon.com/backlisted *You can sign up to our free monthly newsletter here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 21 mins
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I am amazed that Backlisted has not yet received a review and feel that I have to write one. This is a literary podcast, presented by Andy Miller and John Mitchinson and concentrates on older books, rather than new releases. Episodes normally involve a guest author who chooses a favourite book, which is then discussed.

Like many avid readers I am often enticed by new, shiny things, while neglecting the treasures that already live on my bookshelves. This podcast helps you discover, or rediscover, books and authors which have stood the test of time. I do not always read the books discussed, but often I do and I have found many favourites along the way.

I find the presenters very intelligent, thoughtful and often funny. A must-try for readers in my opinion and I would be delighted if anyone reads this and decides to give it a try.

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