Show Notes
We saw the new Sense and Sensibility on opening day, and we’re breaking it down. Vanessa is joined by Brittney from the Moms Talk Autism podcast for a spoiler-filled, book-lovers’ review of Georgia Oakley’s 2026 film starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles. Both of us grew up on Ang Lee’s 1995 version with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet, so we know the new film is a tough act to follow. We each gave it about a 7 out of 10, and we explain why a rewatch might raise that score. In this e...
More from Brit Lit Book Club
Sense and Sensibility: What to Know Before You See the 2026 Movie Sense and Sensibility, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles, opens in theaters October 16. Before you go, find out what Jane Austen’s first novel was really about. In this episode of the Brit Lit Book Club, Vanessa walks you through the story of Elinor and Marianne Dashwood and the life of Jane Austen herself. You’ll hear how the novel went from an early draft called Elinor and Marianne to its 1811 publication “By a ...
Step through the door in the wall and into the world of Frances Hodgson Burnett, the author behind The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy. In this episode of the Brit Lit Book Club, we look at why these classic children’s novels are far more psychologically complex than their reputation suggests, and how they still speak to readers more than a century later. We start with Burnett’s remarkable life: a Manchester childhood, a move to post-Civil War Tennessee, a teenage...
C.S. Lewis: The Most Reluctant Convert — The Untold Love Story, Loss, and Faith Behind Narnia Before he was the beloved author of The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis was a devout atheist who swore he'd never believe in God. In this episode of The Brit Lit Book Club, we trace the extraordinary true story of Clive Staples "Jack" Lewis — from a grief-stricken childhood in Belfast and the brutal boarding schools that shaped him, to his complicated thirty-year relationship with Mrs. Moore, his le...
She sold two billion books. She's been translated into over a hundred languages. She has a Russian rock band named after her. And yet — she always said that within ten years of her death, no one would remember her at all. In this episode, I sit down with Graham Kerr and Maria ("Miss Lemon") of English Riviera Walking Tours and English Riviera Custom Tours in Torquay, Devon — two of the most passionate, knowledgeable, and downright delightful Agatha Christie guides on the planet. G...
Do you have a classic sitting on your shelf that's been there for two years? Maybe someone gifted you Jane Austen, or you picked up a Brontë at a charity shop with the best intentions. And every time you walk past it, there's a little whisper that says: I should really read that. This episode is for you. In this week's episode of The Brit Lit Book Club, I'm making the case for why British classics still matter — and more importantly, giving you everything you need to actually get into them. N...