Show Notes
September’s Story Edit is here, and we have questions. Mostly about how the Verity adaptation managed to give us a spectacular house and so little else to enjoy. In episode 3, we unpack the dialogue, the missing chemistry and a male gaze we could have happily done without. We also explore how “mistress” came to say more about a woman’s sex life than her expertise, and why those shifts in meaning matter. Then there’s the story behind Colette’s Claudine books and her husband Henry Gauthier-Villars, plus this month’s most interesting book deal: Ursula Wills’s short story and collection, connected to the upcoming film Wicker, starring Olivia Colman. A reminder that the path to publication can take some unexpected turns. Fancy continuing the conversation over a glass of wine? Join us in Brisbane on October 22 for Wines and Spines. Come talk books with us!
More from Tepid Takes
Welcome to our first Side Quest, the shorter episodes where we grab one idea and see where it takes us. This time, we’re talking about Kirsten King’s A Good Person and its gloriously awful protagonist, Lillian. Why is female neediness so embarrassing when male obsession is so often framed as devotion? From Lillian’s fake social media accounts to the Channing Tatum finsta saga, and the backlash to R. F. Kuang admitting she pays people to manage her socials, we’re asking why women are expected to attract attention while pretending they never wanted it. We also want your recommendations for brilliantly unlikeable female protagonists, and a better name for this growing category of women we’d avoid in real life but absolutely love reading about. Tepid Takes Podcast is by January Gilchrist and Tatia Power. Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: 9F14XSDH5CVMTUXZ
For our first episode of Tepid Takes, we’re launching The Story Edit, our monthly dive into the stories we tell, the stories we’re sold, and the ones that deserve a rewrite. We look at why the Lindsay Clancy case has become such a powerful and divisive storytelling moment, attempt to reclaim gossip from its bad reputation, dig into the history of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald whose contribution deserves more attention, and finish with the most interesting publishing deal of the month. Expect strong opinions, big laughs, a few feminist rants and a genuinely good time pulling stories apart to see what’s really going on underneath.