A Book - A Place: Geneva

Robin Pomeroy
  • 5.0 (1)
  • HISTORY
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

Part history podcast, part travel guide, always a great story. A Book - A Place: Geneva takes you to unexpected places in an often city that has a unique place in history. Frankenstein and comic books were born here. Revolutionaries plotted. An enlightenment superstar had good reason to have houses in and just outside Geneva. And science fiction fans became real scientists at the home of the world's greatest experiment. Whether you're a visitor, a newcomer, or a long-time resident, this podcast will take you to corners of the city where history was (and is still being) made.

Episodes

  1. Ep. 5 Angels and Demons and CERN

    09/13/2025

    Ep. 5 Angels and Demons and CERN

    A scientist at CERN, the research centre that straddles the French and Swiss border, is murdered in grisly and mysterious circumstances, launching a race against the clock to prevent a much bigger crime. As in The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown constructs a pacy thriller that touches on history, theology and God. The book is Angels and Demons. As Dan Brown publishes the next installment of the adventures of 'symbologist' Robert Langdon in The Secret of Secrets, this podcast goes back to where the story began - Geneva. The place is CERN. In the podcast we meet a young scientist inspired to work at CERN when she read the novel, and discover a book of short stories based on the real science that searches for the secrets of the universe. Episode page: https://bit.ly/4n1ByfX abookaplace.com Part book club, part travel guide, part history podcast, A Book - A Place: Geneva takes you to the places behind the stories that made the city.

    1h 5m
  2. Ep. 4 Conrad, Lenin and revolutionary Geneva

    08/29/2025

    Ep. 4 Conrad, Lenin and revolutionary Geneva

    Best know for Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad set his spy thriller Under Western Eyes in Geneva, not only because it was a city in which he had lived, but because at that time, in the early 20th century, it was a hotbed of revolutionary Russian emigrés plotting the downfall of the monarchy and the imposition of communism. This episode takes you to the Geneva library where Vladimir Lenin studied and wrote, leaving his own annotations in books - including a biography of Jesus, a historical figure that the father of the Russian revolution saw as a social radical. For all books and places mentioned in the podcast, visit abookaplace.com Part book club, part travel guide, part history podcast, A Book - A Place: Geneva takes you to the places behind the stories that made the city.

    59 min
  3. Ep. 3 Voltaire's Candide: the best of all possible satires

    08/10/2025

    Ep. 3 Voltaire's Candide: the best of all possible satires

    Voltaire is literally in the pantheon of France's greatest literary heroes. But in his lifetime, the unconventional writer-philosopher was shunned by his home country and lived much of his life in exile - the last two decades in - and importantly - just outside Geneva. And it is here that he wrote his most enduring work: Candide, the story of an ingenue who travels the world and suffers the worst cruelties of humanity and nature, clinging to the cod philosophy that "all is for the best in this the best of all possible worlds". This episode takes you to the house in Geneva where he wrote the novel, and to the chateau just over the border in France in a village that now bears his name, Ferney-Voltaire. More details on the episode, and the sources cited in it, are available on the episode page http://bit.ly/46JI9Xc at www.abookaplace.com. Watch a version of this episode with pictures at https://www.youtube.com/@abookaplace Part book club, part travel guide, part history podcast, A Book - A Place: Geneva takes you to the places behind the stories that made the city.

    47 min
  4. Ep. 2 The Birth of the Comic Book

    07/18/2025

    Ep. 2 The Birth of the Comic Book

    Comic books, or graphic novels, are often associated with the Belgium of Tintin, the America of the superheros, or the Japan of manga and animé. But the art form was actually invented in Geneva, almost 200 years ago. In this episode we explore the life and legacy of Rodolph Toeppfer, whose work was championed by Goethe and is now acknowledged as the origin of la bande dessinée. abookaplace.com Part book club, part travel guide, part history podcast, A Book - A Place: Geneva takes you to the places behind the stories that made the city.

    37 min

  5. SEASON 1, EPISODE 2 TRAILER

    Trailer: The Birth of Comic Books

    Part history podcast, part travel guide, ‘A Book – A Place: Geneva’ brings you the surprising places and stories that changed Geneva and the world. In this episode: the surprising history of comic books - not invented in New York, Brussels or Tokyo, but in Geneva - 200 years ago. Visit: abookaplace.com (https://abookaplace.com) Part book club, part travel guide, part history podcast, A Book - A Place: Geneva takes you to the places behind the stories that made the city.

    1 min
  6. Ep. 1 Frankenstein: a monster rises on the shores of Lake Geneva

    06/16/2025

    Ep. 1 Frankenstein: a monster rises on the shores of Lake Geneva

    Part book club, part travel guide, part history podcast, Season 1 of A Book - A Place: Geneva takes you on five literary adventures. Episode 1: Frankenstein: a monster is born on the shore of Lake Geneva The book: Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, by Mary Shelly, published in 1818 The place:  ‘Frankie’ a.k.a ‘The Creature of Doctor Frankenstein’ statue in Plainpalais, Geneva by KLAT, 2014 Everyone knows something about Frankenstein, the archetype horror movie monster. But what about the birth of the story, which is now seen as perhaps the first horror novel, the first work of what would become known as science fiction, and, for today’s readers, still one of the most thought provoking tales about artificial intelligence. As we’ll hear, Frankenstein was born, not in a mad scientist’s laboratory, but in a genteel villa on the outskirts of genteel Geneva. More books: Mary, or the Birth of Frankenstein, by Anne Eekhout, 2023, novel mentioned in the podcastLe Genève de Victor Frankenstein, by Augusta Dunsterville, 2016: good guide for walking tours around places linked to FrankensteinAll the Parts of the Soul, Quill & Crow, 2023, novel by Catherine Fearns, who features in the podcastHistory of a Six Weeks’ Tour through a part of France, Switzerland, Germany, and Holland, 1817, memoir by Mary and Percy ShelleyMore places: Villa Diodati, where Byron and his retinue stayed in 1816Byron’s Field (Le Pré Byron), next to Villa DiodatiLe Salève, (mountain that overlooks Geneva, accessible by cable car)Chamonix, ‘capital city of the French Alps’, where Victor meets the monsterEven more… Penguin Random House page on FrankensteinLake Geneva as Shelley and Byron Knew It – New York Times‘Frankenstein’ Was Born During a Ghastly Vacation – History.comIn the footsteps of the Shelleys: Switzerland and Mont Blanc – Wordsworth.orgGhost stories, opium and rain: the doomed holiday that inspired Shelley’s Frankenstein – PenguinBright city, dark legend: how Geneva gave birth to Frankenstein – FLUX magazine Find out more at abookaplace.com and get the podcast on any app via this link: https://pod.link/nLARmR Part book club, part travel guide, part history podcast, A Book - A Place: Geneva takes you to the places behind the stories that made the city.

    1h 4m
  7. Trailer: Frankenstein trailer long

    SEASON 1, EPISODE 1 TRAILER

    Trailer: Frankenstein trailer long

    Everyone knows something about Frankenstein, the archetype horror movie monster. But what about the birth of the story, which is now seen as perhaps the first horror novel, the first work of what would become known as science fiction, and, for today’s readers, still one of the most thought provoking tales about artificial intelligence? As we’ll hear, Frankenstein was born, not in a mad scientist’s laboratory, but in a genteel villa on the outskirts of genteel Geneva. This is a trailer for Episode 1 of A Book - A Place: Geneva, part travel guide, part book club, part history podcast. Find out more at abookaplace.com Part book club, part travel guide, part history podcast, A Book - A Place: Geneva takes you to the places behind the stories that made the city.

    3 min

  8. TRAILER

    Trailer: A Book - A Place: Geneva - Series trailer

    Part history podcast, part travel guide, always a great story. A Book - A Place: Geneva takes you to unexpected places in an often overlooked city that has a unique place in history. Frankenstein and comic books were born here. Revolutionaries plotted. An enlightenment superstar had good reason to have houses in and just outside Geneva. And science fiction fans became real scientists at the home of the world's greatest science experiment here. Whether you're a visitor, a newcomer, or a long-time resident, this podcast will take you to corners of the city where history was (and is still being) made. More info at abookaplace.com Part book club, part travel guide, part history podcast, A Book - A Place: Geneva takes you to the places behind the stories that made the city.

    1 min
  9. Trailer: Frankenstein trailer short

    SEASON 1, EPISODE 1 TRAILER

    Trailer: Frankenstein trailer short

    Part history podcast, part travel guide, ‘A Book – A Place: Geneva’ brings you the surprising places and stories that changed Geneva and the world. In this episode: we all know something about Frankenstein - but do you know the amazing story of its birth in Geneva? Visit: abookaplace.com Part book club, part travel guide, part history podcast, A Book - A Place: Geneva takes you to the places behind the stories that made the city.

    1 min
  10. Trailer: The Birth of the Comic Book trailer short

    TRAILER

    Trailer: The Birth of the Comic Book trailer short

    Part history podcast, part travel guide, ‘A Book – A Place: Geneva’ brings you the surprising places and stories that changed Geneva and the world. In this episode: the surprising history of comic books - not invented in New York, Brussels or Tokyo, but in Geneva - 200 years ago. Visit: abookaplace.com Part book club, part travel guide, part history podcast, A Book - A Place: Geneva takes you to the places behind the stories that made the city.

    1 min

Trailers

Ratings & Reviews

About

Part history podcast, part travel guide, always a great story. A Book - A Place: Geneva takes you to unexpected places in an often city that has a unique place in history. Frankenstein and comic books were born here. Revolutionaries plotted. An enlightenment superstar had good reason to have houses in and just outside Geneva. And science fiction fans became real scientists at the home of the world's greatest experiment. Whether you're a visitor, a newcomer, or a long-time resident, this podcast will take you to corners of the city where history was (and is still being) made.

Information

  • Creator
    Robin Pomeroy
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2025
  • Episodes
    10
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Robin Pomeroy 2024
  • Show Website
    A Book - A Place: Geneva