Lost Ladies of Lit

Amy Helmes & Kim Askew
  • 5.0 (71)
  • BOOKS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Lost Ladies of Lit

A book podcast hosted by writing partners Amy Helmes and Kim Askew. Guests include biographers, journalists, authors, and cultural historians discussing lost classics by women writers.

  1. 6 DAYS AGO · BONUS

    🔒 Simona Kossak, Forest Queen

    Subscriber-only episodeSend us a textOnce upon a time, a young woman escaped to a primeval forest, befriended the animals there (including a lynx, raven and wild boar) and met her handsome prince. Sounds like a fairy tale, but in this week’s episode Amy discusses the enchanting true story of Simona Kossak, a Polish scientist who wrote about her deep love for the Bialowieza Forest and worked tirelessly to protect it. Poland awarded Kossak the Golden Cross of Merit for her ecological efforts be...

    16 min

  2. 12/24/2024

    Alba de Céspedes — Forbidden Notebook with Joy Castro

    Send us a textNovelist and university professor Joy Castro returns to the show to discuss the 1952 novel Forbidden Notebook by Cuban-Italian writer Alba de Cespedes. In a New York Times review of a 1958 English edition of this novel, de Céspedes was called “one of the few distinguished women writers since Colette to grapple effectively with what it is to be a woman.” Discussed in this episode: Forbidden Notebook by Alba de CéspedesHer Side of the Story by Alba de CéspedesMuriel Ruke...

    49 min

  3. 12/17/2024 · BONUS

    🔒 Literary Rx — Books to Beat the Doldrums

    Subscriber-only episodeSend us a textBooks are a time-tested cure-all, so in this week’s bonus episode Amy weighs a few of the titles that have helped her forget life's latest troubles and doubts … (sort of). She leaves no stone unturned in her quest for distraction, from Proust’s meandering sentences to a behind-the-scenes memoir about a beloved ’80s film and a charming, century-old suffrage novel that captures our current political zeitgeist. Rounding out the episode is a sneak peak at “los...

    24 min

  4. 12/10/2024

    Zitkála-Šá — "The School Days of an Indian Girl" with Jessi Haley and Erin Marie Lynch

    Send us a textAt the age of eight, Gertrude Simmons Bonnin (later known by her pen name Zitkála-Šá) left her Yankton Dakota reservation to attend a missionary boarding school for Native Americans, a harsh and abusive experience about which she eventually wrote a series of articles published in The Atlantic Monthly. Jessi Haley, editorial director of Cita Press (which just published a free anthology of the author’s work) joins Yankton Dakota poet Erin Marie Lynch to discuss how Zitkála-Šá’s se...

    43 min

  5. 12/03/2024 · BONUS

    🔒 A Christmas Tale From Christina Rossetti’s Speaking Likenesses

    Subscriber-only episodeSend us a textForget your troubles, get cozy, grab a cup of tea and curl up to this week’s “storytime” bonus episode as Amy reads the third tale from Christina Rossetti’s Speaking Likenesses. Follow Rossetti’s indefatigable heroine, Maggie, who trudges wearily through a snowy forest at Christmas-time, encountering along the way strange children who attempt to lead her astray.For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comDiscuss episodes on our Facebook Forum. ...

    20 min

  6. 11/26/2024

    Christina Rossetti — Speaking Likenesses with Bond & Grace's Ayana Christie

    Send us a textCharmed by her friend Lewis Carroll’s children’s book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Victorian poet Christina Rossetti followed suit nearly a decade later with her own children’s book — one that alludes to the “Alice” tale while also offering a more clear-eyed view of girls’ duties, even in topsy-turvy dream worlds. Ayana Christie, Chief Product Officer of Bond & Grace, joins us for a discussion this week on Rossetti’s 1874 work Speaking Likenesses and helps us draw compa...

    39 min

  7. 11/19/2024 · BONUS

    🔒 Virginia Woolf, Fashion Icon

    Subscriber-only episodeSend us a textWhen it comes to this year’s fall fashion, Virginia Woolf is having a moment. A number of designers and brands including Anna Sui, Clare Waight Keller, Miu Miu, Burberry and Tod’s have found their inspiration in the iconic Bloomsbury author. In this week’s bonus episode, Amy dives into this sartorial vibe, reads from Woolf’s short story “The New Dress” and muses over which other “lost ladies” could serve as fashion muses.Mentioned in this episode:“A Woolf ...

    18 min

  8. 11/12/2024

    Margaret Drabble — The Millstone with Carrie Mullins

    Send us a textMargaret Drabble’s 1965 novel The Millstone offers a nuanced portrayal of single motherhood in 1960s London. Author Carrie Mullins, whose 2024 nonfiction work The Book of Mothers explores literary depictions of motherhood, joins us to discuss Drabble’s fearless protagonist, Rosamund. Together, we explore how The Millstone captures the joys and burdens of motherhood, and how Drabble’s sharp, ahead-of-its-time portrayal speaks to contemporary readers.Mentioned in this episode:The ...

    37 min
See All (227)

Trailer

5
out of 5
71 Ratings

About

A book podcast hosted by writing partners Amy Helmes and Kim Askew. Guests include biographers, journalists, authors, and cultural historians discussing lost classics by women writers.

Information

  • Creator
    Amy Helmes & Kim Askew
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2024
  • Episodes
    227
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Lost Ladies of Lit
  • Show Website
    Lost Ladies of Lit

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada