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About This Podcast
Book In is a podcast in which brothers Rupert and Charlie Fordham discuss all things English Literature. From Chaucer to the present day, covering drama, novels and poetry, they cover all the classics and much more, from the UK, Ireland, the US, Europe and the rest of the world. Informative but lighthearted, Book In is suitable for all readers, and will be helpful for students doing GCSE, A-Level and university English degrees as well.
Both Rupert and Charlie have been keen readers all their lives and both studied English at university. For many years Charlie taught English at GCSE and A-level.
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Recent Episodes
World Cup Special
It’s World Cup time again! As hope springs eternal for Harry Kane and Co, and as the nation becomes obsessed by whether England should play Rashford or Gordon, and how to fit in Jude Bellingham,…
The Odyssey - Homer
Around the 8th century BC, the inhabitants of Greece began to write things down. Amongst these were some of the poems telling of ancient times which bards had passed from generation to generation,…
The Old Devils - Kingsley Amis
By the mid 1980s, Kingsley Amis was generally considered to be finished as a novelist. Devastated by the collapse of his marriage to Elizabeth Jane Howard, he was hugely overweight, drinking far too…
A Passage to India - E.M. Forster
What really happened in the Marabar Caves? This is the central mystery of A Passage to India, EM Forster’s most celebrated novel, set in colonial India in the early 20th century. An Indian doctor,…
The Quiet American - Graham Greene
Graham Greene’s novel The Quiet American is set in Vietnam in the 1950s – the French are trying to hold on to colonial power and are supporting the south in its struggle against a communist…
Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh - Part 2
At Book In, we continue our discussion of Evelyn Waugh’s wonderful novel Brideshead Revisited. We look at the characters of the Marchmain family - the children Sebastian, Julia, Bridey and Cordelia,…
Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh - Part 1
Brideshead Revisited is Evelyn Waugh’s most famous novel. Magnificent but flawed, he wrote it while recovering from an injury during the Second World War, and the lush, sumptuous world of Oxford in…
Re-Release - Emma - Jane Austen
Another from the archives while Rupert is away scaling mountains. We'll be back soon!Emma is one of only six novels that Jane Austen completed, and yet she is among the very greatest of all English…
Re-Release - The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Our first ever episode re-released: Rupert and Charlie discuss The Great Gatsby, Scott FitzGerald’s wonderful novel of love, loss and broken dreams. Published 100 years ago, the book is…
The Caretaker - Harold Pinter
Two brothers live in a squalid bedsit in west London. The room is crammed with junk. They befriend Davies, who is homeless and a tramp. He moves in with them, and they offer him a job as a caretaker…
Arcadia - Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard was glamorous, charismatic and brilliant, and his plays are among the finest written in English since the Second World War. Perhaps his most accomplished work is Arcadia, first performed…
Wuthering Heights - Film Review
Tune in for Book In’s review of Emerald Fennell’s film Wuthering Heights. The advance publicity promised a modern and original take on Emily Bronte’s classic novel - does the film deliver this?…
The Great Tradition - F. R. Leavis
The Great Tradition - which are the greatest novels we have done in the podcast? What are the greatest novels in the English language? On Book In, we’ve covered quite a few over the last few months,…
Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf - Part 2
Charlie and Rupert continue their discussion of Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. What effect had the First World War had on the rarefied circles in which Clarissa Dalloway moved, and were those…
Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf - Part 1
At the age of 40 Virginia Woolf was a prominent figure in post first world war London. She had published several novels, and was a well known commentator and critic. She came from literary…
The Mayor of Casterbridge - Thomas Hardy - Part 2
In the second part of Book In’s episode on Thomas Hardy’s great novel The Mayor of Casterbridge, Rupert and Charlie look at the character of Michael Henchard - the qualities which enabled him to…
The Mayor of Casterbridge - Thomas Hardy - Part 1
Thomas Hardy lived an extraordinary life. He was born into poverty and obscurity in rural Dorset in 1840, yet when he died in 1928, he was rich and world famous. His funeral at Westminster Abbey was…
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens - Part 2
Rupert and Charlie continue their discussion of Great Expectations. They take a look at what was always one of Dickens' great preoccupations, the operation of the law in the book, and the brilliant…
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens - Part 1
Published at the height of his powers in 1860, Great Expectations is Charles Dickens’ penultimate novel, and one of his very greatest. Its characters are unforgettable - Miss Havisham,…
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë - Part 2
In the second of the episodes on Jane Eyre, Rupert and Charlie take a look at some of the main characters in the book. The behaviour of Mr Rochester is basically weird - he locks up his wife in the…
Frequently Asked Questions
Book In has published 50 episodes since June 2025, covering topics in Arts, Books.
Book In is currently highly active with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 57m.
Sign up on Grep.FM to access contact details for Book In, including email and social media links.
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