724 The Stranger by Albert Camus (#22 Greatest Book of All Time) | Christopher Isherwood (with Jake Poller) | Postcard from a Listener in Yunnan

The History of Literature

Jacke Wilson

History, Books, Arts

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 11 August 2025

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Put on your black turtleneck! Jacke starts the episode with a look at #22 on the list of The Greatest Books of All Time, The Stranger by Albert Camus. Then he talks to Jake Poller about British and American novelist and playwright Christopher Isherwood, whose Goodbye to Berlin was adapted into the stage musical and movie Cabaret. In discussing his work Christopher Isherwood: A Critical Life, Jake tells Jacke about what it was like to write a biography of such an the itinerant and multifaceted writer. PLUS a listener in Yunnan writes Jacke an email about Madame Bovary. Join us on tour! The History of Literature Podcast Tour is happening in May 2026! Act now to join Jacke and fellow literature fans on an eight-day journey through literary England in partnership with ⁠John Shors Travel⁠. Find out more by emailing [email protected] or [email protected], or by contacting us through our website ⁠historyofliterature.com⁠. Or visit the ⁠History of Literature Podcast Tour itinerary⁠ at ⁠John Shors Travel⁠. The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at ⁠gabrielruizbernal.com. Help support the show at ⁠patreon.com/literature ⁠or ⁠historyofliterature.com/donate ⁠. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at ⁠thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The History of Literature Podcast is a member of the Podglomerate Network and Lit Hub Radio.
0:13.4	Hello, everyone. The History of Literature podcast is going on tour. Next spring, I'll be going with a small group of travelers to London, Oxford, and Bath,
0:24.4	where we will visit the land of Dickens, Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and more.
0:29.7	A trip to remember.
0:32.6	If you're interested in learning more about how you can join,
0:35.8	you can check out the itinerary at
0:37.8	History of Literature.com or by visiting our partner at John Shores Travel, that's Shores
0:44.0	without an E. Or just send me an email at Jack Wilson Author at Gmail.com. That's J-A-C-E,
0:52.0	Wilson Author atmail.com.
0:55.2	Let's give ourselves something to look forward to in 2026.
0:59.9	We would love to see you there.
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1:33.2	Search for Adobe Express to find out more and get started today.
1:39.4	Hello, today on the podcast, we put on our black turtlenecks, pull out our cigarettes,
1:44.1	and look at entry number 22 on our list of the 25 greatest books of all time, The Stranger, by Albert Camus.
1:52.9	Plus a letter from a listener and a conversation with Jake Poller, the biographer of 20th century British novelist Christopher Isherwood.
2:02.3	All coming up today on the history of literature.
2:16.5	Hello, welcome to the podcast. I'm Jack Wilson. I'm glad you're here today. Do not forget to sign up for our History of Literature podcast tour. If you're interested, you can learn more by emailing our colleague at John Shores Travel. He's over there at Masahiko at johnshores Travel.com. That's M-A-S-A-H-I-K-O at John Shores Travel.
2:40.9	Shores is like Shores by the C, except there's no E. S-H-O-R-S. You can find Maseh-H-H-H-R-S.
	...

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