727 Earthly Paradise in Old French Verse (with Jacob Abell) | My Last Book with Victorian Literature Expert Allen MacDuffie | A Dueling Neapolitan Passionate for Poetry

The History of Literature

Jacke Wilson

History, Books, Arts

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 21 August 2025

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What happened to Eden? While today we might view the story of Adam and Eve as metaphorical, for many generations of Christians, the Earthly Paradise was a vibrant symbol at the heart of the cosmos. In this episode, Jacke talks to Jacob Abell about his book Spiritual and Material Boundaries in Old French Verse: Contemplating the Walls of the Earthly Paradise, which explores how the medieval mind conceptualized the Earthly Paradise - and why that matters for us today. Poems discussed include Marie de France’s The Purgatory of St. Patrick, Benedeit’s Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot, and Guillaume de Lorris’s The Romance of the Rose. PLUS an expert in Victorian literature, Allen MacDuffie (Climate of Denial: Darwin, Climate Change, and the Literature of the Long Nineteenth Century) stops by to discuss his choice for the last book he will ever read. 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 at Gmail-mail.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.
1:09.0	I've ruled out uni because I want to live at home. I've ruled out uni because I want to live at home.
1:11.6	I've ruled out uni because I want to earn money.
1:14.6	I've ruled out uni because of my grades.
1:18.6	Study with the Open University and there's no need to rule out anything.
1:22.6	With our respected degrees, you can learn from home and work alongside study.
1:26.6	We're open to all. Plus,
1:29.4	you'll have the support of expert tutors. So rethink your future with the degree you didn't think
1:34.4	was possible. The Open University. The future is open. Hello, today on the podcast, we continue
1:41.6	our French tour with a look back in time at some old French verse.
1:46.0	What did those medieval minds think about earthly paradise?
1:50.0	An expert in old French literature, Jake Abel, will tell us.
	...

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