Dickens vs Tolstoy: The Battle Of The Great 19th-century Novelists PART 2

Intelligence Squared

News, Society & Culture, Arts, News Commentary

4.2 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 12 August 2023

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This is the second instalment of a three-part episode. Dickens. Tolstoy. Their names and reputations shake the ground – and so do their books, if you drop one. But whose legacy is more enduring? Whose vision truer and more relevant today? Should you embark on War and Peace or Our Mutual Friend? To battle it out, in 2018 Intelligence Squared brought two celebrated writers, John Mullan for Dickens and Simon Schama for Tolstoy, to our stage. They called on a cast of star actors, including Tom Hiddleston, to bring their arguments to life with readings from the authors’ finest works. The debate was chaired by author, playwright and broadcaster Bonnie Greer. We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be. Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to podcasts@intelligencesquared.com or Tweet us @intelligence2. And if you’d like to get ad-free access to all Intelligence Squared podcasts, including exclusive bonus content, early access to new episodes and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today for just £4.99, or the equivalent in your local currency . Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:45.0	Hello and welcome to Intelligence Squared. I'm senior producer Connor Boyle.
0:49.0	We rejoin our clash of the literary tightens for this episode with part two of our debate, Dickens vs. Tolstoy.
0:56.0	Celebrated writer John Malam represents Dickens and historian and author Simon Sharma goes for Tolstoy.
1:02.0	They're joined by star actors including Tom Hillston to bring the arguments to life.
1:06.0	Our host for the event, which first aired in 2018, was the playwright and broadcaster Bonnie Greer.
1:11.0	This is part two of a three-part episode, and if you'd like to get the member only, part three,
1:16.0	then head over to intelligencesquared.com slash membership, or you can subscribe to our channel on Apple.
1:22.0	Now let's rejoin the debate with Simon Sharma about to make his case.
1:26.0	Now, Simon Sharma for Leo Tolstoy.
1:39.0	How many of you read Tolstoy?
1:42.0	Put up your hands.
1:44.0	Not bad, but not a majority.
1:48.0	I tell you why I'm asking you, dear friends.
1:51.0	That's because I think I know that Tolstoy in some sense would have hated the idea of who's winning and who's not.
2:01.0	For Tolstoy, really, in a war, for example, nobody wins in life, somehow everybody wins.
	...

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