Episode 289: "The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton, Ch. 1-8
The Literary Life Podcast
Angelina Stanford
4.7 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 12 August 2025
⏱️ 100 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Welcome to The Literary Life Podcast and a new series featuring the book The Age of Innocence. Our hosts, Angelina Stanford and Thomas Banks introduce us to American Gilded Age author, Edith Wharton, the "First Lady of American Letters." They also share their own experiences with reading Wharton's stories, novels, and letters, as well as some background on the time period and cultural context in which she was writing. In discussing the first several chapters of this book, Angelina and Thomas point out small details and subtleties that Wharton uses to give us hints about the characters and situations she presents.
Visit the HouseofHumaneLetters.com to sign up for all the upcoming and past mini-classes and webinars taught by Angelina, Thomas, and their colleagues!
To view the full show notes for this episode, including book links, commonplace quotes, and today's poem, please visit https://theliterary.life/289.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is not just another book chat podcast. |
| 0:21.6 | Lifelong reader Cindy Rollins joins teachers Angelina Stanford and Thomas Banks for an ongoing conversation about the skill and art of reading well. |
| 0:32.6 | Explore the lost intellectual tradition and discover how to fully enter end to the great works of literature. |
| 0:40.2 | Learn what books mean while delighting in the sheer joy of imagination. Each week, we will rescue |
| 0:47.1 | story from the ivory tower and bring it to your couch, your kitchen, and your commute. The literary life is for everyone because in the |
| 0:55.9 | words of Stratford Caldecott, to be enchanted by story is to be granted a deeper insight into |
| 1:02.2 | reality. Join us for an ever-unfolding discussion of how stories will save the world. |
| 1:09.7 | This is the Literary Life Podcast. |
| 1:30.7 | Welcome to the Literary Life podcast. |
| 1:34.3 | I'm Angelina Stanford, and with me is... |
| 1:36.4 | Your sideman. |
| 1:38.2 | My side man. |
| 1:38.8 | Yeah. |
| 1:42.4 | I basically think I'm the bass player of this podcast. |
| 1:44.4 | No, I can see that. |
| 1:45.4 | I can see that. |
| 1:46.7 | You're just like the whole rhythm section. |
| 1:47.4 | You keep just going. |
| 1:47.8 | Sure. |
| 1:49.0 | All that. |
| 1:53.4 | We are Agilita Stanford and Thomas Banks, and this is the Literary Life podcast. |
| 1:59.3 | For anybody who's new to the podcast, we are literature teachers, and we are the owners of the House of Humane Letters, which is a business |
... |
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