
Truth and Fiction
Sleeping Beauty, by Jennie Harbour Fairy tales like Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood are all part of early childhood literature. Robert Godwin-Jones (Virginia Commonwealth University) has created an online …

Give War and Peace a Chance
In this hour, we hear what we can still learn from Tolstoy’s War and Peace and historical films that may be filled with inaccuracies. We’ll also take a look at the ever evolving holiday table where one biologist is distilling his own cordials and spirits and multicultural families are creating new traditions.

A Burnable Book
Murder, mystery, and poetry come together in medieval scholar Bruce Holsinger’s (University of Virginia) new novel set in Chaucer’s London. Plus, Faulkner Fox (Virginia Foundation for the Humanities) has a …

Mentored by John Grisham
With seven unpublished novels wasting away on his hard drive, Tony Vanderwarker was astonished when world-renowned author John Grisham offered to take him under his wing and mentor Tony on …

Brow Anxiety
During the 1910s and 1920s, the question of whether one was “highbrow” or “lowbrow” became a concern in the minds of modernist Americans. Brooks Hefner (James Madison University) says this …
The Censorship of “Dorian Gray”
When Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray was first published in 1890, it was a substantially altered version of Wilde’s original text. Material considered scandalous for its day had …
Replay: The Censorship of “Dorian Gray”
When Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray was first published in 1890, it was a substantially altered version of Wilde’s original text. Material considered scandalous for its day had …
Replay: To Kill A Mockingbird
Harper Lee’s 1960 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, presents the Jim Crow south through the eyes of a young girl. Mary Badham, the actress who portrayed “Scout” in the film, …
Replay: The Art of Historical Fiction
A special episode of With Good Reason recorded live at the Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville. NPR book critic Alan Cheuse (George Mason University) discusses his recent novel, …