In this episode, Jacke takes a look at two topics. First, the story of Charles and Mary Lamb, whose children's book Tales from Shakespeare (1807) was published more than two hundred years ago and has never been out of print. Part of the literary circle that included Romantic-era luminaries like Hazlitt, Wordsworth, and Coleridge, the siblings dedicated their lives to looking after one another, even as they each experienced periods of madness that led, one horrific night, to the murder of their mother. After that, Jacke talks to bestselling author Carolyn Hays about her new book A Girlhood: Letter To My Transgender Daughter, which tells the story of raising a transgender child in today's highly politicized environment.

Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices