In this episode, Alexandra dumps all her unpleasant observations about the popular novel of the ‘90’s AT HOME IN MITFORD. This novel often captured the hearts of its readers for representing a sort of fantasy, small town, southern community, but that fantasy comes at the cost of truly contending with the issues present in our American communities. The fantasy is upheld by carefully ignoring or even idealizing the circumstances of the underclasses. It also fails to reckon with the contradictions between American culture and Christian teaching, particularly around the ideas of materialism, hospitality, and caring for those in your community.Sources:Karon, Jan. (1996). _At Home in Mitford. Penguin Books.Nickel, Eleanor Hersey. “‘But This Is the South’: Ambivalent Regionalism in Jan Karon’s Mitford Novels.” Studies in Popular Culture, vol. 32, no. 2, 2010, pp. 17–33. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23416153. Accessed 21 Dec. 2025.Satterwhite, Emily. “‘The Longing for Home,’ Appalachian Fiction, and Ron Rash.” Appalachian Journal, vol. 42, no. 1/2, 2014, pp. 24–35. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43489157 . Accessed 24 Dec. 2025.FIND US ONLINE:Pre-Orders for Book 2, West of the Sun (coming available Feb 27-28), and current orders for Book 1, East of the Moon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FHG4Y34K?binding=kindle_edition&[email protected]: https://open.spotify.com/show/7CS7MOxj2mQ1B3mhHB4OY2?si=8ce19c01223f4b96Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-novel-tea-podcast/id1675942343EMILYInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lee.alexander.author/Tiktok : https://www.tiktok.com/@rosereadstudiosWebtoons: https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/its-a-working-dogs-life-/list?title_no=967971YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RoseReadStudiosALEXANDRADiscord: https://t.co/nITrAz1ov5Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alovelyjaunt/Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/a_lovely_jaunt