Witches in Britches

Episode 2.5: Shadow of Night

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Happy full moon–and Halloween month!!! October’s full moon is the Hunter’s Moon, which is perfect, because in this episode we’re talking about the continuing adventures of Diana Bishop in Shadow of Night (book two of the All Souls Trilogy) by Deborah Harkness. (Listen to our episode about the first book in the series here.)

Content warning: domestic violence, sexual assault, Brett Kavanaugh, miscarriage.

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Our theme song is “Moon and Spruce” by Sarah Littledrum.

Here’s a listening guide for the episode. (For a description of our segments, go here.)

Introduction (1:00 – 3:49)

Which Craft? (3:54 – 33:05)

  • Sensory details
  • Clothing as a means of communication
  • Historical figures and events–fitting the story into an early modern context
  • Audiobook narration (read by Jennifer Ikeda)
  • Structure and genre (meta discussion about vampire novels)
  • Logistics of time travel
  • Matthew and Diana’s character growth

    • “Are you a Good Witch or a Bad Witch?” (33:08 – 53:40)

    • Wide range of female characters!
    • The Earl of Northumberland’s hearing impairment
    • Fatherhood and losing a child
    • Christopher Marlowe and gay villains
    • Matthew and Diana’s relationship

      • “Bald Heads and Queer Noses” (53:43 – 1:20:40)

      • Diana’s objectification (and elbows!)
      • Marcus and Phoebe
      • Reading Diana’s body
      • Early modern understandings of memory and bodies as texts
      • Diana’s pregnancies and miscarriage
      • Diana’s familiar

        • Related Links

        Witches Plan Ritual to Hex Brett Kavanaugh

        “Round about the…Satis Dee” (1:20:43 – 1:44:23)

        • Nature-based symbols (bee and snake)
        • Cyclical nature of time
        • Self-discovery as process
        • Alchemy and the Arbor Dianae
        • Diana and Philippe as liminal characters
        • Rituals and rites of passage

          • Final Spells (1:44:28 – 1:54:21)

          • Mary Sidney–one of the first women to print her work
          • National domestic violence hotline: 1-800-799-7233
          • Bedding ceremonies and other horrors

            • Blooper Reel (1:55:20 – 1:56:50)

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            Witches in BritchesBy Katie Robison
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