Balzac’s Old Goriot paints an astonishingly detailed and living portrait of life at the fringe of Paris society in the early 19th century. The very human characters are prone to all sorts of folly, and as in life, comedy and tragedy both make an appearance. Father Goriot has given all to his daughters, but they still want more; young, penniless law student Rastignac would dearly love to make his mark on Paris Society, and the criminal-in-disguise Vautrin tries to hatch a plot to escape the

Shakespeare’s Richard II explores the changing nature of kingship in England, and contrasts the poetic but ineffectual Richard with the Machiavellian Bolingbroke, who deposes him to become Henry IV. Join Solomon and Mary for some beautiful Shakespearian poetry about the downfall of a king.

Classics Now host Mary Harper discussed the clever and dark tales of Reynard the Fox. Fake news isn’t a new phenomenon. Reynard the Fox was spreading lies with aplomb back in the “beast epics” of Medieval Europe, and everybody fell for them time and time again. The sly trickster fox was so ubiquitous that the French changed their word for fox to renard.

What drove Alexander to conquer much of the known world? Why did Pompey lack the will to overcome Caesar? Solomon and Mary review biographies of famous Greeks and Romans from Plutarch’s Lives.

In his Histories, Herodotus doesn't just describe the war between Persia and Athens, he paints a vast canvas of the cultures and tribes across the Persian Empire and the Greek city-states, how they evolved, and what brought them into conflict. Join Mary and Solomon for a fascinating look at the ancient world of this entertaining work.

From Buddha to Wotan to Luke Skywalker, the hero’s journey remains remarkably the same across cultures and generations. This is Joseph Campbell’s thesis in his “Hero With a Thousand Faces”. Join Mary and Solomon as they discuss Campbell’s “monomyth” which reveals how much we all have in common.

The Awakening is a novel by Kate Chopin , first published in 1899. Set in New Orleans and on the Louisiana Gulf coast at the end of the 19th century, the plot centers on Edna Pontellier and her struggle between her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century American South. It is one of the earliest American novels that focuses on women's issues without condescension. Classics Now hosts Mary Harper and Solomon Everta

Mary Harper and Solomon Everta from Classics Now discuss Charles Kingley’s The Water Babies- A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby where young Tom becomes a water baby and goes on a journey to learn about kindness.

Mary Harper and Solomon Everta from Classics Now discuss Jean Jacques Rousseau’s Emile, or On Education , Rousseau’s classic on the philosophy and practice of education. Emile’s tutor attempts to show how a young person can be brought up to fulfill their innate natural goodness in a corrupt society. Subscribe to the Classics Now podcast.

Mary and Solomon, from the Northcoast Book Discussion Group discuss The Wasps by Aristophanes.