Risking Enchantment

“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.”

• David Copperfield, Charles Dickens

We are joined for this episode of Risking Enchantment by Catholic author Eleanor Bourg Nicholson. Eleanor has previously published several Gothic novels including, A Bloody Habit (2018) and Brother Wolf (2021), with her latest novel Wake of Malice set to publish later this year.

In this episode we discuss our deep love of the novels of Charles Dickens. We explore three of his greatest works, David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby and Great Expectations, each of which follows a young male protagonist through the many adventures, triumphs and pitfalls of his life. In each case we look at the virtues and the failings of these heroes, the Romantic tropes that Dickens employs to characterize them, and the subversions of these that he uses, particularly in the case of Great Expectations.

Works Mentioned:

Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Dickens: A Critical Study by G.K. Chesterton

David Copperfield: Ignatius Critical Edition (coming soon) by Charles Dickens

“The Age of Cant” by Theodore Dalrymple

What We are Enjoying at the Moment

Eleanor: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Rachel: Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

But if there’s nothing, if there’s nothing

- Wake, 'Offerings'

In this episode we are joined again by Shane Jenkins to discuss the album Offerings by Typhoon. Led by singer-songwriter Kyle Morton, the album is a fascinating, at times difficult, but ultimately transfixing examination of the end of a life. It follows various characters through the experience of dementia, sickness and death, allowing the listener to enter into that space through its rich musicality and lyricism. In our episode we pull out some of the imagery of the album, it's literary and biblical references and allusions and address its powerful and important themes.

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Shane Jenkins

Follow us on social media: @seekingwatson @shanekins

Shane's Website: https://sjenkin46.wixsite.com/ipofollies/about

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Works Mentioned

Offerings by Typhoon

Hunger and Thirst by Typhoon

White Lighter by Typhoon

"Kyle Morton & Typhoon: In Conversation with Great Minds" — The DePaul Humanities Center

The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

'Little Gidding', The Four Quartets, by T.S. Eliot

The Choruses from The Rock by T.S. Eliot

'The Hound of Heaven' by Francis Thompson

8 1/2, dir. Frederico Fellini

Lost in the Cosmos by Walker Percy

What We're Enjoying at the Moment

Shane:

Cargo by Pio Harnett

Rachel:

The Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith

Welcome back to Risking Enchantment! For our first episode of 2024, Rachel and Phoebe discuss the place that poetry has in our everyday lives, its importance in our faith, and why it’s good to learn poetry by heart. We highlight some of the poems that have been most impactful in our lives and spotlight some of the great resources for Catholics interested in poetry today.

Click here for more information about Select Tours: Irish Wisdom and Wonder Pilgrimage with Katie Marquette and Christy Isinger.

Click here to browse Wiseblood Books.

Works Mentioned:

“Have it by Heart”, The Spectator by Douglas Murray

“Influences”, The Boston Review by Seamus Heaney

“Christianity and Poetry”, First Things by Dana Gioia

100 Great Catholic Poems by Sally Read

“America, and Fall, Needs Poetry”, The American Conservative by Katya Sedgwick

“Should Catholics care about poetry?”, Catholic News Agency, by Mary Farrow

“Catholics Need Poetry” Word on Fire by Andrew Tolkmith

Wiseblood Books

“The Integral Humanism of Poetry,” Evangelisation and Culture by James Matthew Wilson

Poems Referenced:

“The Lovesong of J.Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot

“A Christmas Childhood” by Patrick Kavanagh

“Wind” by Ted Hughes

“Advent” by Patrick Kavanagh

“Little Gidding” by T.S. Eliot

Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost

“The Road not Taken” by Robert Frost

“Oíche Nollaig na mBan” by Seán Ó Ríordáin

“‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers” by Emily Dickinson

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

“Ceasefire” by Michael Longely

“The Wasteland” by T.S. Eliot

"It is emptiness like the hollow in the reed, the narrow restless emptiness which can have only one destiny: to receive the piper’s breath and to utter the song that is in his heart." - Caryll Houselander

In our Christmas episode of Risking Enchantment, we are looking at a seasonal devotional classic, Caryll Houselander’s The Reed of God. This small book packs a powerful punch in its meditations on the humanity of Mary, the Mother of God. We discuss its themes of emptiness, the promise of fulfillment and the secrecy of God’s life growing within us. We reflect on how Christmas can be a time of both joy and grief, but that we can bear God into the world in all the small moments and acts of service in our lives.

We would like to wish all our listeners a very happy Christmas season. Risking Enchantment will return in February 2024. 

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast

Works Mentioned:

The Reed of God by Caryll Houselander

A Rocking Horse Catholic by Caryll Houselander

“Reed of God”, Catholic Insight by Sarah Gould

“Journey of the Magi” by T.S. Eliot

“Into the Dark with God”, You Crown the Year with your Goodness by Hans Urs Von Balthasar

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

What We’re Enjoying at the Moment

Phoebe: Christmas Choral Concerts - The Dublin Bach Singers and Culwick Choral Society

Rachel: “Holy Ghost” and “Manna”, Manna Part: 1 by Chris Renzema

“52:10” and “The Color Green”, A Liturgy, A Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band by Rich Mullins

Principium by The Arcadian Wild

After an unexpected hiatus, Risking Enchantment is back. In this episode we’re taking a look at some classic family movies and what they can tell us about our attitudes towards growing up, and our modern tendency to stay in a perpetual adolescence. We’re looking at the kingdom of Vulgaria in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, where children are illegal but the toy maker is in high demand from the Baron and Baroness. We are also discussing Jim Henson’s Labyrinth where Sarah goes on a journey to leave behind some of her childish ways, and toys, in order to step up to her responsibilities and make new friends.

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast

Works Mentioned:

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

Labyrinth (1986)

“You Have No Power Over Me”: When David Bowie Was Satan (A Tribute Of Sorts)

"You Remind Me of the Babe With the Power": How Jim Henson Redefined the Portrayal of Young Girls in Fanastial Movies in His Film, Labyrinth

Everyone needs to grow up

Childless society gone to the dogs, warns Pope

"On Three Ways of Writing for Children" by C.S. Lewis

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

"The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot

"How T.S. Eliot Predicted the Coming of Male Millennials"

"The Drift from Domesticity" by G.K. Chesterton

What We're Enjoying at the Moment

Phoebe: A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter

Rachel: Offerings by Typhoon (album)

“Fiction is hard if not impossible to write because fiction is so very much an incarnation art…The fact is that the materials of the fiction are the humblest. Fiction is about everything human and we are made out of dust, and if you scorn getting yourself dusty, then you shouldn’t try to write fiction. It’s not a grand enough job for you.” - Flannery O’Connor

In this episode we are joined by Shane Jenkins to discuss the mystery of the author Flannery O’Connor. We delve into her personal writing, in her prayer journal, her letters and her essays, in order to try to understand her and her writing. Much touted for her Catholicism, nevertheless many readers, especially Catholic readers, struggle with the bleak and grotesque imagery in her writing. While the power of her fiction stands on its own, in this episode we take a look at how Flannery’s personality, so vivid in her personal writing, helps position and give context to her fiction in a way that opens it up for readers today.

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Shane Jenkins

Follow us on social media: @seekingwatson @shanekins

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Works Mentioned

Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose by Flannery O’Connor

The Habit of Being by Flannery O’Connor

Prayer Journal by Flannery O’Connor

The Complete Short Stories by Flannery O’Connor

Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor

Bishop Barron Presents | Ethan and Maya Hawke - Understanding Flannery

Wildcat (2023)

Flannery O'Connor Collection, Word on Fire Classics

What We’re Enjoying at the Moment:

Shane:

Typhoon

The 1975

John Lucas

Rachel

The Bear

“The perfect stillness of the night was thrilled by a more solemn silence. The darkness held a presence that was all the more felt because it was not seen. I could not any more have doubted that He was there than that I was. Indeed, I felt myself to be, if possible, the less real of the two.”

In this episode of Risking Enchantment, we are delighted to welcome back Katie Marquette, host of the podcast Born of Wonder, to talk about the experience of liminal spaces, what it means to encounter the numinous, and how we interpret this in our lives of faith. We discuss the Eucharist as the meeting point between heaven and earth, but also the moments of the 'thinning of the veil' to be found in nature and even our own homes.

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Katie Marquette

Listen to Katie’s podcast: Born of Wonder

Follow Rachel on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow Katie on social media: @bornofwonder

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast

Rachel was also previously a guest on the Born of Wonder podcast. To listen to that episode, click here: Falling in Love with Words: Nora Ephron and You’ve Got Mail with Rachel Sherlock

Works Referenced:

Born of Wonder: S4:9 EP51: The Lure of the Edge and Trying to Capture it

Born of Wonder: S4:10 EP52: Thin Places: Lifting the Veil Between Heaven and Earth

A Photographer at the Ends of the Earth

Thomas Joshua Cooper | The World's Edge

Rudolf Otto's 'Mysterium Tremendum et Fascinans' of the Numinous Experience

Otto on the Numinous

November: A Thin Place

The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis

The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis

'Effing the Ineffable' by Roger Scruton

Letters to Malcolm by C.S. Lewis

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham

What We're Enjoying At the Moment:

Katie: Three Blind Mice by Agatha Christie

Rachel: House of David by Molly O'Mahony

"The man on his holiday becomes the man he might have been, the man he could have been, had things worked out a little differently. All men are equal on their holidays: all are free to dream their castles without thought of expense, or skill of architect. Dreams based upon such a delicate fabric must be nursed with reverence and held away from the crude light of tomorrow week."

- R.C. Sherriff

For our first official episode back, Rachel and Phoebe reflect on the importance of holidays, and the unique opportunity they hold to show virtue and love for your family or fellow travelers. We discuss R.C. Sherriff's tender portrayal of the small family moments on their traditional trip to the sea in The Fortnight in September, and we return to Elizabeth von Arnim's The Enchanted April to look at how selfishness and a need to protect one's own experience and comfort takes away from the spirit of generosity necessary for a good holiday.

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast

Works mentioned:

The Fortnight in September by R.C. Sherriff

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim

'The War on Holidays' Utopia of Usurers, by G.K. Chesterton

What's Wrong with the World by G.K. Chesterton

What we’re enjoying at the moment:

Phoebe: Evangelium Conference

Rachel: Open mic nights

"First become a person" - St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

This bonus episode is the recording of a talk I gave over this summer for the Youth 2000 summer festival on Catholic womanhood.

The slides discussed in the talk can be found by clicking the following link: Presentation Slides

To find out more about Youth 2000 Ireland and their mission click here: Youth 2000

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast

“Healing is impossible in loneliness; it is the opposite of loneliness. Conviviality is healing. To be healed we must come with all the other creatures to the feast of Creation.” - Wendell Berry

In this, our last episode before the summer break, Phoebe is back to discuss some of our favourite children’s literature. We explore the theme of health and healing, in Goodnight Mr. Tom and The Secret Garden, and how both stories show the importance of nature and community in human flourishing. Looking to the writing of Wendell Berry we discuss how our health, our environment and our society are all interconnected, and how our faith informs how we should cultivate all three of those strands of life.

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast

Works mentioned:

Goodnight Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

‘Health is Membership’ by Wendell Berry

The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry by Wendell Berry

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

What we’re enjoying at the moment:

Phoebe: The appendices discs to The Lord of the Rings extended edition

Rachel: Sam Amidon (musician)