It was the best of times; it was the worst of times—it was school. In this episode, Marlon and Jake discuss books where school is the setting or going to school is central to the plot. They debate which authors got school right and which got school wrong, what makes an inspiring teacher, and what the closed universe of a schoolyard or college campus can feel like. Tune in to hear Marlon and Jake reminisce over their own college experiences and what they were like as students.

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Tom Brown’s School Days by Thomas Hughes

The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling by Henry Fielding

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh

Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh

Scoop by Evelyn Waugh

The Crime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

Look back in Anger by John Osborne

Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy

Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy

Absalom, Absalom! By William Faulkner

Love Story by Erich Segal