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Elizabeth Strout’s My Name Is Lucy Barton is a much-loved and perennially-read novel that has caught the attention of literally millions of readers worldwide. But it’s quiet, low-key book, about family dynamics and difficult feelings, with a modest plot and characters who wouldn’t seem heroic if you met them in real life.
Find out why Charlotte Wood found herself drawn to a novel that refuses to be a “people pleaser.” How does it connect to her own novel Stone Yard Devotional, shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize. Charlotte also unearths one of SLoB’s best-ever secrets about how Elizabeth Strout trained herself to write with radical honesty.
Sophie waxes lyrical about the landscapes of Strout’s homestate Maine, and Jonty makes a passionate care for My Name is Lucy Barton as a classic about men as well as women, equally compelling for the blokes.
-- To join the Secret Life of Books Club visit: www.secretlifeofbooks.org
-- Please support us on Patreon to keep the lights on in the SLoB studio and get bonus content: patreon.com/secretlifeofbookspodcast
-- Follow us on our socials:
youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@secretlifeofbookspodcast/shorts
insta: https://www.instagram.com/secretlifeofbookspodcast/
bluesky: @slobpodcast.bsky.social
Further Reading:
Elizabeth Strout, My Name is Lucy Barton, Anything is Possible, Oh William, Lucy by the Sea, Tell Me Everything, (Random House, 2016-2024)
Charlotte Wood, Stone Yard Devotional (Riverhead/ Allen and Unwin, 2024)
https://www.charlottewood.com.au/
Support the show
Producer: Boyd Britton
Digital Content Coordinator: Olivia di Costanzo
Designer: Peita Jackson
Our thanks to the University of Sydney Business School.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
By Sophie Gee and Jonty Claypole4.9
4545 ratings
Elizabeth Strout’s My Name Is Lucy Barton is a much-loved and perennially-read novel that has caught the attention of literally millions of readers worldwide. But it’s quiet, low-key book, about family dynamics and difficult feelings, with a modest plot and characters who wouldn’t seem heroic if you met them in real life.
Find out why Charlotte Wood found herself drawn to a novel that refuses to be a “people pleaser.” How does it connect to her own novel Stone Yard Devotional, shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize. Charlotte also unearths one of SLoB’s best-ever secrets about how Elizabeth Strout trained herself to write with radical honesty.
Sophie waxes lyrical about the landscapes of Strout’s homestate Maine, and Jonty makes a passionate care for My Name is Lucy Barton as a classic about men as well as women, equally compelling for the blokes.
-- To join the Secret Life of Books Club visit: www.secretlifeofbooks.org
-- Please support us on Patreon to keep the lights on in the SLoB studio and get bonus content: patreon.com/secretlifeofbookspodcast
-- Follow us on our socials:
youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@secretlifeofbookspodcast/shorts
insta: https://www.instagram.com/secretlifeofbookspodcast/
bluesky: @slobpodcast.bsky.social
Further Reading:
Elizabeth Strout, My Name is Lucy Barton, Anything is Possible, Oh William, Lucy by the Sea, Tell Me Everything, (Random House, 2016-2024)
Charlotte Wood, Stone Yard Devotional (Riverhead/ Allen and Unwin, 2024)
https://www.charlottewood.com.au/
Support the show
Producer: Boyd Britton
Digital Content Coordinator: Olivia di Costanzo
Designer: Peita Jackson
Our thanks to the University of Sydney Business School.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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