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<rss xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:podcast="https://podcastindex.org/namespace/1.0" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" version="2.0"><channel><title>Indian Summer (version 2)</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indian-summer-version-2--7088682</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><atom:link href="https://www.spreaker.com/show/7088682/episodes/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><language>en</language><category>Books</category><copyright>Copyright Literary Fiction Genre</copyright><image><url>https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg</url><title>Indian Summer (version 2)</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indian-summer-version-2--7088682</link></image><lastBuildDate>Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:14:13 +0000</lastBuildDate><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:owner><itunes:name>Literary Fiction Genre</itunes:name><itunes:email>spreaker64@podcastlibrary.org</itunes:email></itunes:owner><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:category text="Arts"><itunes:category text="Books"/></itunes:category><itunes:category text="Fiction"/><itunes:category text="Fiction"><itunes:category text="Comedy Fiction"/></itunes:category><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><podcast:guid>c50e45e3-8c67-5423-a651-953c760437ae</podcast:guid><itunes:type>episodic</itunes:type><item><title>Aspern Papers-Henry James</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/aspern-papers-henry-james--74393653</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74393653</guid><pubDate>Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:01:16 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74393653/aspern_papers_henry_james.mp3" length="111205864" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>13887</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Prometheus Bound (Browning Translation)-Aeschylus</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/prometheus-bound-browning-translation-aeschylus--74364804</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74364804</guid><pubDate>Sun, 06 Sep 2026 09:00:57 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74364804/10016_prometheus_bound_browning_translation_aeschylus.mp3" length="33298397" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>4158</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>De Smet's Letters and Sketches, 1841-1842-Fr. Pierre-Jean De Smet</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/de-smet-s-letters-and-sketches-1841-1842-fr-pierre-jean-de-smet--74343473</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74343473</guid><pubDate>Sat, 05 Sep 2026 09:00:45 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74343473/de_smet_s_letters_and_sketches_1841_1842_fr_pierre_jean_de_smet.mp3" length="238191082" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>29744</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Recollections of Life in Ohio, from 1813-1840-William Cooper Howells</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/recollections-of-life-in-ohio-from-1813-1840-william-cooper-howells--74315671</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74315671</guid><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 09:00:50 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74315671/recollections_of_life_in_ohio_from_1813_1840_william_cooper_howells.mp3" length="189716772" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>23691</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Judgment of Eve-May Sinclair</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/judgment-of-eve-may-sinclair--74296028</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74296028</guid><pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2026 09:00:48 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74296028/judgment_of_eve_may_sinclair.mp3" length="32101743" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>4009</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Lost Illusions Two Poets-Honoré de Balzac</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/lost-illusions-two-poets-honore-de-balzac--74274529</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74274529</guid><pubDate>Wed, 02 Sep 2026 09:00:55 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74274529/lost_illusions_two_poets_honore_de_balzac.mp3" length="183844181" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>22958</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Black Monk-Anton Chekhov</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/black-monk-anton-chekhov--74256328</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74256328</guid><pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2026 09:00:57 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74256328/black_monk_anton_chekhov.mp3" length="35895461" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>4483</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent-Washington Irving</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/letters-of-jonathan-oldstyle-gent-washington-irving--74239085</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74239085</guid><pubDate>Mon, 31 Aug 2026 09:00:50 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74239085/letters_of_jonathan_oldstyle_gent_washington_irving.mp3" length="47109909" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>5883</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Tales of Men and Ghosts-Edith Wharton</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/tales-of-men-and-ghosts-edith-wharton--74223233</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74223233</guid><pubDate>Sun, 30 Aug 2026 09:00:42 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74223233/tales_of_men_and_ghosts_edith_wharton.mp3" length="276277121" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>34500</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Hermit and the Wild Woman, and other Stories-Edith Wharton</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/hermit-and-the-wild-woman-and-other-stories-edith-wharton--74198197</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74198197</guid><pubDate>Sat, 29 Aug 2026 09:00:54 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74198197/hermit_and_the_wild_woman_and_other_stories_edith_wharton.mp3" length="197812022" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>24702</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Spoils of Poynton-Henry James</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/spoils-of-poynton-henry-james--74169100</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74169100</guid><pubDate>Fri, 28 Aug 2026 09:00:57 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74169100/spoils_of_poynton_henry_james.mp3" length="208642668" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>26054</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Temptation Of St. Anthony-Gustave Flaubert</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/temptation-of-st-anthony-gustave-flaubert--74140446</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74140446</guid><pubDate>Thu, 27 Aug 2026 09:00:55 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74140446/temptation_of_st_anthony_gustave_flaubert.mp3" length="198714208" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>24815</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Milton's Minor Poems-John Milton</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/milton-s-minor-poems-john-milton--74087418</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74087418</guid><pubDate>Wed, 26 Aug 2026 09:01:01 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74087418/milton_s_minor_poems_john_milton.mp3" length="113621840" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>14188</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (version 2)-James Joyce</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-young-man-version-2-james-joyce--74063434</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74063434</guid><pubDate>Tue, 25 Aug 2026 09:00:43 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74063434/portrait_of_the_artist_as_a_young_man_version_2_james_joyce.mp3" length="243134976" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>30362</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Joseph Conrad-Hugh Walpole</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/joseph-conrad-hugh-walpole--74038665</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74038665</guid><pubDate>Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:02:09 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74038665/joseph_conrad_hugh_walpole.mp3" length="66060154" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>8249</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Grande Bretèche-Honoré de Balzac</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/grande-breteche-honore-de-balzac--74016607</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74016607</guid><pubDate>Sun, 23 Aug 2026 09:02:00 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74016607/grande_brete_che_honore_de_balzac.mp3" length="25028136" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>3126</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Joseph in the Snow, and The Clockmaker. Vol. III-Berthold Auerbach</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/joseph-in-the-snow-and-the-clockmaker-vol-iii-berthold-auerbach--73992039</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73992039</guid><pubDate>Sat, 22 Aug 2026 09:01:28 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73992039/joseph_in_the_snow_and_the_clockmaker_vol_iii_berthold_auerbach.mp3" length="152676240" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>19066</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Bible (KJV) NT 27 Revelation (Version 2)-King James Version (KJV)</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/bible-kjv-nt-27-revelation-version-2-king-james-version-kjv--73968924</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73968924</guid><pubDate>Fri, 21 Aug 2026 09:01:33 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73968924/bible_kjv_nt_27_revelation_version_2_king_james_version_kjv.mp3" length="42307511" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>5283</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Anne Severn and the Fieldings-May Sinclair</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/anne-severn-and-the-fieldings-may-sinclair--73946293</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73946293</guid><pubDate>Thu, 20 Aug 2026 09:01:42 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73946293/anne_severn_and_the_fieldings_may_sinclair.mp3" length="220515628" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. 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A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>27537</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Uncle Vanya-Anton Chekhov</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/uncle-vanya-anton-chekhov--73921519</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. 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A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>6758</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Duel (version 2)-Anton Chekhov</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/duel-version-2-anton-chekhov--73896674</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. 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The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>14449</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Eugénie Grandet-Honoré de Balzac</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/eugenie-grandet-honore-de-balzac--73872380</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. 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The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>26233</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Kopal-Kundala-Bankim Chandra Chatterjee</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/kopal-kundala-bankim-chandra-chatterjee--73852065</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73852065</guid><pubDate>Sun, 16 Aug 2026 09:01:40 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73852065/kopal_kundala_bankim_chandra_chatterjee.mp3" length="123181366" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>15383</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Audrey Craven-May Sinclair</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/audrey-craven-may-sinclair--73835324</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73835324</guid><pubDate>Sat, 15 Aug 2026 09:02:23 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73835324/audrey_craven_may_sinclair.mp3" length="210804877" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>26324</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Papers-Henry James</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/papers-henry-james--73798935</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73798935</guid><pubDate>Tue, 11 Aug 2026 04:58:32 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73798935/10096_papers_henry_james.mp3" length="114016683" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>14238</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>London Life-Henry James</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/london-life-henry-james--73343142</link><description><![CDATA["London Life" by Henry James offers a keen exploration of the complexities of urban existence and the intricacies of social dynamics in one of the world's most iconic cities. This collection of narratives delves into the lives of its characters, revealing their inner thoughts and the subtle interplay of relationships that define their experiences. The themes of identity, ambition, and the search for meaning in a rapidly changing world resonate deeply today, reminding listeners of the timeless nature of human connection and the challenges of navigating personal aspirations within societal expectations. James's rich prose and insightful observations make this work an enduring reflection on the human condition.]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73343142</guid><pubDate>Sun, 02 Aug 2026 17:13:55 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73343142/london_life_henry_james.mp3" length="154928593" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>"London Life" by Henry James offers a keen exploration of the complexities of urban existence and the intricacies of social dynamics in one of the world's most iconic cities. This collection of narratives delves into the lives of its characters,...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA["London Life" by Henry James offers a keen exploration of the complexities of urban existence and the intricacies of social dynamics in one of the world's most iconic cities. This collection of narratives delves into the lives of its characters, revealing their inner thoughts and the subtle interplay of relationships that define their experiences. The themes of identity, ambition, and the search for meaning in a rapidly changing world resonate deeply today, reminding listeners of the timeless nature of human connection and the challenges of navigating personal aspirations within societal expectations. James's rich prose and insightful observations make this work an enduring reflection on the human condition.]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>19347</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Indian Summer version 2 - William Dean Howells</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/indian-summer-version-2-william-dean-howells--72390272</link><description><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/72390272</guid><pubDate>Sat, 06 Jun 2026 16:53:47 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72390272/indian_summer_version_2_william_dean_howells.mp3" length="281981209" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Dean Howells</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Set in Florence's Anglo-American colony in the late 19th century, this is a romantic story of a middle-aged man, returning to the scene of his first but disappointed love twenty years earlier. The doings of Americans abroad were staples of the fictions of Henry James and Edith Wharton, but Howells’s view is rather different. As John Updike has said of it, “the felicity of the writing makes us pause in admiration…. A midlife crisis has rarely been sketched in fiction with better humor, with gentler comedy and more gracious acceptance of life’s irrevocability.” ( Nicholas Clifford)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>35248</itunes:duration><itunes:keywords>gentler,howells,indian,irrevocability,literary,midlife,pause,staples,summer,updike</itunes:keywords><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/063137b6d349a9cd6a1b46d30d2eca12.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item></channel></rss>
