The Secret Life of (Love) Books
Australia's favourite podcast, The Secret Life of Books, has romance all figured out.
Have you heard that Australia’s number one literary podcast, The Secret Life of Books, is hosted by Red Room Poetry CEO Jonty Claypole MBE and Red Room Board Member, Princeton academic Sophie Gee? A must-listen for lovers of classic literature, the podcast delves into the creation, secrets, and cultural impact of some of the most enduring books in history.
Since its launch in Sydney in November 2024, The Secret Life of Books has captivated audiences with its intelligent yet entertaining approach to storytelling, often featuring high-profile guest authors and commentators. Designed to rekindle a passion for classic literature, the podcast brings fresh perspectives to well-loved works while challenging the notion that these books are outdated or irrelevant.
Jonty and Sophie, both Australian-born but having built their careers in the UK and USA, returned to Sydney with a shared mission: to reignite enthusiasm for classic literature and counter the decline in readership. Their approach combines deep literary knowledge with humour and accessibility, making the classics feel alive and relevant to modern audiences.
Episodes range from Shakespeare’s Hamlet to Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, with guests such as Dame Mary Beard and Geraldine Brooks adding rich insights into these texts. Whether discussing revolutions, war, love, or rebellion, the podcast transforms well-known works into compelling and timely discussions.
With Valentine’s Day approaching, what better way to explore love and passion than through literature’s most iconic romances? The Secret Life of Books has covered some of the greatest love stories ever written:
- Jane Eyre 1: passion, madness, gaslighting and bad hair days
- Wuthering heights: passionate love affairs and dysfunctional families go together
- The Great Gatsby: is this THE great American Novel?
- Midsummer Nights Dream: are true love and sexual attraction magic tricks?
- Jane Austin does gothic horror with insta-ready clothes and great interiors: Northanger Abbey
- The Craft of Writing, the Booker Prize from Australia: Charlotte Wood and My Name is Lucy Barton
- Jane Austin goes to the dark side: social turmoil and scandalous texting in Sense and Sensibility
- Soldier Preachers, late-life love and Soapy the cat in Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead
Reflecting on the theme of love in the podcast, Jonty Claypole says:
"So many classic books are about love in all its variations. For a Valentine’s Day bonus episode, we’re trawling through the SLoB back catalogue to rate — through a decidedly modern lens — the romantic chops of the great characters we have covered so far. Heathcliff or Hamlet? Lucy Barton or Lady Macbeth? The wily Dodger or the polyamorous Dracula? Help us decide!"
This Valentine’s Day, let The Secret Life of Books be your guide to literature’s most passionate, heartbreaking, and unforgettable love stories. You can find all episodes available here, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
You can also explore all of the love poems from our archives by clicking here. Happy Valentine's Day!
Meet the Podcasters
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Jonty Claypole MBE
CEOJonty Claypole MBE is a writer, documentary producer and arts administrator living and working on Gadigal land. Born in Sydney, and raised in London, he worked for twenty years in media and the arts in the UK. He produced and directed dozens of arts documentaries, before becoming Director of Arts at the BBC (from 2014-21), where he commissioned landmark series like Civilisations, many films about and by poets, and started the Contains Strong Language poetry festival. He was Chair of HOME, Manchester, one of the UK’s best-loved arts centres and sat on the advisory committees of the Booker Prizeand Art UK.
In 2021, Jonty was awarded an MBE for services to UK culture and published his first book – Words Fail Us: In Defence of Dysfluency (Wellcome Collection/Profile) – to critical acclaim. It is a cultural history of speech disorders, and their role in neurodiverse thinking, drawing on his long experience of stuttering.
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Sophie Gee
Board MemberSophie Gee is an academic, novelist and essayist, currently living and working on Gadigal land. Sophie attended Sydney Girls’ High School and the University of Sydney, before moving to the US, where she completed a doctorate in English Literature at Harvard. Since 2002 she has been a member of the English Department at Princeton University, where she taught courses on the history of literature from Beowulf to the Romantics, history of satire and the rise of the novel, — as well as a course featuring live interviews with contemporary poets and novelists. She’s written an acclaimed historical novel The Scandal of the Season, about Alexander Pope’s comic poem “The Rape of the Lock.” She’s the author of two academic monographs, one about garbage and waste in 18thC English poetry, and the other about eating and migrating in the 18thC colonial world. She writes regularly about books and the value of humanities for a wide range of publications and is currently the inaugural Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Sydney.
