For their final conversation Among the Ancients, Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones turn to the contradictions of the Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius. Said by Machiavelli to be the last of the ‘five good emperors’ who ruled Rome for most of the second century CE, Marcus oversaw devastating wars on the frontiers, a deadly plague and economic turmoil. The writings known in English as The Meditations, and in Latin as ‘to himself’, were composed in Greek in the last decade of Marcus’ life. They reveal the emperor’s preoccupations with illness, growing old, death and posthumous reputation, as he urges himself not to be troubled by such transient things.

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Further reading in the LRB:

Mary Beard: Was he quite ordinary?

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v31/n14/mary-beard/was-he-quite-ordinary

Emily Wilson: I have gorgeous hair

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v45/n11/emily-wilson/i-have-gorgeous-hair

Shadi Bartsch: Dying to Make a Point

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v29/n22/shadi-bartsch/dying-to-make-a-point

M.F. Burnyeat: Excuses for Madness

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v24/n20/m.f.-burnyeat/excuses-for-madness

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For the final episode of their series in search of the medieval sense of humour Irina and Mary look at one of the most remarkable women authors of the Middle Ages, Gwerful Mechain, who lived in Powys in the 15th century. Mechain was part of a lively literary coterie in northeast Wales and in her poem Cywydd y Cedor (‘Ode to the Vagina’) she challenged the conventional approach of her fellow male poets to praise every part of a woman’s body apart from her genitalia. Her witty, combative verses, intended for public performance, deployed a brilliant mastery of the complex metrical tradition of medieval Welsh poetry to discuss the most intimate physical experiences.

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Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk

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As our Close Readings series come to an end this year, you’re probably wondering what’s coming in 2025. We’re delighted to announce there’ll be four new series starting in January:

‘Conversations in Philosophy’ with Jonathan Rée and James Wood

Jonathan and James challenge a hundred years of academic convention by reuniting the worlds of philosophy and literature, as they consider how style, narrative, and the expression of ideas play through philosophical writers including Kierkegaard, Mill, Nietzsche, Woolf, Beauvoir and Camus.

Reading list here:

https://lrb.supportingcast.fm/posts/conversations-in-philosophy

‘Fiction and the Fantastic’ with Marina Warner, Anna Della Subin, Adam Thirlwell and Chloe Aridjis.

Marina and guests will traverse the great parallel tradition of the literature of astonishment and wonder, dread and hope, from the 1001 Nights to Ursula K. Le Guin.

Reading list here:

https://lrb.supportingcast.fm/posts/fiction-and-the-fantastic

‘Love and Death’ with Seamus Perry and Mark Ford

Mark and Seamus explore the oscillating power of outrage and grief, bitterness and consolation, in poetry in English from the Renaissance to the present day. Their series will consider the elegies of Milton, Hardy, Bishop, Plath and others at their most intimate and expressive.

Reading list here:

https://lrb.supportingcast.fm/posts/love-and-death

‘Novel Approaches’ with Clare Bucknell, Thomas Jones and other guests

Clare, Tom and guests discuss a selection of 19th-century (mostly) English novels from Mansfield Park to New Grub Street, looking in particular at the roles played in the books by money and property.

Reading list here:

https://lrb.supportingcast.fm/posts/novel-approaches

And the subscription will continue to include access to all our past Close Readings series.

If you're not already a subscriber, sign up:

Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq

In other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/closereadings

GIFTS

If you enjoy Close Readings, why not give it to another book lover in your life?

Find our audio gifts here: https://lrb.supportingcast.fm/gifts

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