Lost Ladies Who Feel Extra Relevant Right Now
History Keeps Repeating—Let’s Make Sure We’re Paying Attention
(Pictured: author Kay Dick)
Dear Lost Ladies of Lit Listeners,
Some books refuse to stay in their century. They creep into the present, tapping on our shoulders, whispering, “Hey, haven’t we been here before?” And some of the women we’ve covered on Lost Ladies of Lit feel less like historical figures and more like people we should be texting for advice.
Lately, we’ve been thinking about some of our past episodes that feel extra resonant right now—women who saw the future a little too clearly, who spoke truths people weren’t ready to hear, and whose words still pack a punch.
Sigrid Schultz – with Pamela Toler, author of The Dragon from Chicago – A journalist who covered the rise of fascism in real time, at great personal risk. If she were around today, she’d be throwing some serious side-eye at current events.
Frances Harper – Iola Leroy with Dr. Koritha Mitchell – A groundbreaking novel by one of America’s first Black women authors tackling race, identity, and freedom.
Mary Wollstonecraft – A Vindication of the Rights of Woman with Susan J. Wolfson – Because somehow, we’re still having the same arguments she was making in 1792.
Christine de Pizan – The Book of the City of Ladies with Kathleen B. Jones – A medieval woman imagining a utopia where women don’t have to justify their existence. Sound familiar?
Rose Macaulay – What Not with Kate Macdonald – A dystopian novel about government control of speech and thought, published before Orwell, but somehow left out of the conversation.
Kay Dick – They with Lucy Scholes – A chilling, overlooked dystopian novel about a world where artists and intellectuals are silenced. It reads like it was written yesterday.
And speaking of voices that refuse to be silenced… we’ve got an upcoming episode on Frances Wright, a Scottish-born reformer who was loudly and unapologetically ahead of her time—advocating for abolition, women’s rights, and free thought long before the world was ready to listen. We have a feeling she’d be right at home in (and alarmed by) 2025.
So, if you’re looking for a few radical thinkers to add to your bookshelf, start with these. The conversation isn’t over yet.
What past episodes have been on your mind lately? Hit reply and let us know!
I loved the episode on Mary Wollstonecraft. It's amazing how both ends of the current politcal spectrum claim her. It underscores her greatness.
I just listened to the one about Iola Leroy, which has been on my "to read" list forever ... it was good to find out that there's a new edition, because I don't like reading book-length things on the screen. Also I noticed that you linked to "Two Offers" on the main Literary Ladies Guide site, thank you! One of your episodes that has been on my mind was the one about Ursula Parrott and Ex-Wife, which I had never heard of before your program. Wow ... what a read. So sad that she herself became a cautionary tale and has been so forgotten.