125. How to find literary allusions

Novel Pairings

Do you love the feeling of happening upon a subtle reference to a great literary work in the midst of your current read? Or do you feel like you’re on the outside when books allude to works you haven’t read? In today’s episode, we’re getting extra nerdy and breaking down all things literary allusions. For our discussion, we share what a literary allusion is and what kinds of allusions are referenced most widely. Plus, we’ll share tips on how to access these oft-referenced stories to illuminate your reading experience, and we’ll share book recommendations to build your TBR with classic and contemporary literature.

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Classic Books for Allusions:

The Odyssey by Homer (NP episode 123)

Paradise Lost by John Milton

Dante’s Inferno

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (NP episode 32)

Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (NP episode 111)

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (NP episodes 77 + 79)

Rebecca by Daphne Du Mauier

Beloved by Toni Morrison (NP episode 12)

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (NP episode 20)

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (NP episode 51 + 53)

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (NP episode 26)

Other Books Mentioned:

On Beauty by Zadie Smith

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Telephone by Percival Everett

Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad

Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark

Lone Women by Victor LaValle

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë