“[God] gave you strength to do what your conscience told you was right; and I don’t see that we need any higher or holier strength than that; or wisdom either."

- Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South

In this episode Rachel and Phoebe discuss North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. Often dubbed ‘The Victorian Pride and Prejudice’ it is a wonderful love story but also a story of class struggles, the industrial revolution and religious turmoil. Throughout all these themes is Gaskell’s exploration of the importance of following your conscience, maintaining your principles and speaking and acting honestly. Rachel and Phoebe look at the ways in which each of these ‘unfashionable virtues’ are represented in the novel, and why they still apply to us in the modern day.

After this episode, Risking Enchantment will be taking a break over the summer and will return in September. To get notified when it returns, or to keep up to date with any additional content, sign up to our newsletter at: Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Works Mentioned:

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux by Thérèse de Lisieux

Illustrated London News by G.K. Chesterton

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

What's Wrong with the World by G.K. Chesterton

"The Inner Ring" by C.S. Lewis

“Why is it that of all the billions and billions of strange objects in the Cosmos - novas, quasars, pulsars, black holes - you are beyond doubt the strangest”

- Walker Percy Lost in the Cosmos

In this episode Rachel is joined by Shane Jenkins to discuss Walker Percy’s satirical self-help book Lost in the Cosmos. In this book Percy explores ideas of the self, as well as the problems of modernity, scientism, identity crisis, and the breakdown of meaning in the modern age. Lost is the Cosmos is a complex and often troubling book but it also contains many keen observations and humorous moments. 

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Shane Jenkins

Follow us on social media: @seekingwatson @shanekins

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Works Mentioned

Lost in the Cosmos by Walker Percy

The Moviegoer by Walker Percy

“Everything is Broken” Tablet by Alana Newhouse

Mystery and Manners by Flannery O’Connor

Thoughts after Lambeth by T.S. Eliot

“Is Pope Francis Anti-Modern?” The New Atlantis by M. Anthony Mills

What We’re Enjoying at the Moment

Shane: Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.

Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Hippo Campus (band)

Rachel: Tickets to my Downfall by MGK (album)

“If we insist on keeping Hell (or even earth) we shall not see Heaven: if we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell.”

― C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce

In this episode we are delighted to welcome to the show David Bates, co-host of the Pints with Jack podcast. He joins Phoebe and Rachel to discuss The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis’ imaginary supposition of Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. We talk about how Lewis demonstrates the ways that sin traps us and prevents us from entering into the joy of heaven, as well as Lewis’ unique ability to capture the vital energy and attraction of virtue. 

Check out David’s podcast: Pints with Jack 

@PintswithJack on: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube

Check out David’s wife Marie’s podcast: Pints with Chesterton 

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson, David Bates

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast

Works mentioned in this episode:

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake

Inaugural Homily, Pope Benedict XVI

New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton

“The Age of Anxiety” by W.H. Auden

The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis

The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien

Leaf by Niggle by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Misquotable C.S. Lewis: What He Didn't Say, What He Actually Said, and Why It Matters by William O’Flaherty

What We're Enjoying at the Moment

David: Speaking to his unborn son

Phoebe: Smith of Wootten Major by J.R.R. Tolkien

Rachel: Brideshead Revisited, 1981 TV Series

“‘You will find,’ he explained, ‘that when the kings are bullies who believe in force, the people are bullies too. If I don't stand for law, I won't have law among my people.’”

In this episode Rachel and Phoebe discuss the figure of King Arthur in Malory’s Le Morte Darthur, the biblical echoes of his kingship, his attempt to create a just society and his failure to embody Christ-like ideals. We also discuss the new Catholic magazine, Leaven, launched by friend of the show, Greg Daly. It’s a digital magazine which showcases a coherently and distinctly Irish Catholic vision, and explores a mix of topics from science to literature, pop culture to social justice, history to philosophy and beyond. It’s first edition features articles and interviews with a range of established and new Catholic writers, including an article by Rachel on the theme of Pentecost in Arthurian myth, which forms a backdrop to this podcast episode. 

Click here to get your copy of Leaven:

Leaven Magazine leavenmagazine.ie

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast

Works mentioned in this episode:

Le Morte Darthur, The Winchester Manuscript by Sir Thomas Malory

The Once and Future King by T.H. White

“The Sword of the Spirit,” Leaven by Rachel Sherlock

“King Arthur and the Liturgical Year,” quiteirregular by Jem Bloomfield 

“Lancelot Versus the Pentecostal Oath,” Arthurian Literature by Kiera Schneider

“A Real Catholic Monarchy,” The Distributist Review by John C. Médaille

“Reflections for the Feast of Christ the King,” Vatican News by Fr. Antony Kadavil

“Christ the King of the Universe,” National Catholic Reporter by Mary M. McGlone, CSJ

What We’re Enjoying at the Moment:

Phoebe: The Sound of Music

Rachel: 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

"Our Lord began his public life on the Mount of the Beatitudes and closed it on the Mount of Calvary. This books tells the story of how he practiced the meekness, the mercy, and the poverty of the Beatitudes." - Ven. Fulton Sheen

In this episode of Risking Enchantment Rachel and Phoebe discuss the short book by Ven. Fulton Sheen called The Cross and the Beatitudes. In this book, Sheen correlates the Beatitudes to the seven last words of Christ, and in so doing he illuminates how Christ embodied the Beatitudes not only in his ministry but in the Passion itself. It is a book full of insight and wisdom, and at under 100 pages it is an ideal devotional to read this Holy Week. 

We wish you all a prayerful Holy Week and a blessed Easter Season.

Works Mentioned:

The Cross and the Beatitudes by Ven. Fulton Sheen

The Beauty and Ugliness of the Cross - Risking Enchantment

Sacred Songs for Sorrowful Times: Music for Holy Week - Risking Enchantment

The World’s First Love by Ven. Fulton Sheen

“The Beatitudes Confront the Seven Deadly Sins” by Dennis and Rose Wingfield

Perelandra by C.S. Lewis

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

"The Seven Words Spoken by Jesus Christ on the Cross" by St. Alphonsus Liguori

What We're Enjoying at the Moment:

Phoebe:

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

Pints with Jack: Season 4 - The Screwtape Letters

Rachel:

Tolkien's Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages by Holly Ordway

Boreas/Zephyrus Vinyl by The Oh Hellos

"I will smite Egypt with all my wonders"

- The Prince of Egypt

For this episode of Risking Enchantment, we are joined by animator and friend Robyn Conroy to talk about the 1998 Dreamwork's film The Prince of Egypt. A fantastic film in its own right, it is also an interesting modern example of a biblical story becoming a prestigious entertainment and artistic event. We talk about the incredible visuals and music of the movie, as well as the filmmaker's faithful and accurate adaptation of this sacred story. An excellent family movie for Lent, The Prince of Egypt is a masterful example of both animated and musical storytelling.

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Robyn Conroy

Follow Rachel on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow Robyn on Instagram: @robynconroyart

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast

Works Mentioned:

The Prince of Egypt (1998)

The Making of The Prince of Egypt (YouTube)

"An Ecumenical ‘Prince of Egypt’" By Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times

Francis of Assisi by G.K. Chesterton

What We're Enjoying At the Moment

Robyn: Principium, Album by The Arcadian Wild

Rachel: Dubliners by James Joyce, audiobook read by Andrew Scott

"We are not here to triumph by fighting, by stratagem, or by resistance,

Not to fight with beasts as men. We have only to conquer 

Now, by suffering. This is the easier victory."

- T.S. Eliot, Murder in the Cathedral

In this episode, Rachel and Phoebe delve into two texts, T.S. Eliot's verse drama Murder in the Cathedral about the death of St. Thomas Becket, and the opera Dialogues des Carmélites by Poulenc, about the execution of a community of nuns towards the end of the French Revolution. Drawing on both of these texts we discuss the moral dilemma of 'doing the right thing for the wrong reason' and how these fictional accounts of martyred saints can help us prepare our soul for martyrdom and a life led in obedience to God's will.

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast

Works Mentioned:

“A Temple of the Holy Ghost” A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor

Dialogues des Carmélites by Poulenc 

Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot 

Francis of Assisi by G.K. Chesterton

“Patience - Our Share in Your Passion” The Joy of Believing by Ven. Madeleine Delbrêl

Orthodoxy by G.K Chesterton

What we are Enjoying at the Moment

Phoebe: Risking Enchantment: A Pilgrimage in Paintings: Tissot's “Life of Christ"

Rachel: Taskmaster

"The joy of the festival, drawing together the memory of both earthly and divine blessings, points to the eternal joy of heaven by giving us a small, imperfect glimpse of the eternal feast.

"Why We Feast: A Matter of Life and Death", R. Jared Staudt

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast

Works Mentioned:

Comfort Food by Jamie Oliver

"Why does God care if you give up chocolate?" Called to More, by Rachel Sherlock

"Why We Feast: A Matter of Life and Death", R. Jared Staudt

In Tune with the World: A Theory of Festivity by Josef Pieper

"Go deeper: Food in children’s books" by Imogen Russell

Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis

Food and Faith by Norman Wirzba

Brambly Hedge: Spring Story by Jill Barklem

Brambly Hedge: Autumn Story by Jill Barklem

The Redwall series by Brian Jacques

"The Lost Art of Feasting" by David Mathis

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling

"Lower Sacraments: Theological Eating in the Fiction of C. S. Lewis" by Gregory Philip Hartley

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

"Nourishment, Delight, and Fellowship: The Purpose of Food in The Chronicles of Narnia" by Jonathan Darville

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

What We're Enjoying at the Moment

Phoebe: Alice and Wonderland ballet, Royal Opera House recording

Rachel: High Society (film)

"Men reverently doffed their hats; women wept and knelt before the pictures, and some even crawled like penitents through the show."

Jesus, Illustrated: Tissot’s New Testament" by Ken Johnson

In this episode, Rachel is joined by Shane Jenkins, who was previously on our Risking Enchantment episode 'Time and T.S. Eliot: Modern and Eternal Poetry'. In this episode they discuss the life and work of painter James Tissot. Once famous for his paintings of materialistic extravagance, Tissot had a profound and dramatic conversion in the middle of his life, after which he dedicated his life to chronicling the whole of the life of Christ through painting. In the episode Shane and Rachel discuss the various elements of his work that particularly interested him, and also offer a counterpoint to his work in the work of Gustave Dore. Also discussed is the need for art to accompany the Bible's words, and the newly published Word on Fire Bible.

We would like to take this time to thank you for listening to Risking Enchantment this year and to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Shane Jenkins

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast

Works Mentioned:

Shane's blog article on Tissot and the link to his Slideshow of Tissot's paintings:

'James Tissot's "Life of Christ": The Complete Online Gallery and Introduction', In Praise of Follies by Shane Jenkins

"The risqué artist who found God" The Catholic Herald by Laura Freeman

"Jesus, Illustrated: Tissot’s New Testament" The New York Times by Ken Johnson

The Blind Leading the Blind by Tissot

Maltreatments in the House Caiaphus by Tissot

Behold the Man, Ecce Homo by Tissot

Let Him be Crucified by Tissot

What Our Lord Saw from the Cross by Tissot

The Annunciation by Tissot

Jesus Ministered to by Angels by Tissot

The Snow Queen by Vladyslav Yerko

Jesus Carried up to a Pinnacle of the Temple by Tissot

The Grotto of the Agony by Tissot

Christ Retreats to the Mountain at Night by Tissot

Inner Voices (Christ Comforting the Wanderers) by Tissot

A Wild Ride Through the Night by Walter Moers

'“From the Smallest Fragment”: The Archaeology of the Doré Bible' Nineteenth Century Art Worldwide by Sarah C. Schaefer

Word on Fire Bible (Volume 1) The Gospel

What We're Enjoying at the Moment:

Shane: How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill

Rachel: David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (audiobook read by Richard Armitage)

"The whole story of her life... It was here waiting for her …

She had never needed to think about it before. It had been quite easy to fill her life with unimportant trivialities that left her no time for self-knowledge."

- Absent in the Spring

In this episode of Risking Enchantment Rachel and Phoebe discuss two books: Absent in the Spring by Agatha Christie and Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. Both lesser known works by well-known authors, they were nevertheless esteemed by their authors to be among their best work. They also both share several core themes: the quest for truth, the need to know and understand yourself, and the dangers of love without grace.

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Follow Phoebe on Instagram: @phoebe_lucy_watson

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast

Works Mentioned:

Absent in the Spring by Agatha Christie

Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

Agatha Christie: An Autobiography by Agatha Christie

The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis

The Habit of Being by Flannery O'Connor

A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis

What We're Enjoying at the Moment

Phoebe: Pints with Jack Podcast

Rachel: Dialogues des Carmélites, opera by Poulenc shown on Met Opera