Advertise on podcast: Into The Austenverse

Hosts Lisa Campbell and David Campbell kick off a “Steinbeckverse” detour ahead of their upcoming Sense and Sensibility coverage, prompted by Netflix’s new East of Eden series starring Florence Pugh (releasing October 1). They discuss Steinbeck’s 1952 novel as his magnum opus, its two-family saga (Trasks and Hamiltons), and how the 1955 Elia Kazan film adapts only the book’s final section. After watching the James Dean version, they discuss Dean’s naturalistic, method-influenced performance and strong work from Jo Van Fleet and discuss the filmmaking elements like the overture, loud score, obvious studio backdrops, and abrupt pacing. They unpack key themes (Cain and Abel, inherited “badness,” war profiteering) and touch on Kazan’s controversy over naming names during McCarthyism, linking it to Zoe Kazan leading the new adaptation. DIZZY AND JIMMY - The book DC references ORSON WELLES ON ELIA KAZAN INSTAGRAM @in2theaustenverse  TIKTOK  @in2theaustenverse YouTube @intotheaustenverse Or email us at [email protected]   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

DC and Lisa celebrate the one-year anniversary of Into the Austenverse and reflect on global listenership and standout guests before welcoming award-winning writer/showrunner/executive producer Liz Doran to discuss Netflix’s My Brilliant Career. Doran shares how she came to the story via the film, pitched Netflix first, and developed a “dirty-hemmed, unbuttoned” Australian period drama with detailed realism, expanded First Nations storylines through First Nations writers and consultants, and a reimagined Harry with Chinese heritage, plus specific symbolic choices like native flowers and black cockatoo feathers. Actors Philippa Northeast (Sybylla) and Kate Mulvany (Augusta) join to discuss casting, building character through collaboration, working with Christopher Chung, filming key scenes like the New Year’s Eve party, and why the series’ themes of agency and ambition resonate worldwide, while hoping it inspires more Australian literary adaptations.  ***Warning - there is a spicy discussion about Sybylla’s sex life in the interview with Pip and Kate.*** INSTAGRAM @in2theaustenverse  TIKTOK  @in2theaustenverse YouTube @intotheaustenverse Or email us at [email protected].   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lisa hosts solo while David is at Channel 9, recommending Joanna Nadin’s “After Darcy,” a funny, risqué, joyful Pride and Prejudice modern day sequel and previewing Sunday’s final “Franklinverse” interviews with Liz Doran and stars Kate Mulvany and Philippa Northeast.   In the interview, Nadin explains she shifted from serious women’s fiction to more commercial comedy after publishing changes, drawing on her YA Austen-inspired series, and focusing on the Bennet sisters as older women dealing with kids, divorce, and difficult teens. She describes her process of “hanging out” with characters, casting actors in her head, and building plot needs into modern jobs and details (including Lydia’s reality TV fame and ADHD diagnosis). Nadin discusses her Austen exposure via adaptations, Press Gang’s influence, her career in journalism and UK political speechwriting.   INSTAGRAM @in2theaustenverse  TIKTOK  @in2theaustenverse YouTube @intotheaustenverse Or email us at [email protected] You can find buy After Darcy here!   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David and Lisa Campbell discuss the final two episodes of the Netflix miniseries My Brilliant Career, opening with a Henry Lawson letter praising Miles Franklin.  They recap the post–New Year’s Eve fallout as Sybylla faces her grandmother reading her journal, tensions around Harry and Blanche, and escalating consequences for Frank and others on Federation Day. The conversation highlights themes of men constrained by patriarchy, women supporting and freeing each other (Nell, Betty, Helen, Gussie), and symbolism such as horses and harnesses, alongside vivid production design contrasts between Caddagat, Possum Gully, and the M’Swats. They praise performances—especially Philippa Northeast and Genevieve O’Reilly—compare Franklin’s ending to rom-com expectations, and note recent critical coverage, then announce upcoming interviews with showrunner Liz Doran and stars Philippa Northeast and Kate Mulvany plus a bonus Austenverse episode on After Darcy.   INSTAGRAM @in2theaustenverse  TIKTOK  @in2theaustenverse Or email us at [email protected]   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this special bonus episode of Into The Austenverse, Lisa interviews Julia Gray and Imogen Russell Williams about their new book, Kitty and Mary. It was born from their long friendship, shared love of Jane Austen, and a desire to revisit Pride and Prejudice by following the two Bennet sisters left unmarried. They each wrote one sister’s voice in an epistolary format, creating a “conversation” between Kitty, Mary, and themselves, with letters and journals allowing readers to see what the sisters reveal and conceal, including strikethrough moments. Imogen describes researching Mary’s India storyline using British Library ship logs and the impact of months-long letter delays, while Julia researched early publishing (using John Murray as a framework), amateur theatricals, and medicine/childbirth for Kitty’s arc, including her growing relationship with words. They talk about writing for a YA publisher with broad adult appeal, the benefits of accountability in collaboration, and a London Bushwick Book Club night featuring songs responding to the book. Kitty and Mary is published by Andersen Press and is out NOW! More about the Bushwick Book Club's night of Kitty and Mary here.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David and Lisa Campbell recap episodes 3 and 4 of Netflix’s My Brilliant Career, celebrating Alexander England’s Uncle J.J., unpacking Everard’s role in Sybylla’s theatre opportunity and Harry’s shaky finances, and discussing Harry’s farm-mortgage scheme and the pressure to marry Blanche. They touch on Australia’s 1901 federation and women’s property rights, reveal Helen’s husband abandoned her, and praise Liz Doran’s additions, including deeper LGBTQ themes and richly integrated First Nations storylines shaped by Indigenous writers and creatives, highlighting characters like Charlie and Betty. They also debate adaptation “faithfulness,” rave about the heavily Shazamed soundtrack (Thelma Plum, Kate Miller-Heidke, “Scarborough Fair,” possible Kylie?!), explain how Ernie Dingos stopped Lisa smoking.   Join them back in the Austenverse on Thursday for a special interview with the authors of Kitty and Mary - a wonderful new book exploring further possibilities for two the Bennets! Find out more about us at Instagram @in2theaustenverse, Tiktok @in2theaustenverse and on YouTube @intotheaustenverse and email us at [email protected] See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

DC and Lisa return with a long-promised bonus episode featuring an interview with award-winning theatre maker and director Dean Bryant. They discuss their ongoing “Franklin-verse” coverage prompted by Netflix’s My Brilliant Career, plus upcoming episodes and delayed timing for Sense and Sensibility, and briefly mention Netflix’s East of Eden trailer. In the interview, Bryant explains why he and creative partner Mathew Frank adapted My Brilliant Career into a musical, tracing its development from an Opera Victoria pitch through Monash University’s Jeanne Pratt residency, COVID-era reassessment, Sheridan Harbridge’s involvement, an actor-musician approach with Vicky Falconer, and MTC picking it up. He discusses the work’s cultural reverence, Sybylla’s radical choice, the production’s punk energy and casting Karla Gare, and previews his Malthouse adaptation of All About Eve with Christie Whelan Browne playing both Margo and Eve. All About Eve premieres at Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne on 20th November and runs until 12th December 2026. Follow us:  INSTAGRAM @in2theaustenverse  TIKTOK  @in2theaustenverse Or email us at [email protected]   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

DC and Lisa introduce their podcast’s pivot from Austen to Franklin with My Brilliant Career.  First there is some Austen News (whoosh) Then they are deep into the Franklinverse to celebrate My Brilliant Career’s Netflix success (No. 2 globally, 8 million views across 190 countries) and discuss how the series captures the book’s modern, fourth-wall-breaking voice, praising Philippa Northeast as Sybylla, Anna Chancellor as the grandmother, and Kate Mulvany’s complex Aunt Gussie, plus Christopher Chung as Harry Beecham. They compare the adaptation to the 1901 novel, outline Miles Franklin’s life and legacy, and note Netflix additions like Indigenous characters, modern music, and South Australian locations, teasing a bonus interview with musical co-writer Dean Bryant. DC mentions Bush Idyll and The Pioneer by Frederick McCubbin.   Lisa mentions Bob Downe. Jeso.  They have Australian culture covered in this ep. Follow us  INSTAGRAM @in2theaustenverse  Tiktok @in2theaustenverse and on YouTube @intotheaustenverse Email us at [email protected]   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David and Lisa Campbell wrap their Netflix Little House on the Prairie watch-along with episodes 7 and 8.  DC and Lisa talk about the merits of the show, its handling of the most complex of subjects and some off piste discussions about Colonel Sanders’ involvement in a murder.   Tiktok @in2theaustenverse and on YouTube @intotheaustenverse Email us at [email protected]   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David and Lisa Campbell recap Netflix’s Little House on the Prairie episodes 5 and 6 in the podcast temporarily known as Into The Ingallsverse.  Episode 5 centres on multiple characters avoiding the truth.  We venture to the Women’s Society as Ma and the girls encounter exclusion and racism, including Emily being barred, Lacey emerges as the decisive MVP, and Mr. Edwards’ past is revealed when he explains his wife and daughters died of cholera. Episode 6 is a cozy Christmas installment with a new baby, a lavish general-store celebration and the gift of sweet potatoes. They also discuss the film Wicker (adapted from The Wicker Husband), a coming Pete Dominick bonus episode, and Lisa’s sinister theory about the whereabouts of  Caleb’s missing father… See Lisa’s rubbish gingerbread greenhouse and DC with Alexander Skarsgard here @in2theaustenverse  Tiktok @in2theaustenverse and on YouTube @intotheaustenverse Email us at [email protected]   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David and Lisa Campbell recap episodes 3 and 4 of Netflix’s Little House on the Prairie on where “Into the Austenverse” becomes “Into the Ingallsverse”.  They talk about Episode 3 and 4 - a journey of postal service, fever dreams, literal drug mules and the real story of Laura Ingalls.  They'll be back with a bonus episode on Friday with a real life American.  Join next week for Eps 5 & 6 and more on the Bloody Benders! VANITY FAIR'S ARTICLE BY ROSEMARY COUNTER Let us know your thoughts: Instagram @in2theaustenverse  Tiktok @in2theaustenverse and on Email us at [email protected] See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David and Lisa Campbell go “Austen-adjacent” on Into the Austenverse by discussing Netflix’s Little House on the Prairie.  Lisa introduces her new favourite Susan. They outline Laura Ingalls Wilder’s real life and the autobiographical children’s books, her late start as a writer in the 1930s, and her long life spanning covered wagons to Elvis. They discuss Manifest Destiny and how the show engages with land-taking, racism in the books, and historically accurate figures like Dr. Tan, an African American doctor. Reviewing episodes 1–2, they praise the pacing, depth of field, peril, and cast (Alice Halsey as Laura, Luke Bracey as Pa, Crosby Fitzgerald as Caroline), highlight mystery-box backstory and Mr. Edwards’ arc, note Alison Arngrim’s cameo, and preview covering episodes 3–4 next week. Let us know what you think at [email protected] See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lisa returns to join DC on “Into the Austenverse” whilst detouring into the “Homeverse,” discussing the Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, their differing familiarity with Greek mythology, and how David’s long affection for The Odyssey contrasts with Lisa’s newer crash course via Stephen Fry and interest in Emily Wilson’s translation. They recap the 2004 film Troy - talking about its successes, failures and how performers like Brad Pitt see it in hindsight.  They then turn to Nolan’s The Odyssey, they focus on practical filmmaking (including the Trojan horse), the underworld, Cyclops and Circe, and interpretations of Odysseus’s flawed, traumatic journey home, with debate over the reduced role of the gods. They talk Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Samantha Morton, Zendaya and whether they are Fan Hathaways or not. WE ARE SO KEEN TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS!   Instagram @in2theaustenverse  Tiktok @in2theaustenverse and on YouTube @intotheaustenverse Email us at [email protected]   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David and Lisa Campbell reunite on Into the Austenverse after Lisa’s work trip to Madrid, where she visited the Prado to see Velázquez’s Las Meninas having listened to The Rest Is History episode about it - link below!  They discuss the new Sense and Sensibility trailer and Daisy Edgar-Jones’s British Vogue shoot, note limited news about a Netflix adaptation expected in fall, and share their excitement for October releases plus upcoming “Christmas TOBS,”. The episode replays two “from the vault” interviews: Ella Bruccoleri on humanizing Mary Bennet with a female-led creative team, and Oscar winner Dario Marianelli on scoring Pride & Prejudice and Atonement, his collaboration with Joe Wright, and the legacy of his music. DC and Lisa talk about next week’s return with Troy & The Odyssey - Homerverse? and a Sydney Opera House Pride & Prejudice… Sort Of visit. Las Meninas Episode of The Rest Is History Let us know your thoughts: Instagram @in2theaustenverse  Tiktok @in2theaustenverse and on YouTube @intotheaustenverse Email us at [email protected]   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Lisa in transit on her way back from Madrid, DC have gone back into the archives to some of the best interviews that they have had on the podcast.  Two classics from the inimitable 1995 Pride and Prejudice - Susannah Harker (Jane) and Adrian Lukis (Wickham).   Learn more about Jane Bennet’s Second Spring and stay up to date with their Instagram @jbssfilm Click here to download Being Mr Wickham. More about Into The Austenverse here: Instagram @in2theaustenverse  Tiktok @in2theaustenverse and on YouTube @intotheaustenverse   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.