152. Celia Fremlin — The Hours Before Dawn with Emily Midorikawa
“Things that go bump in the night…?” Try sleep-deprived mothers, for starters. British author Celia Fremlin recognized the terrors of trying to hold it together while caring for young children, earning her an Edgar Award for her 1959 debut novel The Hours Before Dawn. Having recently published her own suspense-filled novel, returning guest Emily Midorikawa joins us to discuss Fremlin’s ability to cast a dark shadow on domesticity. This page-turning tale of a beleaguered mum facing inner doubts and outward threats will also kick off the first “Lost Ladies of Lit” online reading group, generously hosted by The Sitting Room Library.
Mentioned in this episode:
Reading Group for The Hours Before Dawn hosted by The Sitting Room Library.
The Hours Before Dawn by Celia Fremlin
A Tiny Speck of Black and Then Nothing by Emily Midorikawa
Out of the Shadows: Six Visionary Victorian Women in Search of a Public Voice by Emily Midorikawa
A Secret Sisterhood: The Literary Friendships of Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot and Virginia Woolf by Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney
Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 85 on Mary Taylor
Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 286 on Mary Elizabeth Braddon
The Seven Chars of Chelsea by Celia Fremilin
Appointment With Yesterday by Celia Fremlin
Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin
The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing
Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan