We recorded this episode a week ahead of the 2026 RJ Book Club Readers Retreat, which was held in Geelong and was as jam-packed and fun as the previous years. Rachael runs the book club and the retreats (and the podcast Reading Between Deadlines) with Anthea Hodgson, who is also from Perth and also a wonderful writer.
Anthea has a new novel, The Palace of Lost Virtue, so of course we wanted to talk to her about it - not just because it is an engrossing, often surprising historical novel based on true events, but also because Anthea is always interesting to talk to AND she’s really funny. And what does one do with an interviewee like that? Let them run, because there’s nothing an interviewer should do other than gently steer the conversation.
So we hope you enjoy meeting Anthea, if you’re unfamiliar with her and her work. And you’ll also get an update on Rachael’s joint-writing project with Mercedes Mercier, and get to listen to Sophie whingeing about how much Rachael and Anthea put her to work at the retreat.
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