The Literary Playlist

Curated playlist from a musician and book lover

[theliteraryplaylist]

Music referenced in Donna Tartt’s The Secret History

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4WKvJYybTLTXN1JO6XnqPn?si=cS0jKESkQI-VYEEZ2AsudA

[mouseshouses]

Flirt

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The Secret History by Donna Tartt (1992)

Imagery

[artandchocolate]

Virginia Woolf - A Room of One’s Own

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Felt that one.

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amnesia (n.)

"loss of memory," 1786 (as a Greek word in English from 1670s), Modern Latin, coined from Greek amnesia "forgetfulness," from a- "not" (see a- (3)) + mnesi- "remembering" (found only in compounds), from stem of mnasthai "to recall, remember," related to mnemnon "mindful," mneme "memory;" from PIE root *men- (1) "to think." The usual word in Greek was amnestia, but this had a specialized sense of "forgetfulness of wrong"

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“What specialist in mediocrity determined the prize-winners and ruled what measure of banality was required for success?”

Dawn Powell’s A Time to be Born (1942)

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Cupid and Psyche by François-Édouard Picot (1817) featured in Stephen Fry’s Mythos

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Pandora by John William Waterhouse (1896) featured in Stephen Fry’s Mythos

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Apollo, Italian School (17th Century) featured in Stephen Fry’s Mythos

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I recently treated myself to beautiful editions of Stephen Fry’s Mythos and Heroes.

I’m about half way through Mythos and am captivated by the stories and art included in the book.

The Dance of the Muses, Joseph Paelinck (1832)

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Red, White & Royal Blue imagery

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Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (2019)

Spotify playlist of music referenced in Red, White & Royal Blue!

Listen to the music referenced in this charming book here!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6yKUIvDS6EQbFxOhsF6Pt5?si=9AYLTHx4SwqbtLM5acPgPw

[theliteraryplaylist]

All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Imagery #2

[theliteraryplaylist]

All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Imagery #1

[theliteraryplaylist]

All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (2014)

This playlist includes music either referenced or alluded to in Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See. You will also hear music that the Marie-Laure and Werner might have heard in their youth.

Suite Bergamesque: Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy

Often referenced through the entirety of the book. Notably, Marie-Laure broadcasts this piece during the siege of St. Malo in 1944.

De Temps en Temps by Josephine Baker 

Josephine Baker was hugely popular in Paris. De Temps en Temps (1939) might have been a song Marie-Laure and her father heard just before the German occupation

Don Quixote, Op.35 - 6. Variation 3 (Mäßiges Zeitmaß) by Richard Strauss

Shortly after Werner fixes his first radio, he describes hearing music with strings, woodwinds and brass. This could have been any number of German works, but Strauss tone poems were notable approved of by the Third Reich. Additionally, this recording features conductor Herbert von Karajan, another Reich approved musician. 

Concerto in F major “L’autunno” I. Allegro by Antonio Vivaldi

This is referenced as part of Etienne’s music collection. Etienne and Marie-Laure dance to this music and Etienne wonders how she possibly understands the concept of dancing.

Concerto for 2 Cellos in g minor  by Antonio Vivaldi

Marie Laure notes specifically that after one secret broadcast, Etienne plays music that features cellos. We know that Etienne is a fan of Vivaldi, so perhaps this is a movement from his double cello concerto in g minor.

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