Secret corridors, hidden rooms, and trapdoors are the stuff of adventure and romance. Egyptian pyramids riddled with underground chambers and booby traps. An English country house with a priest hole and a trick bookcase. A speakeasy with a sliding panel that leads to a brothel and a gambling parlor. Who wouldn't want to go exploring?! And where would Gothic storytelling be without the secret passage in Horace Walpole's 'The Castle of Otranto?' Or the hidden door to the attic in 'Jane Eyre' that's protecting an epic secret? If your childhood was shaped by reading the enchanting adventures in 'The Secret Garden' and 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,' or by solving the mystery of 'The Hidden Staircase' with Nancy Drew, this show is for you. In this episode, we discuss an amazing book heist from an ancient French monastery, debate if Ben Franklin was a werewolf hunter, get lost in the Mansion on O Street, and daydream about living in the New York Public Library. Then we recommend great books that lured us into magical portals, dangerous tunnels, secret passages, and other hidden spaces that prove irresistible. Here are the books we discuss in the show: A Dangerous Collaboration by Deanna Raybourn https://bit.ly/3cLkQm3 The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow https://bit.ly/3AGfsJ7 Tunnel 29 by Helena Merriman https://bit.ly/3Ry21li Underground by Will Hunt https://bit.ly/3CQjyB5 The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley https://bit.ly/3TG18ZR For more on the books we recommend, plus the other cool stuff we talk about, visit show notes at http://strongsenseofplace.com/podcasts/2022-09-12-secret-passages Do you enjoy our show? Do you want access to awesome bonus content? Please support our work on Patreon! Every little bit helps us keep the show going and makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside - https://www.patreon.com/strongsenseofplace As always, you can follow us at: Our web site at Strong Sense of Place Patreon Twitter Instagram Facebook Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related