Chapter 40: The Valley of the Shadow with Saul Leslie

Good night, sweet Beth, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. Here to mourn the most meek and mild of the March sisters is disability scholar Saul Leslie, a PhD candidate at the University of Liverpool who studies portrayals of disability in 20th century literature. Is there anything to admire about Alcott's depiction of this poor #invalid? Does she tick every box of hurtful disability tropes? Is she nonetheless an icon? We mention it all.

Saul has worked in higher education as a disability supervisor and a disability rights campaigner. He also works with Penguin Random House to assist disabled novelists with their writing. And his fiction has been published by Bloomsbury and Liverpool University Press, and his remarks on disability and literature have appeared in publications such as the Times Literary Supplement.

Our cover art is by Mattie Lubchansky. It interpolates the cover art for Bethany C. Morrow's book "So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix," with permission from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group. It also interpolates the cover art for Hena Khan’s book “More to the Story,” with permission from Simon & Schuster. Our theme music is Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 16 in C Major. This episode was edited by Antoinette Smith.