A Spell in the Library
Come into the study. Malcolm takes a book down from the shelf, reads a favourite passage, and muses a while — the way you would on any visit, if the door were open and the kettle on. Begun in the long quiet of 2020, and still going.
Lately in the library
All episodesA Book and Its Secrets
A Book of Common Prayer printed in 1791, with a hidden painting along its gilded edge — taken down from the shelf by lamplight.
Single evenings
Browse all standalone episodesA sonnet called ‘Spell’
On the old magic of language itself. [ placeholder ]
In Every Corner Sing
After a charming essay by Leigh Hunt. [ placeholder ]
The dark before the dawn
A poem for the turning of the year. [ placeholder ]
Strands by the fire
All strandsEpisodes that gather, over time, around one author or one book — not a planned series, but a strand you can follow.
The Lord of the Rings · 6 episodes
- Goldberry and the river-daughter
- The riddle of Tom Bombadil
- The long defeat & the eucatastrophe
Wendell Berry · 4 episodes
- The peace of wild things
- Sabbath poems, read aloud
- The work of local culture
George MacDonald · 5 episodes
- Phantastes, and the baptised imagination
- The wise woman’s curtain
- Lilith and the long sleep
An ongoing series
Galahad and the Grail
Malcolm reads ahead from his Arthurian epic in progress — the quest of Galahad, canto by canto, shared with readers before the book itself appears. [ Placeholder blurb. ]
Sneak peeks of Merlin’s Isle, vol. 1 — forthcoming, March 2026 (The Rabbit Room).
By the hearth — for members
For those who join, Malcolm reads aloud — whole stories, chapter by chapter, the way they were meant to be heard. A quieter, longer evening, kept for subscribers.
