Episode · Conversations with Tyler · 2026-03-04
Books mentioned on Henry Oliver on Measure for Measure, Late Bloomers, and the Smartest Writers in English
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Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Measure for Measure
Measure for Measure is a complex Shakespearean problem play that navigates themes of justice, morality, mercy, and human hypocrisy in the city of Vienna.
Discussed“COWEN: Now, the premise of this episode is, we’re going to discuss Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. That’s not the only thing we’ll do, but that is what we will start with.”
Where to get it
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The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare is a famous dramatic comedy exploring complex themes of justice, mercy, prejudice, and societal revenge in Renaissance Europe.
Discussed“OLIVER: It’s a bit like in The Merchant of Venice, when Shylock famously says, “I had that ring of Leah when I was a bachelor.”
Where to get it
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The Rape of Lucrece
Discussed“COWEN: I thought immediately of “The Rape of Lucrece,” which is, I think, from 1594. In that story, there’s an actual rape of Lucrece by Tarquin, and she kills herself.”
Where to get it
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All's Well That Ends Well
Discussed“OLIVER: There are a lot of other critics, as well, who take Helena in All’s Well That Ends Well similarly.”
Where to get it
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The Taming of the Shrew
Discussed“OLIVER: Or in The Taming of the Shrew, one of the maids is described as having gone down the garden to get some parsley...”
Where to get it
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
Discussed“OLIVER: Measure for Measure is not like Midsummer Night’s Dream. Midsummer Night’s Dream is a perfectly Girardian play...”
Where to get it
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Troilus and Criseyde
Discussed“OLIVER: Then in Troilus and Criseyde, he has a very good reading of that, which is contemporaneous with this play.”
Where to get it
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Gulliver's Travels
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift is a classic satirical masterpiece that uses fantastical voyages to different lands to mock human nature, political corruption, and societal follies.
Discussed“OLIVER: Well, one thing is that fiction is intentionally ambivalent, by which I mean Swift in Gulliver’s Travels does not want to express his own opinions.”
Where to get it
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Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost by John Milton is an epic blank-verse poem that recounts the biblical fall of man, featuring the temptation of Adam and Eve by Satan.
Discussed“COWEN: John Milton’s Paradise Lost—overrated or underrated?”
Where to get it
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Faerie queene
Edmund Spenser's epic Renaissance poem is a sprawling allegorical work celebrating Queen Elizabeth I through tales of knightly virtue and moral trials.
Discussed“COWEN: Spenser’s Faerie Queene.”
Where to get it
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Swan Song (Forsyte Chronicles)
Discussed“COWEN: Galsworthy, Forsyte Chronicles, the book.”
Where to get it
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Bleak House
Bleak House is an expansive 1853 novel by Charles Dickens that uses the convoluted legal case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce to excoriate the failures of the British judicial system and expose the deep inequalities of Victorian society.
Discussed“COWEN: Dickens’s Bleak House.”
Where to get it
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The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R.
Discussed“COWEN: Tolkien. I mean Lord of the Rings.”
Where to get it
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The Hobbit
The Hobbit by J.R.R.
Discussed“OLIVER: Lord of the Rings plus The Hobbit, right?”
Where to get it
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Democracy
Democracy by Henry Adams is a novel exploring the political corruption and social maneuvering of Washington, D.C.
Recommended“OLIVER: I just read Democracy by Henry Adams, that I actually thought was really good.”
Where to get it
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The Day of the Triffids
Discussed“COWEN: Day of the Triffids is from your people, and that’s quite good.”
Where to get it
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Mrs. Dalloway
Virginia Woolf's classic novel Mrs.
Discussed“COWEN: Septimus in Mrs. Dalloway?”
Where to get it
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Second Act
Second Act by Henry Oliver is a nonfiction book that examines the lives and trajectories of late bloomers who achieve success later in life.
Recommended“COWEN: To close, I’ll just recommend again Henry’s book, Second Act, about late bloomers...”
Where to get it
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Atlas Shrugged
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand is a philosophical novel that presents the author's objectivist philosophy through a dystopian narrative about society's most productive individuals going on strike against collectivism.
Discussed“OLIVER: [...] but if we accept that Atlas Shrugged is singular, then yes, she’s a late bloomer.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“He is author of a wonderful book, called Second Act, about late bloomers, which has been very popular.”