Olla Podrida

A self‑described sufferer of “politicophobia” narrates his descent into a world where every ordinary detail is transformed into a parliamentary tableau. The opening pages plunge the listener into his mind‑scape, where a simple toast becomes a formal address and a family sofa morphs into the House of Lords’ woolsack.

His everyday routine—breakfast, newspaper, bedtime—unfolds as a relentless parade of speeches, petitions, and party quarrels, turning even a child’s animal book into a catalog of MPs. Through witty digressions and vivid analogies, the narrator exposes how the fervor of early‑Victorian politics can infiltrate domestic life, turning dinner conversations into heated debates and ballroom dances into partisan duels.

The novel balances sharp satire with affectionate observation, offering a lively portrait of a society on the brink of obsession. Listeners will find humor in the narrator’s exaggerated anxieties while glimpsing the genuine tensions that colored public and private spheres in 1830s England.