literature

146d

<p>How a Book Marketing Ploy Almost Ruined Edgar Wallace, Literature’s “King of Thrillers”</p><p>Edgar Wallace wanted to promote his first novel with more than just traditional ads—but his brilliant idea almost became his downfall.</p><p>By Jane Alexander</p><p><a href="https://www.mentalfloss.com/literature/authors/edgar-wallace-four-just-men-contest-financial-ruin" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.mentalfloss.com/literature/authors/edgar-wallace-four-just-men-contest-financial-ruin"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.mentalfloss.com/literature</span><span class="invisible">/authors/edgar-wallace-four-just-men-contest-financial-ruin</span></a></p><p>Edgar Wallace at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/999" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/999"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho</span><span class="invisible">r/999</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

Cover page of Room 13

Author: Edgar Wallace

Original publication: London: John Long, Limited, 1924

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/76168/pg76168-images.html

The cover features a dramatic, illustrated scene in a vintage 1920s art style.

In the foreground, a woman dressed in a tailored mauve suit and white blouse is shown in motion, pushing a door closed with a determined expression. Her short, wavy hairstyle and fashion reflect the modern 1920s “flapper” style. Her body language suggests urgency or fear, as if she is trying to keep someone out.

Behind the door, a man in a dark suit is partly visible, leaning through the opening, his expression alert and intent.

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146d

<p>8 Times Scientists and Inventors Tragically Died for Their Experiments</p><p>Innovation can be deadly.</p><p>By Gayoung Lee</p><p><a href="https://gizmodo.com/8-times-scientists-and-inventors-tragically-died-for-their-experiments-2000684271" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="gizmodo.com/8-times-scientists-and-inventors-tragically-died-for-their-experiments-2000684271"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">gizmodo.com/8-times-scientists</span><span class="invisible">-and-inventors-tragically-died-for-their-experiments-2000684271</span></a></p><p>Science at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/51" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/51"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subje</span><span class="invisible">ct/51</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

Death of the German physicist Georg Wilhelm Richmann (1711–1753), who was shocked by lightning during one of their electrical thunderstorm experiments in Saint Petersburg.

In the center of the scene, Richmann is shown collapsing backward as a sudden bolt of lightning or electric discharge strikes the metal rod of his experimental apparatus. His face is contorted in shock, and his body is thrown off balance.

To one side, a laboratory assistant or observer recoils in terror, his arms raised and face turned away from the flash. Objects in the laboratory—papers, instruments, and tools—are scattered or thrown into the air by the blast.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Wilhelm_Richmann#/media/File:Richmanns_Tod_1753.jpg

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146d

<p>The Man Who Gave Away His Birthday – a Useless Information podcast<br> <br>Robert Louis Stevenson was born <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a>, 13 November – but it’s not, strictly speaking, his birthday: in 1891 he gave the day to Annie Ide, the 14-year-old daughter of the US Commissioner to Samoa, who was unfortunate enough to have been born on Christmas Day</p><p>1/5</p><p><a href="https://uselessinformation.org/annie-louisa-ide-cockran/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="uselessinformation.org/annie-louisa-ide-cockran/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">uselessinformation.org/annie-l</span><span class="invisible">ouisa-ide-cockran/</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/19thcentury/" rel="tag">#19thCentury</a> <a href="/tags/victorian/" rel="tag">#Victorian</a> <a href="/tags/robertlouisstevenson/" rel="tag">#RobertLouisStevenson</a> <a href="/tags/rlsday/" rel="tag">#RLSDay</a></p>

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1y

<p>"Sunlight is the life-blood of Nature."<br>Ch. 19.</p><p><a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> in 1889.</p><p>Jerome K. Jerome's comic fictional English travelogue set on the River Thames, Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog), is published in Bristol. Its sequel is Three Men on the Bummel (also known as Three Men on Wheels, 1900).</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Men_in_a_Boat" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Men_in_a_Boat"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Me</span><span class="invisible">n_in_a_Boat</span></a></p><p>Three Men in a Boat at PG:<br><a href="https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/308" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>gutenberg.org/ebooks/308</a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

Frontpage Jerome Three Men in a Boat 1889

Titlepage of the first edition of Jerome K. Jerome (1889) Three Men in a Boat: (To Say Nothing of the Dog), Bristol: J.W. Arrowsmith OCLC: 213830865.

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91d

<p><a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> in 1944 Ida Tarbell died. She "was an American writer, investigative journalist, biographer, and lecturer. She was one of the leading muckrakers and reformers of the Progressive Era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was a pioneer of investigative journalism"</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_Tarbell" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_Tarbell"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_Tarb</span><span class="invisible">ell</span></a></p><p>Books by Tarbell at PG:</p><p><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/4022" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/4022"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho</span><span class="invisible">r/4022</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

Photograph of Ida Tarbell.

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1y

<p>"I am not keeping back facts. Every fact that I know is in your possession. You can draw your own deductions from them."<br>Hercule Poirot</p><p>In October 1920.</p><p>Agatha Christie's first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, appears in the U.S., introducing her long-running Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in the setting of an English country house. </p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mysterious_Affair_at_Styles" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mysterious_Affair_at_Styles"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Myst</span><span class="invisible">erious_Affair_at_Styles</span></a></p><p>The Mysterious Affair at Styles at PG:<br><a href="https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/863" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>gutenberg.org/ebooks/863</a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

Dustjacket illustration of the first edition in both the UK and the US

Edited 1y ago

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141d

<p>Tales of a Grandmother: Female Literary Agency & its Echoes in Scotland’s Cultural Memory in the Age of Scott<br>25 Nov, Glasgow University & online. Free</p><p>Walter Scott’s shadow eclipsed most of his contemporary writers in Scotland’s cultural memory of the early 19th century. Leonie Jungen investigates CLAN-ALBIN by Christian Isobel Johnstone (1781–1857), published one year after Scott’s WAVERLEY</p><p>@litstudies </p><p><a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/leonie-jungen-tales-of-a-grandmother-tickets-1700991755129" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/leonie-jungen-tales-of-a-grandmother-tickets-1700991755129"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/leonie-</span><span class="invisible">jungen-tales-of-a-grandmother-tickets-1700991755129</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/19thcentury/" rel="tag">#19thcentury</a> <a href="/tags/walterscott/" rel="tag">#WalterScott</a> <a href="/tags/womenwriters/" rel="tag">#womenwriters</a></p>

Edited 141d ago

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143d

<p>Exploring the World of Japanese Literature in 8 Must-Reads</p><p>"Japanese literature is rich and complex, with a unique style that endears it to many literary enthusiasts."</p><p><a href="https://www.thecollector.com/exploring-japanese-literature-must-reads/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.thecollector.com/exploring-japanese-literature-must-reads/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.thecollector.com/exploring</span><span class="invisible">-japanese-literature-must-reads/</span></a></p><p>"The Tale of Genji" at PG:</p><p><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66057" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66057</a></p><p>"The Pillow Book" at PG:</p><p><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76016" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76016</a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

The Chureito Pagoda and Mount Fuji.

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92d

<p>Medieval Friendships: No Girls Allowed</p><p>Medieval European elites inherited the classical concept of friendship as something possible only for men. Christine de Pizan and Margery Kempe beg to differ.</p><p>By: Livia Gershon </p><p><a href="https://daily.jstor.org/medieval-friendships-no-girls-allowed/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_id=01KE7BZ1KVYKEHGWMWN8H4X650&_kx=3MZUehzXM-41qlWAMPUiuNZadX2p0SByuNf_t0eMLB0.U5D8ER" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="daily.jstor.org/medieval-friendships-no-girls-allowed/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_id=01KE7BZ1KVYKEHGWMWN8H4X650&_kx=3MZUehzXM-41qlWAMPUiuNZadX2p0SByuNf_t0eMLB0.U5D8ER"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">daily.jstor.org/medieval-frien</span><span class="invisible">dships-no-girls-allowed/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_id=01KE7BZ1KVYKEHGWMWN8H4X650&_kx=3MZUehzXM-41qlWAMPUiuNZadX2p0SByuNf_t0eMLB0.U5D8ER</span></a></p><p>Christine de Pizan & Margery Kempe<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/4613" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/4613"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho</span><span class="invisible">r/4613</span></a><br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Margery+Kempe" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Margery+Kempe"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/searc</span><span class="invisible">h/?query=Margery+Kempe</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/womenhistory/" rel="tag">#womenhistory</a></p>

Master of the City of Ladies by Christine de Pisan.

The illumination is divided into two main sections showing women engaged in the symbolic construction of the "City of Ladies." The scene depicts Christine de Pizan's allegorical vision of building an ideal city for virtuous women.

Inside an architectural space with elegant white arches and a tiled vaulted ceiling in warm orange/gold tones, a group of noble women are gathered.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meister_der_%27Cit%C3%A9_des_Dames%27_002.jpg

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141d

<p>Look now, look quick – a shooting star!<br>Make your wish! It’s very far<br>From here to where the active light<br>Set out and streaked across a night<br>In Glasgow’s greatly dark November…</p><p>—Edwin Morgan, “Leonids”<br>in the London Review of Books, June 2000</p><p><a href="https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v22/n12/edwin-morgan/four-poems" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v22/n12/edwin-morgan/four-poems"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v22/n1</span><span class="invisible">2/edwin-morgan/four-poems</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/poem/" rel="tag">#poem</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/astronomy/" rel="tag">#astronomy</a> <a href="/tags/leonids/" rel="tag">#leonids</a> <a href="/tags/meteor/" rel="tag">#meteor</a> <a href="/tags/edwinmorgan/" rel="tag">#EdwinMorgan</a></p>

Leonids
by Edwin Morgan

Look now, look quick – a shooting star!
Make your wish! It’s very far
From here to where the active light
Set out and streaked across a night
In Glasgow’s greatly dark November
To die there, a supernal ember.
What was your wish? You wanted more?
It’s granted! Up there is a store
Of light. It’s breaking now in showers
Not of stars but meteors,
Spark after spark, scattering, dying,
You could send your wishes flying
In thousands, born, reborn, delighting
To be part of that bright sighting
Which disappears and yet appears
Again in our unlonely years.

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116d

<p>The Far Side of Disaster: On Virginia Woolf’s Unacknowledged Plague Novel To the Lighthouse</p><p>Colin Dickey: “It reminds me that others have struggled with how to write through the end of the world.”</p><p><a href="https://lithub.com/the-far-side-of-disaster-on-virginia-woolfs-unacknowledged-plague-novel-to-the-lighthouse/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="lithub.com/the-far-side-of-disaster-on-virginia-woolfs-unacknowledged-plague-novel-to-the-lighthouse/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">lithub.com/the-far-side-of-dis</span><span class="invisible">aster-on-virginia-woolfs-unacknowledged-plague-novel-to-the-lighthouse/</span></a></p><p>Woolf at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/89" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/89"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho</span><span class="invisible">r/89</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

Photograph of Virginia Woolf with hand on face wearing a fur stole (10 x 15 centimeters).

This is a picture from one of Virginia Woolf's own photo albums at Monk's House which were acquired at an auction at Sotheby's in 1982 (cf. Maggie Humm, Snapshots of Bloomsbury: The Private Lives of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell, p. 187), gifted in 1983 by Frederick R. Koch to the Harvard Theater Collection, Houghton Libray, Harvard University, and afterwards scanned and uploaded by the library.

A 1927 sepia-toned photograph of Virginia Woolf from her personal album at Monk's House, now in Harvard's Theater Collection. The elegant portrait shows Woolf with her hand pensively resting against her face, wearing a luxurious fur stole, her expressive eyes gazing directly at the camera.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Woolf#/media/File:Virginia_Woolf_1927.jpg

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1y

<p><a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> in 1914.</p><p>Charles Masterman invites 25 "eminent literary men" to Wellington House in London to form a secret British War Propaganda Bureau. Those who attend include William Archer, Arnold Bennett, Hall Caine, G. K. Chesterton, Arthur Conan Doyle, Ford Madox Hueffer, John Galsworthy, Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling, John Masefield, Henry Newbolt, Gilbert Parker, G. M. Trevelyan and H. G. Wells. <br>1/2</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellington_House" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellington_House"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellingt</span><span class="invisible">on_House</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

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140d

<p>The Wonderful Public Domain of Oz</p><p><a href="https://blog.archive.org/2025/11/17/the-wonderful-public-domain-of-oz/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="blog.archive.org/2025/11/17/the-wonderful-public-domain-of-oz/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">blog.archive.org/2025/11/17/th</span><span class="invisible">e-wonderful-public-domain-of-oz/</span></a></p><p>Baum's books at PG:</p><p><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/42" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/42"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho</span><span class="invisible">r/42</span></a></p><p>Ruth Plumly Thompson's books at PG:</p><p><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/34661" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/34661"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho</span><span class="invisible">r/34661</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

Cover to the original 1900, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Pictures by W. W. Denslow. The cowardly lion is wearing glasses.

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1y

<p>In September 1923.</p><p>T. S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land (1922) is first published in the United Kingdom in book form, complete with notes, in a limited edition by the Hogarth Press of Richmond upon Thames. The firm is run by Eliot's Bloomsbury Group friends Leonard and Virginia Woolf, and the type handset by Virginia (completed in July).</p><p>The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1321" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1321</a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

The waste land by T.S. Eliot published by Hogarth Press of Richmond upon Thames

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142d

<p>Outlaw, fiddler, & folk hero James Macpherson (c.1675–1700) was hanged <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a>, 16 November, for being Romani. Prior to his execution Macpherson composed his famous “Rant”. Macpherson sang this lament on the gallows & smashed his fiddle before meeting his fate</p><p>1/7</p><p><a href="https://blog.historicenvironment.scot/2022/06/the-loss-of-a-son-jamie-macpherson-and-his-gypsy-heritage/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="blog.historicenvironment.scot/2022/06/the-loss-of-a-son-jamie-macpherson-and-his-gypsy-heritage/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">blog.historicenvironment.scot/</span><span class="invisible">2022/06/the-loss-of-a-son-jamie-macpherson-and-his-gypsy-heritage/</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/history/" rel="tag">#history</a> <a href="/tags/18thcentury/" rel="tag">#18thcentury</a> <a href="/tags/earlymodern/" rel="tag">#earlymodern</a> <a href="/tags/romani/" rel="tag">#Romani</a> <a href="/tags/poem/" rel="tag">#poem</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/song/" rel="tag">#song</a> <a href="/tags/folksong/" rel="tag">#folksong</a></p>

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142d

<p>Don Roberto: the Adventure of Being Cunninghame Graham<br>18 Nov, Carnoustie – free</p><p>Jamie Jauncey talks about his extraordinary great-great-uncle Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham – traveller, adventurer, politician, writer, etc. etc. – & asks why RBCG is so overlooked today</p><p><a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/don-roberto-the-adventure-of-being-cunninghame-graham-tickets-1674565473409" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/don-roberto-the-adventure-of-being-cunninghame-graham-tickets-1674565473409"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/don-rob</span><span class="invisible">erto-the-adventure-of-being-cunninghame-graham-tickets-1674565473409</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/19thcentury/" rel="tag">#19thcentury</a> <a href="/tags/20thcentury/" rel="tag">#20thcentury</a></p>

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140d

<p>Smoke in the woods<br>like someone walking in a silent film<br>beside the tracks…</p><p>—John Burnside, “Signal Stop, Near Horsley”<br>published in SELECTED POEMS (Cape, 2006)</p><p><a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/389400/selected-poems-by-burnside-john/9780224078030" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.penguin.co.uk/books/389400/selected-poems-by-burnside-john/9780224078030"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.penguin.co.uk/books/389400</span><span class="invisible">/selected-poems-by-burnside-john/9780224078030</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/poem/" rel="tag">#poem</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/winter/" rel="tag">#winter</a> <a href="/tags/johnburnside/" rel="tag">#JohnBurnside</a></p>

Signal Stop, Near Horsley
John Burnside

Smoke in the woods
like someone walking in a silent film
beside the tracks.

A shape I recognise – not smoke, or not just smoke,
and not just snow on hazels
or fox-trails from the platform to the trees,

but winter, neither friend
nor stranger, like the girl I sometimes glimpse

at daybreak near the crossing, in a dress
of sleet and berries, gazing at the train.

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313d

<p>Why Tolkien thought “sub-creation” was the secret to great fantasy and science fiction</p><p>According to Tolkien, fantasy requires a deep imagination known as “sub-creation.” And the genre reflects a fundamental truth of being human.</p><p>By Jonny Thomson</p><p><a href="https://bigthink.com/mini-philosophy/tolkien-fantasy-science-fiction/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="bigthink.com/mini-philosophy/tolkien-fantasy-science-fiction/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">bigthink.com/mini-philosophy/t</span><span class="invisible">olkien-fantasy-science-fiction/</span></a></p><p>Fantasy books at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/138" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/138"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subje</span><span class="invisible">ct/138</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

From The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald, illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith, 1920.

The image depicts a key moment from the story, such as Princess Irene interacting with Curdie, the miner boy.

Princess Irene is portrayed as a young girl with soft, flowing hair, wearing a nightgown.

Curdie is shown as a humble but earnest boy, likely in miner’s clothing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_literature#/media/File:Curdie_went_on_after_her,_flashing_his_torch_about..jpg

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1y

<p>"The sum of all human wisdom will be contained in these two words: Wait and hope."</p><p><a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> in 1844.</p><p>Alexandre Dumas père's near-recent historical adventure story Le Comte de Monte-Cristo begins serialization in the Paris newspaper Journal des débats, and continues through to January 1846. Book publication also begins this year.</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Count_of_Monte_Cristo" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Count_of_Monte_Cristo"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Coun</span><span class="invisible">t_of_Monte_Cristo</span></a></p><p>The Count of Monte Cristo at PG:<br><a href="https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Le+Comte+de+Monte-Cristo&submit_search=Go%21" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Le+Comte+de+Monte-Cristo&submit_search=Go%21"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?q</span><span class="invisible">uery=Le+Comte+de+Monte-Cristo&submit_search=Go%21</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

Title : Journal des débats politiques et littéraires
Publisher : [s.n.] (Paris)
Publication date : 1844-08-28
Relationship : http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb3929

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139d

<p>What are you going to do<br>With what is left of yourself<br>Now among the rustling<br>Of your maybe best years?</p><p>—WS Graham, “An Entertainment for WS Graham for Him Having Reached Sixty-Five”</p><p>The Modernist romantic poet W.S. Graham (1918–1986) was born <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a>, 19 November</p><p>A 🎂 🧵</p><p>1/7</p><p><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/145184/an-entertainment-for-ws-graham-for-him-having-reached-sixty-five" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/145184/an-entertainment-for-ws-graham-for-him-having-reached-sixty-five"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.poetryfoundation.org/poetr</span><span class="invisible">ymagazine/poems/145184/an-entertainment-for-ws-graham-for-him-having-reached-sixty-five</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/poem/" rel="tag">#poem</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/modernism/" rel="tag">#modernism</a> <a href="/tags/romanticism/" rel="tag">#romanticism</a> <a href="/tags/wsgraham/" rel="tag">#WSGraham</a></p>

An Entertainment for W.S. Graham for Him Having Reached Sixty-Five
by W. S. Graham

What are you going to do
With what is left of yourself
Now among the rustling
Of your maybe best years?
This is not an auto-elegy
With me pouring my heart
Out into where you
Differently stand or sit
On the Epidaurus steps.
What shall I say to myself
Having put myself down
On to a public page?

Where am I going now?
And where are you going
Tricked into reading
Words of my later life?
Let me pretend you are
Roughly of my age.
Are you a boy or a girl?
And what has happened to you?

Look at the chirping various
Leaves of Mr Graham’s
Spanking summer. Where are
You at? I know my face
Has changed. My hair has blanched
Into a wrong disguise
Sitting on top of my head.

Beside each other perched
On the Epidaurus steps.
Where am I going to go?
Shall I rise to follow
The thin sound of the goats
Tinkling their bells?

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139d

<p>Centre for Robert Burns Studies Conference<br>17 January, University of Glasgow – £25 (includes tea, coffee, lunch, & a toast) </p><p>A day conference exploring the life, work, & legacy of Robert Burns.This year, the conference theme is the Burns Supper: a global phenomenon that celebrates its 225th anniversary in 2026.</p><p>@litstudies </p><p><a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/centre-for-robert-burns-studies-conference-tickets-1851549627779" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/centre-for-robert-burns-studies-conference-tickets-1851549627779"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/centre-</span><span class="invisible">for-robert-burns-studies-conference-tickets-1851549627779</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/robertburns/" rel="tag">#RobertBurns</a> <a href="/tags/18thcentury/" rel="tag">#18thcentury</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/song/" rel="tag">#song</a> <a href="/tags/romanticism/" rel="tag">#romanticism</a> <a href="/tags/burnssupper/" rel="tag">#BurnsSupper</a></p>

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1y

<p>“The Crocodile,” Dostoevsky’s Weirdest Short Story.</p><p>Why being eaten by a crocodile named Little Karl is really a lesson in the dangers of foreign capital.</p><p>By: Emily Zarevich via @JSTOR_Daily </p><p><a href="https://daily.jstor.org/the-crocodile-dostoevskys-weirdest-short-story/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="daily.jstor.org/the-crocodile-dostoevskys-weirdest-short-story/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">daily.jstor.org/the-crocodile-</span><span class="invisible">dostoevskys-weirdest-short-story/</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

“The Crocodile,” Dostoevsky’s Weirdest Short Story.

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1y

<p>American activist and author Jane Addams died <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> in 1935.</p><p>Addams co-founded Hull House, one of America's most famous settlement houses, in Chicago, Illinois, providing extensive social services to poor, largely immigrant families. In 1910, Addams was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree from Yale University, becoming the first woman to receive an honorary degree from the school.</p><p>Books by Jane Addams at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/602" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/602"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho</span><span class="invisible">r/602</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

Sociologist, suffragette, social worker, philosopher, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jane Addams, in 1924 or 1926 (the way the date is written (mirror image, at top of the TIFF version) is probably 3-2-26, but could be 3-2-24.

An elderly woman wearing a black coat and hat stands on a boat, exuding a timeless elegance.

Title page of Newer ideals of peace by Jane Addams

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136d

<p>I’m truly sorry Man’s dominion<br>Has broken Nature’s social union,<br>An’ justifies that ill opinion,‍‍<br>‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍ ‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍Which makes thee startle,<br>At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,‍‍<br>‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍ ‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍An’ fellow-mortal!</p><p>—Robert Burns, “To a Mouse, On turning her up in her Nest, with the Plough, November 1785”</p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/poem/" rel="tag">#poem</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/robertburns/" rel="tag">#RobertBurns</a> <a href="/tags/scots/" rel="tag">#Scots</a> <a href="/tags/scotlsanguage/" rel="tag">#Scotlsanguage</a> <a href="/tags/environmentalism/" rel="tag">#environmentalism</a> <a href="/tags/naturewriting/" rel="tag">#naturewriting</a> <a href="/tags/18thcentury/" rel="tag">#18thCentury</a> <a href="/tags/romanticism/" rel="tag">#Romanticism</a> <a href="/tags/november/" rel="tag">#November</a> <a href="/tags/winter/" rel="tag">#winter</a></p>

To a Mouse, On turning her up in her Nest, with the Plough, November 1785.
Robert Burns

Wee, sleekit, cowran, tim’rous beastie,
O, what a panic’s in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,‍‍
Wi’ bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an’ chase thee‍‍
Wi’ murd’ring pattle!

I’m truly sorry Man’s dominion
Has broken Nature’s social union,
An’ justifies that ill opinion,‍‍
Which makes thee startle,
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,‍‍
An’ fellow-mortal!

I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen-icker in a thrave‍‍
’S a sma’ request:
I’ll get a blessin wi’ the lave,‍‍
An’ never miss’t!

Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin!
Its silly wa’s the win’s are strewin!
An’ naething, now, to big a new ane,‍‍
O’ foggage green!
An’ bleak December’s winds ensuin,‍‍
Baith snell an’ keen!

Thou saw the fields laid bare an’ waste,
An’ weary Winter comin fast,
An’ cozie here, beneath the blast,‍‍
Thou thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel coulter past‍‍
Out thro’ thy cell.

That wee-bit heap o’ leaves an’ stibble
Has cost thee monie a weary nibble!
Now thou’s turn’d out, for a’ thy trouble,‍‍
But house or hald,
To thole the Winter’s sleety dribble,‍‍
An’ cranreuch cauld!

But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men‍‍
Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,‍‍
For promis’d joy!

Still, thou art blest, compar’d wi’ me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But Och! I backward cast my e’e,‍‍
On prospects drear!
An’ forward, tho’ I canna see,‍‍
I guess an’ fear!

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1y

<p>American poet and playwright Georgia Douglas Johnson was born <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> in 1880.</p><p>Her first collection of poetry, "The Heart of a Woman" (1918), was one of the earliest books of poetry published by a Black woman in the United States. Her second volume, "Bronze" (1922), focuses more explicitly on racial issues, delving into the experiences of Black Americans and the injustices they faced in society. </p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Douglas_Johnson" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Douglas_Johnson"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_</span><span class="invisible">Douglas_Johnson</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/theatre/" rel="tag">#theatre</a></p>

In the portrait, Georgia Douglas Johnson is depicted as a poised and elegant woman, likely in her middle years during the height of her literary career. Her facial features are soft yet defined, with a composed and thoughtful expression. She might have short, wavy hair styled in a way that reflects the fashion of the early 20th century, which adds to her sense of modernity and sophistication.

Johnson would likely be dressed in a formal, yet stylish outfit, reflecting both her literary status and her role as a leading cultural figure. A brooch or simple piece of jewelry might also be present, adding a touch of personal style.

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