Eggplant.place

227d

On Being Ill at 100: Virginia Woolf’s ‘best essay’ still shapes how we read sickness

Woolf argues that illness is ‘the great confessional’ which is never talked about in literature.

by Lucyl Harrison

https://theconversation.com/on-being-ill-at-100-virginia-woolfs-best-essay-still-shapes-how-we-read-sickness-274061?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20January%2026%202026%20-%203655137341&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20January%2026%202026%20-%203655137341+CID_adf3f1b5c74478478c0668be85d67378&utm_source=campaign_monitor_uk&utm_term=On%20Being%20Ill%20at%20100%20Virginia%20Woolfs%20best%20essay%20still%20shapes%20how%20we%20read%20sickness

Virginia Woold at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/89

#books #literature

A portrait of Woolf by Roger Fry c. 1917.

Virginia faces the viewer with a slightly tilted head and a calm, introspective expression. Her dark hair is parted and swept back into soft, rounded shapes, framing a pale face with large, elongated eyes and lightly flushed cheeks. Her lips are small and red.

She wears a muted, loose-fitting jacket or cardigan over a darker blue garment, with a narrow green trim adding contrast along the edges. Her hands rest together in front of her.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Woolf#/media/File:Roger_Fry_-_Virginia_Woolf.jpg

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1y

This part really stuck with me while doing an immersive read of Paradise Lost tonight.

@bookstodon @reading #classiclit #ClassicLiterature #fiction #johnmilton #literature

O shame to men! Devil with devil damned firm concord holds; men only disagree of creatures rational, though under hope of heavily grace, and, God proclaiming peace, Yet live in hatred, enimity and strife among themselves, and levy cruel wars wasting the earth, each other to destroy: as if (which might induce us to accord) man had not hellish foes enow besides, that day and night for his destruction to wait!

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227d

When you have walked through a town, as an infantryman
you’ll never go through streets the same way again.

There is shoulder-ache from rifle-sling, and sore
butt-bruise, of bolt, on hip and thigh…

—“Infantryman”, by Colin McIntyre (1927–2012) – born #OTD, 27 January

Published in FROM THE LINE: Scottish War Poetry 1914–1945

https://asls.org.uk/publications/books/volumes/from_the_line/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #warpoetry #WW2

Infantryman
by Colin McIntyre

When you have walked through a town, as an infantryman
you'll never go through streets the same way again.

There is shoulder-ache from rifle-sling, and sore
butt-bruise, of bolt, on hip and thigh.

The walk comes somewhere between slope and slow hike,
a wary step, splay-footed, as drawers cellular,
catch in the crotch, twist centrifugally around.

Our lot moved at slow deliberate plod, eyes down, look out,
Ted walked on the left, looks right; I took the right,
looked left. Well spaced out, bloody tired all the time.

Ted and I had a reputation, in Four Section, for hitting
the deck, together, quick as a flash, at the first shell.
Ted had a nose for crossroads ranged by guns.

Infantrymen grow fat in later years, from never walking.
Ted would have become quite gross. But Ted's dead.
Stepped on an AP mine in champagne country.
Cheers, Ted, you old sod, you.

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227d

“It is a bold move to be so morally unflinching, especially in the face of a perceived aesthetic orthodoxy that so often privileges distance and irony, but in Glyph we see a major British writer answering the call of the day when so many others have equivocated or turned away.”

—GLYPH by Ali Smith: bearing witness to the war in Gaza

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/jan/27/glyph-by-ali-smith-review-bearing-witness-to-the-war-in-gaza

#Scottish #literature #Gaza #AliSmith #womenwriters

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1y

#OTD in 1888.

During Joseph Conrad's career at sea as Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, he departs from Bangkok for Sydney in his first command as master, on the British barque Otago. This provides a basis for his novella The Shadow Line (1916).

It was first published as a serial in New York's Metropolitan Magazine in the English Review and published in book form in 1917 in the UK and America.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shadow_Line_(novel)

The Shadow Line at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/451

#books #literature

First edition (UK) of Shadow Line by Joseph Conrad.

The title, The Shadow Line, is prominently displayed at the top in bold, dark lettering. Below the title, a red-bordered box contains text posing a mysterious question about the challenges faced by the captain and crew in passing latitude 8° 20' in the Far East.

Centered on the cover is a black-and-white portrait of Joseph Conrad, framed within a red rectangular border. He has a distinguished look with a mustache and beard.

At the bottom, the author’s name, Joseph Conrad, is printed in bold, capitalized letters on a red background, ensuring visibility.

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227d

“If these children need me in days of sunshine,
how much more do they need me in days of darkness?”
—Jane Haining

You rose each day at 5 a.m. to go
to market for their food, sliced your leather
luggage into strips they’d use for soles
on worn-out shoes…

“In Days of Darkness”, a poem by Stuart A. Paterson for Holocaust Memorial Day

https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/days-darkness/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #Holocaust #HolocaustRemembrance #HolocaustMemorialDay

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186d

Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.

Omar Khayyam

@bookstodon
#books #literature #bookstodon

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1y

Happy birthday Shakespeare (born #OTD in 1564)!

#OTD in 1932. To mark Shakespeare's birthday:

The Royal Shakespeare Company's new theatre opens at Stratford-upon-Avon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Shakespeare_Company

The Folger Shakespeare Library opens in Washington, D.C.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folger_Shakespeare_Library

Shakespeare at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/65

#books #literature #theatre

Artistic depiction of the Shakespeare family, late 19th century

Perine, George Edward, 1837-1885, printmaker. - engraved for the Eclectic by Perine & Giles.

Illustration of William Shakespeare reciting his play Hamlet to his family. His wife, Anne Hathaway, is sitting in the chair on the right; his son Hamnet is behind him on the left; his two daughters Susanna and Judith are on the right and left of him. (Hamnet shown younger than his twin, Judith, as he had died a few years before Hamlet was written).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare#/media/File:Shakespeare's_family_circle.jpg

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226d

Reading Scotland with Gioia Angeletti: Early 19th-century Scottish Migration Literature
3 Feb, free online

Examining how Scotland’s experience of “internal colonialism” after the 1707 Union shaped its literary engagement with empire & migration during the long eighteenth century

@litstudies

https://www.scotland.uni-mainz.de/reading-scotland/

#Scottish #literature #18thcentury #19thcentury #migration #empire #imperialism #colonialism #nationalidentity

Reading Scotland
with Gioia Angeletti

Early 19th-century Scottish Migration Literature

Tuesday, 3rd February 2026
6.00–7.00pm (German time) on MS Teams

www.scotland.uni-mainz.de

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1y

What Is Rousseau’s Social Contract Theory? (Definition & Criticisms)

Rousseau’s social contract theory advocates for collective sovereignty, freedom, and equality through the general will for a just society.

By Viktoriya Sus

https://www.thecollector.com/rousseau-social-contract-theory-definition/

The Social Contract at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46333

#books #literature #philosophy

1766 portrait of Rousseau wearing an Armenian papakha and costume, Allan Ramsay

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86d

Was Mill anti-traditional?

And was Hayek suffering from the burden of the past...?

by Henry Oliver

https://www.commonreader.co.uk/p/was-mill-anti-traditional

Books by John Stuart Mill at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1705

#Books #Literature

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1y

The Authorship Debate: Who Is the Real Shakespeare?

The Shakespeare Authorship Debate concerns the ongoing mystery as to the true author of the plays, sonnets and other works attributed to William Shakespeare of Stratford Upon Avon.

By Lauren Jones

https://www.thecollector.com/the-authorship-debate-who-is-the-real-shakespeare/

Shakespeare at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/65

#books #literature #drama

Portrait of William Shakespeare by John Taylor, edited.

The Portrait of William Shakespeare by John Taylor, commonly known as the Chandos Portrait, is one of the most famous and widely accepted depictions of the playwright. Created in the early 17th century, it is an oil painting on canvas and is believed to be the only portrait of Shakespeare painted during his lifetime.

The portrait features Shakespeare with a slightly receding hairline, dark, wavy hair, and a mustache and goatee.

He wears a black doublet with a white collar, and a gold hoop earring in his left ear, which was fashionable among Elizabethan gentlemen and artists.

His expression is calm and introspective, with dark eyes that appear to gaze directly at the viewer.

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1y

7 Out-of-This-World Facts About Ray Bradbury’s ‘The Martian Chronicles’

The fix-up novel, which turns 75 this year, would become one of Bradbury’s most famous books—and inspire future scientists.

By Lorna Wallace

https://www.mentalfloss.com/ray-bradbury-martian-chronicles-book-facts

#books #literature

Publicity photo of Ray Bradbury from the television progam Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1959.

It shows him as a middle-aged man with a youthful yet intellectual demeanor. Bradbury, known for his iconic works such as Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles, typically had neatly combed hair and wore thick, dark-framed glasses, which contributed to his scholarly appearance.

In this black-and-white image, he is dressed in a suit, appropriate for the formal nature of television appearances in the late 1950s.

His expression is serious yet approachable, reflecting his deep imagination and storytelling prowess.

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1y

In February 1929.

The first of Margery Allingham's crime novels to feature Albert Campion, The Crime at Black Dudley (U.S. title: The Black Dudley Murder), is published in the UK. It introduces Albert Campion, her misleadingly vapid detective, who would go on to appear in another 18 novels and many short stories over the next 30 years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crime_at_Black_Dudley

Books by Margery Allingham at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Margery+Allingham&submit_search=Search

#books #literature

First edition of The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham.

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1y

From February to August 1929.

Voltaire's Candide (1759) is held to be obscene by the United States Customs Service in Boston.

Immediately after its secretive publication, the book was widely banned because of its religious blasphemy, political sedition, and intellectual hostility hidden under a thin veil of naivety.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candide

Candide at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/19942

#books #literature

This was a frontispiece of Voltaire's Candide, or Optimism. It reads, "Candide, or Optimism. Translated from the German of Dr. Ralph."

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133d

The Fairytale Language of the Brothers Grimm

By Chi Luu

How the Brothers Grimm went hunting for fairytales, accidentally changed the course of historical linguistics, and kickstarted a new field of scholarship in folklore

https://daily.jstor.org/the-fairytale-language-of-the-brothers-grimm/?utm_source=mcae&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=jstordaily_04302026

Brothers Grimm at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Brothers+Grimm

#Books #Literature #Philology #Folklore

IN: Snowdrop & Other Tales

Author: Jacob Grimm

Wilhelm Grimm

Illustrator: Arthur Rackham

Arthur Rackham illustration (c. 1909). A cloaked girl clings to an icy, crystalline cliff edge above a swirling, richly patterned sea under a starlit night sky. Signature visible lower left.

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/37381/pg37381-images.html

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224d

A History of Existential Anxiety

From medieval theology to modern philosophy, dread has long been a guide for living ethically.

By: Livia Gershon

https://daily.jstor.org/a-history-of-existential-anxiety/

Original article:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/44017151?mag=a-history-of-existential-anxiety&seq=1

Kierkegaard, Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/46682
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/47157
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Margery+Kempe

#books #literature #philosophy #religion

The Sacrifice of Isaac, Tobias and the Angel, The Angels Appearing to Abraham, Abraham Welcoming the Three Angels (painting series).

This series of paintings predominantly tells the Old Testament story of Abraham and Isaac, and each of the canvases treats the interaction of humans and angels. In three works, angels appear to Abraham and, in one particularly dramatic canvas, an angel intercepts Abraham before he sacrifices his own son. Like another work in this series, Tobias and the Angels, the Sacrifice of Isaac is a narrative about fathers and sons as well as obedience inspired by faith.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Francesco_Guardi_-_The_Sacrifice_of_Isaac,_Tobias_and_the_Angel,_The_Angels_Appearing_to_Abraham,_Abraham_Welcoming_the_Three_Angels_(painting_series)_-_1952.235_-_Cleveland_Museum_of_Art.tiff

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1y

"Little Brother" von Cory Doctorow ( @pluralistic ) handelt davon, wie schnell die eigene Heimat zum Feindstaat werden kann, wenn die Freiheit der Sicherheit untergeordnet wird. Und davon wie schnell die Technik, die uns ermächtigt und vernetzt, zum Mittel der Überwachung und Unterdrückung werden kann. Dabei macht Doctorow Mut mit den Mitteln der Technik für die Demokratie zu kämpfen. #bücherwabe #chemnitz #bücher #literatur #lesen #books #literature #bookstodon #scifi #politik #politics

$Ein Bild der Bücherwabe im Schaufenster der Buchhandlung am Brühl. Es sind neun Bücher zu sehen: Ursula K. LeGuin: The Word for World is Forest, Stefan Heym: Schwarzenberg, Leaf\Lawson: Ferdinand, Norbert Bobbio: Rechts und Links, Arne Semsrott: Machtübernahme, Magdalena Sorger: Ameisen, Hannah Arendt: Menschen in finsteren Zeiten, Cory Doctorow: Little Brother (Aufstand), Mely Kiyak: Werden sie uns mit FlixBus deportieren?$

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220d

The Wigtown Poetry Prizes offer awards for poetry in all three of Scotland’s languages. The 2026 competitions are open for submission from today (2 Feb) until 6 May

https://www.wigtownpoetryprize.com/poetry-competition

#Scottish #literature #poetry #competition #writing #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #Scots #Scotslanguage

Wigtown Poetry Prizes

Founded in 2005, the Wigtown Poetry Prizes are some of the UK's best established writing competitions, offering awards in all three of Scotland’s languages with a prize pot of over £3000. The 2026 prizes mark 21 years of Wigtown Poetry Prizes and over £50,000 awarded to emerging and established poets.

The competition opens on 2 February and closes on 6 May 2026, with a prize-giving at Wigtown Book Festival in the autumn. We hope to see you there.

Wigtown International Prize: £1500
Runner-up: £200

Wigtown Scots Prize: £500
Runner-up: £200
Supported by Saltire Society

Wigtown Scottish Gaelic Prize: £500
Runner-up: £200
Supported by The Gaelic Books Council

Dumfries & Galloway Fresh Voice Award
Professional support including mentoring by Wigtown Festival Company and a retreat at Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre

Alastair Reid Pamphlet Prize
30 copies of a pamphlet of your work set by Gerry Cambridge
Supported by The Dark Horse Magazine

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222d

THAT PROMETHEAN SPARK
The Bottle Imp – Muriel Spark special issue

Muriel Spark was born #OTD, 1 Feb, 1918

“With a writing career that included biography, criticism, drama and short fiction as well as novels, Muriel Spark was never one to do things by halves…”

A 🎂 🧵

1/18

https://www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2017/11/that-promethian-spark/

#Scottish #literature #MurielSpark #20thCentury #WomenWriters

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1y

#OTD in 1776.

Scottish political economist Adam Smith's book The Wealth of Nations, the first modern work in economics, was published.

It has become a fundamental work in classical economics, and has been described as "the first formulation of a comprehensive system of political economy".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wealth_of_Nations

Wealth of Nations at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3300

#books #literature #economy

The full title reads:

"An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations",
by Adam Smith, LL.D. and F.R.S.,
Formerly Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of Glasgow.

The title is arranged in a centered layout, using a combination of capital and small capital letters, reflecting the typographic conventions of the time. Below the author’s name and credentials, the volume number (as the work was published in two volumes) is indicated.

At the bottom of the page is the publication information, which reads:

"London: Printed for W. Strahan; and T. Cadell in the Strand. MDCCLXXVI."

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220d

An Enduring Source of Inspiration: In Search of Proust’s Legacy in Ireland

Max McGuinness Explores the French Writer’s Influence on Generations of Irish Literature

https://lithub.com/an-enduring-source-of-inspiration-in-search-of-prousts-legacy-in-ireland/

Marcel Proust at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/987

#books #literature

First galley proof of A la recherche du temps perdu: Du côté de chez Swann with handwritten revision notes by Marcel Proust (1871 - 1922). Auctioned by Christie's in July 2000 for £663,750 — a world record for a French literary manuscript.

This document shows:
Printer's proofs that Proust received for correction before final publication
Handwritten additions, deletions, and annotations throughout
Typeset text in columns with Proust's notes in margins and between lines
Shows Proust's creative process in action
The paper shows its age and the intensity of Proust's work

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%80_la_recherche_du_temps_perdu#/media/Fichier:MS_A_la_recherche_du_temps_perdu.jpg

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1y

#OTD in 1896.

While Oscar Wilde is in prison, his play Salome (written in 1891) is premièred in its original French by Lugné-Poe's Théâtre de l'Œuvre company in Paris, perhaps at the Comédie-Parisienne. Because the play depicted biblical characters it was banned in Britain and was not performed publicly there until 1931.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salome_(play)

Salomé at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1339

#books #literature #theatre

Illustration by Aubrey Beardsley for the first English edition of the play (1894).

The image depicts Salomé holding the severed head of John the Baptist (also known as Jokanaan) on a platter.

She gazes at it with a mixture of fascination and satisfaction, while dark liquid (presumably blood) drips from the head onto the pedestal below.

Her elaborate gown, accessories, and stylized hair reflect the Art Nouveau aesthetic, infused with Beardsley’s signature decadence and eroticism.

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1y

In February 1919.

Richmal Crompton's anarchic English schoolboy William Brown is introduced in the first published Just William story, "Rice-Mould", in Home magazine. The books were published over a period of almost fifty years, between 1922 and 1970.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_William

Just William at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34414

#books #literature

Just William original cover.

The original cover of Just William by Richmal Crompton features a bright red background with bold yellow text at the top that reads "JUST WILLIAM". Below, the author's name, "RICHMAL CROMPTON", appears in large white letters. A subtitle in yellow text at the bottom highlights that this is "The first EVER William book!".

At the center of the cover is an illustration of a cheerful young boy, William Brown, with a mischievous smile. He is wearing a green jacket, a white shirt, a red and yellow striped tie, and a blue-and-white cap that is slightly askew.

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1y

French mathematician and philosopher René Descartes died #OTD in 1650.

He is known for his influential arguments for substance dualism, where mind and body are considered to have distinct essences, one being characterized by thought, the other by spatial extension. He has been dubbed the "Father of Modern Philosophy" and the "Father of Modern Mathematics."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Descartes

Books by René Descartes at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/44

#books #literature #philosophy #mathematics