literature

1y

"Il y a aujourd'hui trois cent quarante-huit ans six mois et dix-neuf jours que les parisiens s'éveillèrent au bruit de toutes les clochés sonnant à grande volée dans la triple enceinte de la Cité, de l'Université et de la Ville."

#OTD in 1831.

Victor Hugo's historical romantic Gothic novel Notre-Dame de Paris, known in English as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, is published by Gosselin in Paris.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunchback_of_Notre-Dame

Notre-Dame de Paris at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/2610

#books #literature

The main characters depicted in a frontispiece illustration by Aimé de Lemud (Notre-Dame de Paris, Perrotin éditeur, Garnier frères, 1844).

Aimé de Lemud - This image comes from the Gallica online library under ARK identifier bpt6k15139651/f13

illustration by Aimé de Lemud for the frontispiece of Victor Hugo's novel Notre-Dame de Paris, Perrotin éditeur, Garnier frères, 1844.

Illustration from Victor Hugo et son temps (1881)

Luc-Olivier Merson (1846–1920) - Here

Drawing of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, showing the recently restored galerie des chimères.

A cloaked figure, likely Claude Frollo, the archdeacon in Hugo's novel, is standing on a high balcony or gallery of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

He is leaning against the balustrade, looking pensively over the cityscape of medieval Paris, with rooftops, chimneys, and the Seine River visible in the background.

Surrounding him are several gargoyle sculptures, which are iconic elements of Gothic architecture and Notre-Dame itself.

1 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

287d

Take Four Books: Ali Smith
Available on BBC Sounds.

Ali Smith speaks to Take Four Books about her latest novel, GLYPH. Together with presenter James Crawford, they explore its connections to three other literary works.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002qgmj

#Scottish #literature #AliSmith #womenwriters

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

"Hope is itself a species of happiness, and, perhaps, the chief happiness which this world affords."
Letter (8 June 1762) [to an unnamed recipient], p. 103

#OTD in 1906.

J. M. Dent and Co. initiates the U.K. Everyman's Library series, edited by Ernest Rhys. The first title is Boswell's Life of Johnson.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everyman%27s_Library

Life of Samuel Johnson at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/1564

#books #literature

Title page to the 1791 first edition The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D, as found on the Google Books scan of the Bodleian Library copy.

Henry Baldwin - https://books.google.com/books?id=P-INAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA327#v=onepage&q&f=false

The title is in a large, serif font, with variations in font size and capitalization for emphasis.

"The Life of Samuel Johnson" is prominently displayed.

“LL.D.” follows Johnson’s name, denoting his honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
Boswell’s name is given with "Esq." (Esquire), a common 18th-century honorific.

A Latin quotation (often included in scholarly works of the time) appears below the author’s name.

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

#OTD in 1824.

Lord Byron falls ill at Missolonghi while taking part in the Greek War of Independence. He dies of fever on April 19. The Greeks mourned Lord Byron deeply, and he became a hero.

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

Books by Lord Byron at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1708

A Narrative of Lord Byron's Last Journey to Greece by Pietro Gamba (1825):
https://catalogue.beic.it/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma9926855804741&context=L&vid=39BEIC_INST:39BEIC_INST&lang=it&search_scope=Library&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=LibraryCatalog&query=any,contains,A%20Narrative%20of%20Lord%20Byron%27s%20Last%20Journey%20to%20Greece%20by%20Pietro%20Gamba%20(1825)

#books #literature

The reception of Lord Byron at Missolonghi.

Theodoros Vryzakis - https://www.nationalgallery.gr/artwork/i-ypodochi-tou-lordou-vyrona-sto-mesolongi/

Byron is depicted in a grand and heroic manner, wearing traditional Greek attire, symbolizing his deep admiration for the Greek cause.

Byron is surrounded by Greek freedom fighters, dressed in traditional foustanella skirts, capes, and turbans, showing the diverse Greek factions.

Greek Orthodox clergy are present, emphasizing the role of the Church in the revolution.

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

In February 1827.

Thomas De Quincey's essay On Murder Considered as one of the Fine Arts is published in Blackwood's Magazine. The essays are a satirical account of a gentleman's club that celebrates homicide from an aesthetic perspective. The Ratcliff Highway murders committed by John Williams in 1811 are a keystone throughout the series.

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

At PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/10708

#books #literature

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine 1827-02: Vol 21 Iss 122

Publication date 1827-02

Topics Language & Literature, Magazines, microfilm

Publisher Blackwood Pillans and Wilson

https://archive.org/details/sim_blackwoods-magazine_1827-02_21_122/page/199/mode/1up

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

207d

You’ve lived this life before

The mystical insight came to Nietzsche like a lightning flash: time eternally recurs – and life must be lived accordingly

by Mark Higgins

https://aeon.co/essays/the-mysticism-of-nietzsches-doctrine-of-the-eternal-return?utm_source=Aeon+Newsletter&utm_campaign=823c9d5cab-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2026_04_14&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-4ef8a26106-72664972

Nietzsche at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/779

#books #literature #philosophy

Mountain Landscape

by Alexandre Calame
1830 – 1847

A narrow valley opens between dark, rocky slopes, with a still pool of water catching the light below. To the right, tall trees glow golden against a pale luminous sky. Distant peaks recede into haze.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Berglandschap,_objectnr_SA_267.tif?page=1

1 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

281d

Examining the “Edinburgh University Coterie”: Networks of Cultural Influence in the 1790s and 1800s
11 Feb, Edinburgh & online. Free

Dr Amy Wilcockson’s ongoing IASH project explores a remarkable circle of Edinburgh University classmates who brought Scottish ideas, ideals & stories to the heart of British culture

https://www.iash.ed.ac.uk/event/dr-amy-wilcockson-examining-‘edinburgh-university-coterie’-networks-cultural-influence-1790s

#Scottish #literature #history #culture #18thcentury #19thcentury #Edinburgh

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

207d

Agnes Owens in the archives
23 April, National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh. Free

2026 is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Agnes Owens, described by Alasdair Gray in 2003 as “the most unfairly neglected of all living Scottish authors.”

Explore the collections left behind by Owens, & learn how her archives are being used to reappraise her legacy & secure her status as a major Scottish literary figure.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/agnes-owens-in-the-archives-tickets-1983616132249

#Scottish #literature #womenwriters #AgnesOwens #archives

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

281d

He saw the weather written on the pane
as he buckled on his gaiters,
shouldering the hammer to walk the lane
spooked with his breath, to the pond
at the extremity of his acres…

—Lorn Macintyre, “Bonspiel”
published in Snowball in Summer (Argyll, 2009)

https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/bonspiel/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #curling #WinterOlympics #WinterSports #winter #bonspiel

Bonspiel
Lorn Macintyre

He saw the weather written on the pane
as he buckled on his gaiters,
shouldering the hammer to walk the lane
spooked with his breath, to the pond
at the extremity of his acres.
The hammer bounced on the ice
a dozen times before he was certain
that it would bear the weight.
He took the pungent moth-balls
from the pockets of his plus-fours
before sending the serving-man
with a message round the doors:
‘Bonspiel at Murdo’s pond, tomorrow, noon.’

They came on foot, on horseback, by trap,
ladies in breeches, ploughmen with twine
lashing their shins for the only game
in the district. The shelves in the brick shed
were lined with stones like ancient cheeses,
each one owned by a chalked name.
Men down on a knee, as if proposing,
send the stone slithering across the ice,
its way hastened by scrabbling brooms.
Stones clash, and by the pond’s edge
a brazier offers searing chestnuts.

The pond has leached into the earth now,
reverting to a bog. In the bracken
I uncover the brazier’s rusted remains,
like a cauldron from an abandoned coven.
The door of the shed hangs off its hinges.
I lift down a stone from the dusty shelves,
the granite cracked from the collision
in the forgotten bonspiel. As I send it
spinning across the floor I hear
the roar, and through the broken window
see a beauty brushing up her game.

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

193d

‘Everything Everyday’ – Poetry as Journalistic and Political Device with Hannah Lavery

RJ Hunter chats with former Edinburgh Makar, published poet and theatre-maker, Hannah Lavery, about her new collection Everything Everyday: A Year of Empty Promises and how poetry can lend itself to use as a journaling device.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JU2xdfLKDs

#Scottish #literature #poetry

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

149d

Today they laid him in the earth's cold colour,
a man from Lewis with his seventy-five
years struck from his head. Teacher, scholar,
he had worked a true task when all alive…

—Iain Crichton Smith, “For Angus MacLeod”
Published in New Collected Poems (Carcanet, 2011)

Iain Crichton Smith, himself a teacher, commemorates the life of a former Headmaster of Oban High School

Today, 17 June, is Thank a Teacher Day

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #teaching #teachers #ThankATeacherDay

Iain Crichton Smith

For Angus MacLeod
Headmaster, and Editor of Gaelic Poems

Today they laid him in the earth's cold colour,
a man from Lewis with his seventy-five
years struck from his head. Teacher, scholar,
he had worked a true task when all alive,

building a school, elucidating texts.
The Gaelic shone quite clearly in his bones.
A casket filled with ashes had been mixed
with filtered sunlight and the small stones.

A useful life with pupils and with poems:
sufficient honours (his humour asked no more)
he takes his place in many minds and rooms.
Without their knowing it, his patient care

instructs far hands to turn a new lever,
a voice to speak in a mild-mannered tone.
The deeds we do reverberate forever.
Inveterate justice weighs the flesh and bone.

His best editions are some men and women
who scrutinise each action like a word.
The truest work is learning to be human
definitive texts the poorest can afford.

Edited 149d ago

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

#OTD in 1836 (dated April)

The first monthly part of The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens is issued in London. On April 20, the original illustrator, Robert Seymour, shoots himself and Dickens has more freedom to develop the story in his own way.

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

The Pickwick Papers at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=The+Pickwick+Papers&submit_search=Search

#books #literature

Cover of serial, "Pickwick Club" by Charles Dickens.

Typical cover illustrations depict Mr. Samuel Pickwick, the kind-hearted and portly founder of the club, along with his fellow club members—Mr. Tupman, Mr. Snodgrass, and Mr. Winkle. They are often dressed in 19th-century attire, engaged in comical or exaggerated activities, such as traveling in a carriage, engaging in lively discussions, or encountering eccentric characters.

Many editions feature artwork inspired by the original illustrations by Hablot Knight Browne (known as Phiz) or Robert Seymour, who initially illustrated the novel. The scenes on the cover typically capture the novel’s lighthearted and satirical tone, emphasizing Dickens’s signature blend of humor and social commentary.

Edited 1y ago

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

207d

The Wee Sparrow Poetry Podcast: Niall Campbell

In this episode, Claire Thom chats to Niall Campbell about his collection The Island in the Sound, which was shortlisted for the 2025 Forward Prize for Best Collection & the Saltire Society Poetry Book of the Year, & longlisted for the 2024 Highland Book Prize.

https://theweesparrowpoetrypress.substack.com/p/episode-72-niall-campbell

#Scottish #literature #poetry #podcast

Edited 207d ago

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

#OTD in 1920.

This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald sets him up as a writer and celebrity. An initial 3,000 copies sell out in three days. The book's reputation dims in later years, but Dorothy Parker will recall that it was seen as innovative when it first appeared.

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

This Side of Paradise at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/805

#books #literature

Cover of Fitzgerald's 1920 novel, This Side of Paradise, by illustrator W. E. Hill. The cover's title text is in white font, and the background is dark yellow.

The cover depicts a haughty young woman wearing a white dress and holding a hand fan with large white feathers.

Behind her, a dashing young man in a dark suit, white shirt, and black bow tie is leaning forward as if to whisper in her ear.

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

"She belonged to a different age, but being so entire, so complete, would always stand up on the horizon, stone-white, eminent, like a lighthouse marking some past stage on this adventurous, long, long voyage, this interminable — this interminable life."

#OTD in 1915.

Virginia Woolf's first novel, The Voyage Out, is published in London by the firm of her half-brother, Gerald Duckworth.

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

The Voyage Out at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/144

#books #literature

Cover of the first edition of w:Virginia Woolf's w:The Voyage Out, Duckworth & Co., London, 1915.

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

178d

This chaumert cairn kists bitties
O oor bricht an battert past—
A things that Scots hae keepit or drappit or lost
Or couldna tak wi them when they deed
Or went awa for guid…

—Jim Alison, “Ingaunees”
originally published as a poster for The National Museum of Scotland

Today, 18 May, is International Museum Day

https://icom.museum/en/international-museum-day-2/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #Scots #Scotslanguage #museum #LewisChessmen #archaeology #InternationalMuseumDay

Ingaunees
by Jim Alison

This chaumert cairn kists bitties
O oor bricht an battert past—
A things that Scots hae keepit or drappit or lost
Or couldna tak wi them when they deed
Or went awa for guid.

Dootless there’s ither grand ingaunees ootby
In Russia, India an sic fremmit fields
Whaur gangrel skelfs an shards o Scotland skinkle
Or gether stoor on shelves.

A feel fur thon wee Lewis keelies stuck in Lunnon
Goggle-e’ed wi chowin the taps aff their shields,
Haimseek fur Norroway ower the faem.

One of the Lewis Chessmen. Carved from walrus ivory, probably in the 12th century. This chesspiece depicts an armoured warrior – quilted armour or perhaps chain-mail is suggested by diagonal cross-hatched lines inscribed into the long coat, which also forms a hood over the character's head. He holds a full-length kite-shaped shield in front of him, bearing an X-shaped cross made of four interwoven lines. Holding a sword in his right hand, clutched close against his body, the warrior's outsized face stares over the top of the shield, his eyes wide. His top set of teeth are visible, chewing at his shield in berserker battle-frenzy.

2 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

Literary Genius: Who Was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe?

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is the most influential German literary figure in history. Learn more about his life, science, and philosophy.

By Maysara Kamal

https://www.thecollector.com/literary-genius-who-was-johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/

Books by Goethe at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/586

#books #literature

Goethe in 1828, by Joseph Karl Stieler.

He is dressed in a dark, buttoned-up coat with a white high-collared shirt underneath, reflecting the refined fashion of the early 19th century.

A decorative chain and a red brooch adorn his attire, indicating his status and prestige.

In his right hand, he holds a piece of paper with handwritten text, symbolizing his literary and intellectual contributions.

2 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

#OTD in 1862.

The first two volumes of Victor Hugo's epic historical novel Les Misérables appear in Brussels, followed on April 3 by Paris publication, with the remaining volumes on May 15. The first English-language translations, by Charles Edwin Wilbour, are published in New York on June 7, and by Frederic Charles Lascelles Wraxall, in London in October.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Mis%C3%A9rables

Les Misérables at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Les+Mis%C3%A9rables&submit_search=Search

#books #literature

Émile Bayard, Cosette sweeping, 1862, reproduced in Victor Hugo, Les Misérables (London, G. Routledge and Sons), 1887. Rare Books Collection, State Library of Victoria.

2 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

149d

Call for participants: National Theatre of Scotland at 20 – Culture, Democracy, & the Stateless Nation
23 October 2026, Edinburgh

This one-day Unconference invites participants from across academia, theatre, literature, politics, activism, as well as cultural & community organisations, to explore the role of theatre, literature, & cultural institutions in shaping & protecting Scotland’s democratic life

https://www.iash.ed.ac.uk/news/call-participants-nts-20-culture-democracy-and-stateless-nation-unconference

#Scottish #literature #theatre #democracy #community #academia

Poster

23 October 2026
Scottish Storytelling Centre

National Theatre of Scotland at 20:
Culture, Democracy, and the Stateless Nation

A day of conversations exploring the role of theatre, literature and the arts in shaping and protecting Scotland's democratic life

Image: a scene from the play "The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart", by David Greig. In a village hall, surrounded by seated onlookers, a woman in a pale blue dress stands up, lifts her arms, and flings scraps of white paper into the air.

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

Time Interpolated

A companion essay to our partner podcast Proust Curious, hosted by Emma Claussen and Hannah Weaver.

via @lithub

https://www.publicbooks.org/time-interpolated/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_id=01JZ8JEHVTREMXDDYHMPZ4W5ZA&_kx=3MZUehzXM-41qlWAMPUiuNZadX2p0SByuNf_t0eMLB0.U5D8ER

In Search of Lost Time at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=In+Search+of+Lost+Time

#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).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Search_of_Lost_Time#/media/File:MS_A_la_recherche_du_temps_perdu.jpg

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

206d

When the yellow’s on the broom, when the yellow’s on the broom,
Oh, I’ll tak’ ye on the road again when the yellow’s on the broom…

—Adam McNaughtan, “Yellow on the Broom”

The song was inspired by Betsy Whyte’s 1979 autobiography THE YELLOW ON THE BROOM: The Early Days of a Traveller Woman

1/3

#Scottish #literature #song #folksong #travellers

Yellow on the Broom

I ken ye dinna like it, lass, tae winter here in toun
For the scaldies aye miscry us and they try tae pit us doon,
And it’s hard tae raise three bairnies in a single flea-box room,
But I’ll tak ye on the road again when yellow’s on the broom.

When yellow’s on the broom, when yellow’s on the broom,
I’ll tak ye on the road again when yellow’s on the broom.

The scaldies cry us ‘tinker dirt’ and sconce oor bairns at school,
But wha cares what a scaldy says for a scaldy’s just a fool.
They never hear the yarlin’s sang nor see the flax in bloom,
For they’re aye cooped up in hooses when yellow’s on the broom.

When yellow’s on the broom, when yellow’s on the broom,
For they’re aye cooped up in hooses when yellow’s on the broom.

Nae sales for pegs and baskets noo, so just tae stay alive
We’ve had tae work at scaldy jobs frae nine o’clock ’til five.
But we caa nae man oor master, for we own the warld’s room,
And we’ll bid fareweel tae Brechin, when yellow’s on the broom.

When yellow’s on the broom, when yellow’s on the broom,
We’ll bid fareweel tae Brechin, when yellow’s on the broom.

I’m weary for the springtime, when we’ll tak the road aince mair
Tae the plantin and the pearlin, aye, and the berry fields o Blair,
There we’ll meet wi all our kinfolk, frae aa the country roon,
When the ganaboot folk tak the road, and yellow’s on the broom.

When yellow’s on the broom, when yellow’s on the broom,
When the ganaboot folk tak the road, and yellow’s on the broom.

Common or Scotch Broom – a shrub with stiff, dark green stems and a profusion of bright yellow flowers

1 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

Lost and Found: A Newly Discovered Poem by Robert Frost

Nothing New,” which the American poet wrote in 1918, is published for the first time in The New Yorker’s Anniversary Issue.

By Jay Parini

https://www.newyorker.com/books/double-take/lost-and-found-a-newly-discovered-poem-by-robert-frost

#books #literature #poetry

Frost in 1949

Walter Albertin, World Telegram staff photographer - Library of Congress. New York World-Telegram & Sun Collection.

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c20741

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robert_Frost_NYWTS_4.jpg

Frost appears as an elderly man with white, slightly disheveled hair, deep-set eyes, and a contemplative expression.

His face shows signs of age, with visible wrinkles that add to his distinguished and wise appearance.

He is dressed in a suit and tie, reflecting his formal yet approachable persona.

1 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

A Journey Through Dante’s Inferno: A Brief Guide

by Thom Delapa

Dante’s Inferno is hailed as a medieval masterpiece and a precursor to the Renaissance, with T.S. Eliot having ranked it alongside Shakespeare.

https://www.thecollector.com/journey-through-dante-inferno/

#books #literature #medieval

Inferno, Canto XXXIII–XXXIV by Andrea di Cione di Orcagna

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

"Give me a little less
with every dawn."

Marjorie Lotfi performs John Burnside's "Prayer" in a film directed by Savannah Acquah, from a new series from the ‪Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation & the Writers’ Mosaic

https://www.brinkerhoffpoetry.org/poems/prayer

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #JohnBurnside

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

280d

Book launch: THE DELUSIONS by Jenni Fagan
16 March, Edinburgh. Tickets from £8

Jenni Fagan launches her new novel THE DELUSIONS, a haunting dystopian vision that revolves around afterlife employee Edi’s attempts to be reunited with her deceased son.

“Brilliant, original, daring, a 1984 for the afterlife and a fabulous satire.”'
—Irvine Welsh

https://www.toppingbooks.co.uk/events/edinburgh/jenni-fagan-2026/

#Scottish #literature #JenniFagan #womenwriters #booklaunch #Edinburgh #afterlife

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

Previous Page Next Page