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Fiction

The three-part BBC series is scheduled to air later this year.

Charles Dickens Searched the Streets of London and Found Inspiration for His Evocative Fiction

A three-part BBC series will examine how real events shaped the 19th-century British author’s writing. The show is part of the National Year of Reading in the U.K.

A 1931 statue of the d'Artagnan in southwestern France

Cool Finds

Does This Skeleton Found Beneath a Dutch Church Belong to D’Artagnan, the Man Who Inspired ‘The Three Musketeers’?

Workers discovered the skeleton during recent repair work at the church in Maastricht. D’Artagnan died during the siege of the city in 1673

A 1631 copy of the Bible that includes the text "Thou shalt commit adultery."

Typos Have Plagued Us for Centuries. Just Ask the Publishers Who Printed the Seventh Commandment as ‘Thou Shalt Commit Adultery’ in 1631

A new exhibition at Yale Library explores the history of typos across five centuries. Visitors will see corrections that were listed inside copies of works by James Joyce, Upton Sinclair and Nicolaus Copernicus

Jessie Buckley in The Bride! (left) and Elsa Lanchester in Bride of Frankenstein (right)

In ‘Bride of Frankenstein,’ the Monster’s Wife Never Speaks. Now, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s ‘The Bride!’ Gives the Iconic Character a Voice

Directed by James Whale, the 1935 movie and its prequel, a 1931 adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel, laid the groundwork for the modern horror genre

A paperback copy of Wuthering Heights

Five Things to Know About ‘Wuthering Heights,’ Author Emily Brontë’s Only Novel

The famed 1847 book inspired numerous adaptations, including a new version directed by Emerald Fennell in theaters this week

Mass-market paperbacks reached their peak between the 1960s and the 1990s.

Have We Reached the Final Days of the Mass-Market Paperback?

One of the largest paperback distributors has decided to stop supporting the format, which has been making reading accessible to the masses since the 1930s

The bedroom is a reconstruction of the set of Fennell's film.

You Can Stay in Catherine Earnshaw’s Bright Pink Bedroom, Straight Out of the New ‘Wuthering Heights’ Movie

Airbnb is offering free three-night stays in the bedroom to three couples, who will also get lavish meals and a tour of England’s moors on horseback

Ada Blackjack was the only survivor of a 1921 expedition to Wrangel Island, a remote landmass above the Arctic Circle.

Meet 13 People Who Survived on Deserted Islands, From a Real-Life Robinson Crusoe to a Noblewoman Marooned With Her Lover

Ahead of the release of Sam Raimi’s “Send Help,” revisit the stories of Alexander Selkirk, Marguerite de la Rocque, the Tongan castaways and others who endured in remote locales

Portraits of Oscar Wilde taken in New York in 1882

Oscar Wilde’s Portraits, Poems, Letters and Manuscripts Head to Auction 125 Years After His Death

Other rare items, available for purchase in February, include illustrations, theater programs, telegrams and newspapers

The volume was one of 2,000 copies printed during the original 1865 run of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Lewis Carroll’s Personal Copy of ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ Returns to Its ‘Spiritual Home’ in Oxford

The book has been donated jointly to Christ Church and the Bodleian Library, which are both part of the University of Oxford

The protagonist of Louisa May Alcott's “A Christmas Dream, and How It Came True,” embarks on a journey much like Ebenzer Scrooge's in A Christmas Carol.

A Forgotten Louisa May Alcott Story Showcases the Author’s Twist on Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’

Written in 1882, “A Christmas Dream, and How It Came True,” covered many of the same themes as Dickens’ classic, albeit with a different audience in mind

A letter from Jane Austen to her sister, Cassandra, discussing the publication of Pride and Prejudice in 1813

Jane Austen’s Letters Are the Closest We Can Get to Her. What Do They Reveal About the ‘Pride and Prejudice’ Author?

This year marks the English novelist’s 250th birthday. Her hundreds of surviving letters—both real and fictional—offer valuable insights into her imaginative wit and enduring appeal

The Poseidon Adventure debuted in theaters 53 years ago. This stupendously implausible work of fiction grew from the fertile soil of fact, drawing inspiration from the RMS Queen Mary's tendency to tilt dangerously.

Based on a True Story

How a Near-Shipwreck on a Luxury Ocean Liner Inspired ‘The Poseidon Adventure’ and a Decade of Disaster Movies

Paul Gallico was on board the RMS “Queen Mary” when it almost capsized in 1937. The haunting experience shaped his best-selling 1969 novel and its 1972 film adaptation

Jane Austen's second novel, Pride and Prejudice, was published on January 28, 1813.

Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ Was Initially Rejected by a Publisher. It Later Became One of the World’s Most Beloved Novels

The British author wrote six novels, but it’s her second published book that has resonated the most in the 250 years since her birth in 1775

The front cover of Superman No. 1, the first issue in the first comic book series devoted to Superman

Three Brothers Found a 1939 Copy of ‘Superman No. 1’ in Their Mother’s Attic. It Just Became the Most Expensive Comic Book Ever Sold

When their mother was 9, she and her teenage brother had pooled their money to purchase the 10-cent comic book. By the time she died several years ago, she had forgotten where it was

 Margaret Hamilton wore the hat when she played the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz.

You Can Buy the Wicked Witch’s Hat That Actress Margaret Hamilton Wore in ‘The Wizard of Oz’

Heritage Auctions is selling several pieces of memorabilia connected to the land of Oz, including the witch’s hat from the 1939 film and a 1903 edition of the book signed by Judy Garland

Harper Lee's best-known work, To Kill A Mockingbird, has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide.

You Can Now Read Eight Previously Unseen Short Stories by Harper Lee, the Famed Author of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’

Released this week, “The Land of Sweet Forever” includes stories the author wrote in the years before her debut novel became an instant classic in 1960

A still from the 2005 film adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, featuring (left to right) Anna Popplewell, William Moseley and Georgie Henley as Susan, Peter and Lucy Pevensie

How World War II Influenced ‘The Chronicles of Narnia,’ C.S. Lewis’ Beloved Fantasy Novels

Published 75 years ago, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” tells the story of four children who are evacuated from London during the Blitz

László Krasznahorkai, seen here in Spain in 2018, won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature.

This Hungarian Author Once Wrote a 400-Page Book With a Single Period. Now, László Krasznahorkai Is a Nobel Prize Winner

The 71-year-old recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature is known for his long, winding sentences

E.Y. “Yip” Harburg's sketch for the lyrics of “Over the Rainbow"

Want to See the Original Lyrics for ‘Over the Rainbow’? All You Need Is a Library Card

The Library of Congress has acquired a collection of musical manuscripts and other rare artifacts connected to “The Wizard of Oz”

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