Literature

Savannah, Georgia during the Civil War. The southern landscape is often a key element of southern gothic fiction.

Why People Love Southern Gothic

From the 19th century to S-Town, it’s a compelling genre that’s as flawed as its most grotesque characters

The practical advice in the handbook was intended to help married couples from having too many children.

This Infamous 19th-Century Birth Control Pamphlet Got Its Writer Imprisoned

Charles Knowlton did three months hard labor and was fined $50

Hemingway led a life of adventure and, sometimes, violence. The author is shown here holding a tommy gun aboard the Pilar in 1935.

Multiple Concussions May Have Sped Hemingway's Demise, a Psychiatrist Argues

The troubled author may have suffered from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, the disease that plagues modern football players

High school: difficult to live through, harder to get right in writing.

'The Outsiders' Was Groundbreaking, But It Didn't Create YA Fiction

Many have claimed that “young adult” fiction didn’t exist before S.E. Hinton wrote her cult classic–but it did, sort of

This illustration from The Murders in the Rue Morgue portrays Dupin, the first literary 'genius detective,' questioning a suspect.

Without Edgar Allan Poe, We Wouldn't Have Sherlock Holmes

C. Auguste Dupin, Poe's main character, was the first genius detective

On set with Amybeth

A ‘Breaking Bad’ Writer and Producer Is Behind a New Anne of Green Gables

You might not recognize this Anne—and that’s exactly what showrunner Moira Walley-Beckett intended

Paul Revere gets all the credit, but he had a little help from his friends.

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere and Some Other Guys

The midnight ride wasn’t so much a solo operation as it was a relay

Elisabeth Moss dons the iconic red robe and white bonnet of the handmaid for the new series debuting April 26.

The U.S. Is Too Ornery for Totalitarianism, According to Margaret Atwood

The author of <i>The Handmaid's Tale</i> discusses the continued impact of the bleak 1985 novel, now being adapted into a series on Hulu

Jack Kerouac's former home at 5169 10th Ave. N in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Fans Hope to Preserve Jack Kerouac’s Florida Home

The modest house in St. Petersburg is now for sale, and may be turned into a museum

This historic map shows London in the 18th century.

Stanford Researchers Map the Feelings Associated With Different Parts of London

The university's Literary Lab combed British novels from the 18th and 19th centuries to determine if areas elicited happiness or fear

The University of London's Senate House inspired Orwell's description of the Ministry of Truth. Orwell's wife Eileen Blair worked in the building during World War II, when it was the real headquarters of the Ministry of Information.

George Orwell Wrote '1984' While Dying of Tuberculosis

Orwell, like thousands around the globe today, struggled with tuberculosis for many years before finally succumbing to the disease

A new VR game puts you inside a James Joyce novel.

This Game Turns James Joyce’s Most Notorious Novel Into Virtual Reality

But will it make you want to finish <i>Ulysses</i>?

This 17th-century French noblewoman will become the first woman ever included in the curriculum for the nation's high school exams.

France’s Famous High School Exam Will Soon Feature Its First Woman Author

Madame da La Fayette will infuse a much-needed POV into France’s literary curriculum

Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson Was Fiercer Than You Think

A new biopic shows the poet as more than a mysterious recluse

This illustration, depicting Uncle Tom's Cabin antagonist Simon Legree looming over, and perhaps preparing to beat, Tom, appeared in the 1853 edition of the book. Pro-slavery Southerners argued that the book misrepresented slavery by cherry-picking the worst examples.

White Southerners Said “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” Was Fake News

So its author published a “key” to what’s true in the novel

The future Lucy Maud Montgomery Museum and Literary Centre.

L.M. Montgomery’s Ontario Home Will Open As a Museum

While living in the village of Norval, the beloved author enjoyed stunning literary success. But this chapter of her life was tinged with darkness

One Writer Used Statistics to Reveal the Secrets of What Makes Great Writing

In his new book, data journalist Ben Blatt takes a by-the-numbers look at literary classics and finds some fascinating patterns

The Featured Works display at the American Writers Museum in Chicago.

America's First Writers Museum Is Slated to Open in May

A new home for celebrating American literary titans, titles and traditions takes root in Chicago

Theodor Seuss Geisel and Helen Palmer Geisel, his first wife, were both children's book authors, but they never had children.

Dr. Seuss Had an Imaginary Daughter Named Chrysanthemum-Pearl

Theodor Seuss Geisel created the character with his first wife, Helen Palmer Geisel

You won't find "dord" in the dictionary these days, but back in the 1930s, Webster's had a definition for this non-word.

As “Dord” Shows, Being in the Dictionary Doesn’t Always Mean Something’s a Word

Even dictionaries can make mistakes, although Merriam-Webster maintains this is their only one

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