Mark Twain was at the height of his popularity when he received a request to dramatize Tom Sawyer. The director of a theater company asked the author’s permission to use his name […]
Mark Twain’s Thoughts On Turning Tom Sawyer Into a Play
The Disaster That Haunted An Unlikely Hero
The weather couldn’t have been better for travel. As Charlie made his way home by train, neither he nor his fellow passengers had any clue that they were headed toward an unspeakable […]
Erma Bombeck on Marriage and Parenting
“It seems I have spent a lifetime of mouthing mechanically, ‘Say thank you. Sit up straight. Use your napkin. Close your mouth when you chew. Don’t lean back in your chair.’ Just […]
Quoth the Parrot, “Pretty Boy… Nevermore… Polly Got a Cracker? Nevermore…”
One of the most famous poems in American literature started as something quite different. The eponymous talking bird who is featured in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” was originally cast as a […]
The Secret Royal Lineage of a Weird, Awkward Boy
At the time of this writing, the world’s attention is on the events surrounding the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the ascendency of King Charles III to the throne. One can’t […]
Commonplace Fun Facts Featured on The Write Stuff
If you somehow succeed in getting past the elite paramilitary mercenaries and a fierce-yet-adorable Boxador, you may become one of the privileged few to enter the warehouse. Inside, you will find the […]
The Horrible Five-Week Visit That Destroyed a Friendship
It shouldn’t have been surprising that Chuck and John struck up a friendship. After all, the two men had a lot in common. They shared many of the same interests, a common […]
Big Brother Keeps an Eye on Orwell Home
George Orwell’s novel 1984 took the world by storm when it was published in 1949. It told the story of a dystopian future where the government maintained control by keeping a close […]
It Was a Dark and Stormy Opening Line
One of the most famous opening passages of any novel comes from a book that is hardly recognized today. George Bulwer-Lytton introduced the world to Paul Clifford in 1830 with the words, […]
The Real-Life Story of Agatha Christie’s Greatest Unsolved Mystery
Agatha Christie’s name is synonymous with mysteries. The author of such classics as Murder on the Orient Express, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, and Death on the Nile, her novels have sold […]
Commending Your Brand of Craziness
Author Lani Lynn Vale offers wonderful words for the people in your life who seem to have waded a bit too far into the deep end of insanity: “I don’t understand your […]
Abraham Lincoln: Mystery Writer
Abraham Lincoln attempted many things in his life. He was a railsplitter, boatman, store clerk, soldier, surveyor, postmaster, lawyer, legislator, and President. Along the way, he tried his hand as an inventor, […]
When Mark Twain Needed the First Lady to Reassure His Wife
Mark Twain has a well-deserved reputation for not being intimidated by those in high authority. His self-assurance and disregard for the opinion of others allowed him to rub elbows with the most […]
Should Moby-Dick Have a Hyphen?
Herman Melville’s novel about an obsessive hunt for an elusive whale is Moby Dick. Or is it Moby-Dick? The answer to that question drives obsessive scholars of literature and seems to be […]
When The World’s Great Authors Formed a Cricket Team
What do literary giants do when they aren’t writing history’s greatest books? There’s no better way to stave off a case of writer’s block than to play a rousing game of cricket. […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 