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, […]
It Was a Dark and Stormy Opening Line
Literature Professors Who Know More Than the Authors
Who hasn’t sat through a class, wondering if you knew more about the subject than the person who is teaching? Have you ever received a grade that you absolutely knew was unfair? […]
A Whale of a Lot of Fun Facts about Whales
Herman Melville’s classic Moby Dick was published in 1851. The notorious white whale that compelled Captain Ahab to dedicate his life to finding it was famously described by Melville as being the […]
Everyone is a Critic
From the pens of critics who are not afraid to speak freely: “This is not a novel to be tossed lightly aside. It should be thrown with great force.” — Dorothy Parker […]
This Word for a Tasty Dish is a Real Mouthful
Aristophanes (427 BC – 386 BC) was groundbreaking with his plays. His skills as a satirist and as a keen observer of everyday life led him to give us one of the […]
Realism = Hyper-Caffeinated
Honoré de Balzac, widely considered as one of the founders of realism in European literature, drank 50 cups of coffee each day. He was well regarded for having keen observation of detail […]
Take a Deep Breath and Read This Sentence…
For many years, James Joyce’s novel Ulysses held the record for the longest sentence in the English language. The 4,391-word monstrosity contained in Molly Bloom’s soliloquy seemed destined to hold the record […]
Don’t List These Awards on Your Resume
In a world that cherishes personal achievement, there are some awards you probably don’t want to have associated with your name. Here are just a few: The Diagram Prize is awarded each […]
It Always Pays to Plan Ahead
Sir Max Beerbohm is best remembered as an English essayist and caricaturist. Perhaps more attention should be paid to his practice of planning ahead. As he was getting ready to draw his […]
Titanic Coincidence?
At first glance, Futility by Morgan Robertson seems weak on imagination. Robertson’s novel features a ship, the Titan, described as “the largest craft afloat and the greatest of the works of men.” […]
Longest Novel Will Take a While to Read
The world record for the longest novel ever published goes to A la recherche du temps perdu by Marcel Proust. It was published in 13 volumes beginning in 1912. With an estimated 9,609,000 characters […]
Creepy Predictions from the Master of Creepiness
Edgar Allan Poe’s only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, was published in 1838. He claimed the story to be based on true events. As it turned out, he […]
Rags to Riches … and Back to Rags
Horatio Alger, Jr. (1832 – 1899) was a prolific 19th-century American author, best known for his many novels about impoverished boys and their rise from humble backgrounds to lives of middle-class security […]
He’s Just the Type Who Would Type
Mark Twain was the first significant author to submit a typewritten manuscript to a publisher. By his own accounts, Mark Twain admitted that he did not actually do the typing himself, but […]
Funny… I Don’t Remember Being Absentminded
Jean de La Fontaine was a 17th century French author who wrote simple animal stories that contained elements of satire and social criticism. He was famous for his absentmindedness. He once called […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 