Literature

Holmes and Watson have had years of adventures together, but the first time they ever appeared in print was in a story Arthur Conan Doyle set in Utah.

The Creator of Sherlock Holmes Was, Like Many Victorians, Fascinated by Mormons

The first story featuring iconic detective Sherlock Holmes, 'A Study in Scarlet,' was published on this day in 1887—and set in Mormon Utah

A shot from the famed 1965 film version of Boris Pasternak's "Doctor Zhivago"

How Boris Pasternak Won and Lost the Nobel Prize

Today in 1958, the "Doctor Zhivago" author won the Nobel Prize, but the Soviets made sure he never got it

George Saunders poses with his book Lincoln in the Bardo, which won the 2017 Man Booker Prize for Fiction.

Five Things to Know About 2017 Man Booker Prize Winner George Saunders

He becomes the second America to win for his book "Lincoln in the Bardo," an experimental ghost story that explores the grief of the 16th president

Mark Twain's love of cats pervaded his literature as well as his writing habits.

Mark Twain Liked Cats Better Than People

Who wouldn't?

British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro during a press conference at his home in London, Thursday Oct. 5, 2017.

What to Know About Literature's Newest Nobel Winner British Novelist Kazuo Ishiguro

The author of <i>The Remains of the Day</i> and seven other books explores themes of memory, time and self-deception

Portrait of a Civil War soldier group, circa 1861-65.

The Most 'Realistic' Civil War Novel Was Written Three Decades After It Ended

By an author who wasn't even alive when it occurred

Kurt Vonnegut in a 1990 portrait

You Can Now Read Five Newly Discovered Kurt Vonnegut Short Stories

Written early in the author's careers, the works were recently unearthed in his archives

The front of a Nobel Prize medal.

The Perks and Pitfalls of Being a Nobel Laureate: Early Mornings, Performance Anxiety

On the plus side, at UC Berkeley you get free parking

A fan art drawing of Smaug atop his horde.

J.R.R. Tolkien Gave the World His Childhood Fascination With Dragons in 'The Hobbit'

The dragon Smaug--who debuted in <I>The Hobbit</I> in 1937, was inspired by his early reading of mythology

A page from a New England Primer printed in Massachusetts in 1811, with the text "Life and the Grave two different lessons give/Life shows us how to die, death how to live."

Children Used to Learn About Death and Damnation With Their ABCs

In 19th-century New England, the books that taught kids how to read had a Puritanical morbidity to them

You can see the resemblance in his eyes.

This Nineteenth-Century Genealogist Argued Norse God Odin Was George Washington’s Great-Great-Great... Grandfather

Albert Welles's ideas about whiteness were a reflection of his time, and would be continued into the future

Hitler Youth members burn books. Photograph dated 1938.

A Brief History of Book Burning, From the Printing Press to Internet Archives

As long as there have been books, people have burned them—but over the years, the motivation has changed

A scene from The Peony Pavilion

The Grave of "China's Shakespeare" Has Been Found

One of 42 Ming-era graves unearthed in Fuzhou is believed to belong to Tang Xianzu, who penned 'The Peony Pavilion'

People were just starting to gain an obsession with apocalypse fiction when Mary Shelley wrote "The Last Man."

The Author of ‘Frankenstein’ Also Wrote a Post-Apocalyptic Plague Novel

‘The Last Man’ was derided in its time for being too grim, but today it would fit in with a growing genre of dystopian fiction

The Smithsonian's well attended Asian-American Literature Festival could soon be traveling to other cities around the nation.

At the Smithsonian's First Asian-American Lit Fest, Writers Share Falooda, Politics and Poetry

More than 80 award-winning and aspirational writers shared work across multiple genres

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Disassembled Childhood Home Is for Sale... on eBay

It has yet to receive any bids

Thanks to Disney, this story is so ubiquitous that 'Bambi' is a common shorthand for 'baby deer.'

If You Think ‘Bambi’ Seems Too Mature For Kids, You’re Not Wrong

The popular novel was even a Book-of-the-Month Club selection

This 1962 photo shows author Flannery O'Connor in the driveway at Andalusia in Georgia.

Georgia College Gifted Farm Where Flannery O'Connor Composed Southern Gothic

The author's alma mater will take over and maintain the Savannah-born author's final home

J.M. Barrie's newly discovered play, "The Reconstruction of the Crime," was published in the latest issue of "The Strand Magazine."

Lost Play By J.M. Barrie Discovered in Texas Archive

The newly published <i>Reconstruction of the Crime</i> features comedic detective exploits and audience participation

A wood engraving from the 19th century depicts a blind John Milton dictating his influential epic poem "Paradise Lost"

Why 'Paradise Lost' Is Translated So Much

New book shows the enduring power of the epic poem has made it spread across dozens of languages and hundreds of years

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