Why Louisa May Alcott’s ‘Little Women’ Endures
The author of a new book about the classic says the 19th-century novel contains life lessons for all, especially for boys
New Semi-Autobiographical Hemingway Story Published
“A Room On the Garden Side” was written in 1956 and takes place during the liberation of Paris in 1944
The Story of Josiah Henson, the Real Inspiration for ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’
Before there was the novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe, a formerly enslaved African-American living in Canada wrote a memoir detailing his experience
![“Part of [Wolfe’s] skewering of society was to also be absolutely his own man,” says National Portrait Gallery curator Brandon Brame Fortune. “For him, that meant wearing this white vanilla colored three-piece suit wherever he went.”](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/325IyMeQ07AyWiNMdp2uCAUduZc=/450x300/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/8b/1d/8b1d49d0-b8ca-4514-ade4-401bcc6c0c0e/wolfe2.jpg)
Five Things to Know About Tom Wolfe
The late author had an undeniable influence on American writing
Dorothy Parker’s FBI File Is Available to Public for First Time in a Decade
Parker was blacklisted by Hollywood just as she was reaching her peak as a screenwriter
Scholar Finds New Isaac Bashevis Singer Story
“The Boarder,” which is published for the first time in the New Yorker, was discovered while going through the prominent writer’s vast archives
Humans Have Wreaked Havoc on Walden Pond
A new study details the intensity of the damage to this beloved location
Wes Anderson’s Fastidious Whimsy Has Delighted Moviegoers for Decades
A Smithsonian retrospective breathes fresh life into Anderson’s kaleidoscopic filmography
Writing in the Public Eye, These Women Brought the 20th Century Into Focus
Michelle Dean’s new book looks at the intellects who cut through the male-dominated public conversation
In His Speeches, MLK Carefully Evoked the Poetry of Langston Hughes
To avoid being labeled a communist sympathizer, King had to distance himself from Hughes, but he still managed to channel the controversial poet
One Man’s Search to Find the Families of the “Deportees” in the Famous Woody Guthrie Song
Seventy years after the 1948 crash, Tim Hernandez is bringing new recognition to the 28 unidentified “braceros” who died when the plane blew up
For Mark Twain, It Was Love At First Sight
The aspiring author knew Olivia Langdon was the one when he first laid eyes on a photograph of her
The Most Notorious Poet in 18th Century America Was An Enslaved Teenager You’ve Never Heard Of
Phyllis Wheatley was a prodigy, but her ultimate fate reflects the gross racial disparities of 1700s America
How Mark Twain’s Hatred of Suspenders Drove Him to Invent
Under his given name, Samuel Clemens, Twain held several patents
This Neural Network Can (Maybe) Start a Novel Better Than You
As the end of NaNoWriMo draws near, take a look at one researcher’s effort to help find that perfect first line
Our Cloud Names Come From a 1700s Amateur Meteorologist
Luke Howard’s nomenclature inspired writers as well as scientists
Unpublished Harper Lee Letters Purchased at Auction Share Intimate Reflections
The letters from the To Kill a Mockingbird scribe include remembrances of Hollywood celebrities, a bit of history and some sass
Fake News and Fervent Nationalism Got a Senator Tarred as a Traitor During WWI
The fiery progressive Robert La Follette responded with a classic defense of free speech in wartime
The Real-Life Whale That Gave Moby Dick His Name
Mocha Dick had encounters with around 100 ships before he was finally killed
Mark Twain Liked Cats Better Than People
Who wouldn’t?
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