See the Forgotten Paintings Made by Jane Austen’s Older Sister, Cassandra
A new exhibition at the Jane Austen House in England includes six artworks that are going on public display for the first time
Rare Watercolor by ‘Wuthering Heights’ Author Emily Brontë Will Go on Public Display for the First Time
“The North Wind,” painted while Emily and her sister Charlotte were studying in Belgium, is now heading to the Brontë family home in Yorkshire
Advanced Imaging Reveals Crossed-Out Words in the Poems of Alfred Tennyson
The 19th-century English poet was a “prolific reviser” who tested out many variations of his work before publication. A new study sheds light on his creative process
Flannery O’Connor Wanted to Shake Her Readers Awake. Her Family Wanted Her to Write the Next ‘Gone With the Wind’
This year marks the writer’s 100th birthday. Through fiction anchored in her Southern background and Catholic faith, O’Connor revealed how candid confrontations with darkness lead to moments of reckoning
Women Played a More Important Role in Producing Medieval Manuscripts Than Previously Thought
New research suggests that women were the scribes of at least 1.1 percent of manuscripts in the Latin West between 400 and 1500 C.E.
‘Politically Repurposed’ Copy of Famous Shakespearean Love Sonnet Discovered Inside a 17th-Century Poetry Collection
The rare handwritten copy of “Sonnet 116” features several additional lines, which may have been an attempt to insert British royalist ideas into the romantic ode, according to researchers
Eight Never-Before-Seen Short Stories by ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ Author Harper Lee Will Be Published This Year
After Lee’s death in 2016, typescripts of her early fiction were discovered in her New York apartment. The previously unseen drafts offer new insights into her creative development
Why Oscar Wilde’s Play About a Biblical Temptress Was Banned From the British Stage for Decades
“Salome,” a one-act tragedy by the Irish playwright, terrified the Victorian public with its provocative depiction of a teenage girl whose lust for a man quickly morphs into bloodlust
Are ‘Gripping,’ ‘Brilliant’ Book Blurbs on Their Way Out?
In a provocative essay, a major publisher announced that its authors will no longer be required to solicit glowing reviews for their book jackets, arguing that blurbs don’t reflect a title’s true merit
When This Brilliant Author Died, She Left Behind a Legacy of Grief, Haunting Poetry and Surprising Resilience
Modern accounts of Sylvia Plath’s renowned work and legacy seek to highlight the author’s resilience through a decade-long journey of depression
Discover Why ‘The Raven,’ Edgar Allan Poe’s Narrative Poem About a Distraught Lover and a Talking Bird, Remains an American Classic
Published on this day in 1845, the work used alliteration, internal rhyme and repetition to draw in readers, lending it a dark and melancholic tone
Man Finds Rare Trove of Winnie-the-Pooh Drawings and Manuscripts in His Father’s Attic
The papers connected to author A.A. Milne—including original drafts, illustrations, letters, poems and corrected proofs—sold at auction for more than $118,000
Can You Read This Cursive Handwriting? The National Archives Wants Your Help
Anyone with an internet connection can volunteer to transcribe historical documents and help make the archives’ digital catalog more accessible
Why Was Zora Neale Hurston So Obsessed With the Biblical Villain Herod the Great?
The Harlem Renaissance author spent her last years writing about the ancient king. Six decades after her death, her unfinished novel has finally been published for the first time
George Orwell Gets His Own £2 Coin Featuring an All-Seeing Eye
Inscribed with quotes from “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” the Royal Mint’s latest release honors the author on the 75th anniversary of his death
This Author, Famous for His Rags-to-Riches Stories, Forever Shaped How We Talk About the American Dream
Horatio Alger’s repetitive stories reached their true popularity and became synonymous with social mobility largely thanks to retellings after the writer’s death
In Her Inventive and Prescient Stories, Octavia Butler Wrote Herself Into the Science Fiction Canon
On her beloved typewriters, the literary legend mapped out a course for the future of the genre
Happy Public Domain Day! Popeye, ‘Rhapsody in Blue,’ ‘The Sound and the Fury’ and Thousands of Other Captivating Creations Are Finally Free for Everyone to Use
On January 1, 2025, copyrights will expire for books, films, comic strips, musical compositions and other creative works from 1929, as well as sound recordings from 1924
Discover the Story Behind a Legendary Exposé of the Brutality of the Soviet Union
Published on this day in 1973, “The Gulag Archipelago” drew on Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s experiences as a political dissident in a prison camp, but it left him deported and stateless for the next two decades
Ancient Texts Reveal How Mesopotamians Felt Emotions—From Happiness in the Liver to Anger in the Feet
Researchers found that ancient Mesopotamians associated body parts with emotions, just as we do—but they discovered some hilarious differences
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