Esther's Classic Literature Blog September 2004 Archive

James Joyce's "Ulysses" is one of the most important books of the 20th century, but its size and style often scares away would-be readers. And, while his language has been ... Read More

Dramatic works for the stage are banned too! Some of the most famous challenged and banned plays in history include "Oedipus Rex," Oscar Wilde's "Salome," George Bernard Shaw's "Mrs. Warren's ... Read More

In a futuristic society based on pleasure without moral repercussions, Aldous Huxley places a few oddball characters to stir up the plot. With eugenics at its core, this novel harkens ... Read More

Read a few banned classics: Madame Bovary The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn The Canterbury Tales Leaves of GrassDiscover banned literature at its finest.

Ernest Hemingway is one of the most famous 20th-century American writers, famous for works like "The Old Man and the Sea" and "The Sun Also Rises." While we know that ... Read More

An anonymous writer created "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" in the 14th century. The Green Knight attends the New Year celebrations at King Arthur's Camelot to issue a challenge, ... Read More

Books are still challenged and banned in the United States and around the world. Books lke Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye," ... Read More

In this survey of literature, Catherine Orenstein inspects the derivations of Little Red Riding Hood, who has been depicted as a seductress, a victim, a femme fatale, and a she-wolf ... Read More

The Banned Books Week has been celebrated every year since 1981, with library displays, presentations, and discussions taking place across the country. With Banned Books Week starting, take a look ... Read More

(1897-1962) American writer. William Faulkner is one of the most famous 20th-century American writers, with novels and short stories about the American South. Faulkner was awarded the Nobel Prize for ... Read More

(1896-1940) American writer. F. Scott Fitzgerald is known for "The Great Gatsby" and other novels of the Jazz Age. His wife, Zelda, was also a writer; and he based "Tender ... Read More

According to BBC News, "The Florence State Archive has printed 2,000 facsimile copies of the XIV century manuscript detailing the charges and sentence against Dante--the author of the 'Divine Comedy'--and ... Read More

How would you like to like to inherit a multi-million dollar Shakespeare collection from someone you'd never even met? According to BBC News, Anne Humphries inherited the "first collected edition ... Read More

Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949) became one of the most famous American writers with the publication of her novel, "Gone With the Wind" in 1936. She drew from her own background as ... Read More

Book lights are essential for every book lover. These lights are perfect for reading while you're on the road, reading in bed, or just enjoying your individual reading in the ... Read More

In Dangerous Intimacy: The Untold Story of Mark Twain's Final Years, Karen Lystra challenges many of the assumptions that have been made about Twain's final years. "Some suggest that Twain ... Read More

Great classics like Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" and Homer's "Iliad" have been made into movies. Of course, it's nothing new. Over the years, many fantastic movies have been based ... Read More

H.G. Wells published "The War of the Worlds" in 1898. He created his work at the perfect time, in the perfect place. This book provides the complete history of "The ... Read More

In 1908, Upton Sinclair wrote "The Jungle," as a protest against the meat-packing industry. Under a commission from "Appeal to Reason" to document the living and working conditions in the ... Read More

French literature is rich and diverse, influenced by the political history of France. The writers who have been a part of the literary tradition have included: Antonin Artaud, Honre de ... Read More

With his centenary coming up in October, Graham Greene has been in the news lately. In an article for The Guardian, Zadie Smith writes, "Where lesser novelists deploy broad strokes ... Read More

If Tom Jones is going on a journey, he must be following a quest, especially if he has a place to go, a reason to go, challenges, trials, and a ... Read More

According to Publishing News Online, Starbucks will again participate in a program for donating books to readers. "The Book Drop scheme, in partnership with the National Literacy Trust," according to ... Read More

Kate Chopin was known for her storytelling skills, a talent she learned from her great-grandmother. Even with that talent, and with the writing she'd dabbled in while at school, it's ... Read More

"Dangerous Intimacy" is the title of Karen Lystra's new biography about Mark Twain's final years. The title seems to suggest a torrid love affair and other romantic misadventures; and the ... Read More

In an article, from "The Guardian," Lisa Jardine discusses life-changing books, citing some of the greatest classics of all time, including "Jane Eyre," "The Mill on the Floss," "Middlemarch," "Wuthering ... Read More

(1897-1975) American writer. Thornton Wilder was a Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright and novelist, who is perhaps most famous for his play, "Our Town," which was made into a movie. His most ... Read More

Literature is sometimes the most constant reminder that there is some humanity in life... that there are words that can be said about tragedy, death, loss, and despair. Read on: In ... Read More

If you've ever wanted to take a look at early manuscripts of William Shakespeare's plays, now you'll have your chance... According to BBC News, "The British Library is putting online ... Read More

An insult can be rude, offensive, and irritating, but when the great literary master writes an insult, it's FUNNY. Here are a few collections of literary insults. Read and enjoy! Books ... Read More

King Arthur appears in the literature of Geoffrey of Monmouth, Chrétien de Troyes, Geoffrey Chaucer, Marie de France, Sir Thomas Malory, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and Mark Twain. Read on: King Arthur Arthurian ... Read More

Fall or autumn is a descent or decline toward the end of the year. In many parts of the world, the trees become dormant and the leaves change to red, ... Read More

How do you live with books? It's not always as easy as it may seem. Books take up space; they sometimes need to be repaired; and how do you find ... Read More

Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) is one of the most famous writers in American literature. He went to work in 1847 when his father died, starting off as an apprentice ... Read More

It's often easier to write about how much we don't know about the lives of early American writers than to discuss the few fragments of the past that have survived. ... Read More

According to "Mail & Guardian," some 30,000 books were destroyed when a fire swept through a library in Weimar, Germany last night (Thursday, September 2nd, 2004). In the article, Cultural ... Read More

At first glance, you're sure to see that the book is a parody of all that we hold dear in literature. On the cover, Garrison Keillor says: "Funny and well-done... ... Read More

Every reader needs a book kit that contains everything you may need while you're reading a work of literature. You'll need bookmarks, a book light, a pen, a journal book ... Read More