Esther's Classic Literature Blog

In a new article for The Guardian, James Fenton recommends that we use Vladimir Nabokov's "Lectures on Don Quixote" as a guide. Find out why Fenton recommends using Nabokov, ... Read More

The stated aim of the American Poetry Project is "ensure that America's greatest poetry will always be in print." To that end, the Project has published the selected poems of ... Read More

"To Kill a Mockingbird" has become a popular novel in American literature. But, do you know when and where the author was born? Harper Lee was born on April 28, ... Read More

Whether you've just purchased the book, you've had the book for decades, it's been passed down in an inheritance, or you're just curious to know before you buy--discovering the value ... Read More

Writing about the religiousity and sensuality in Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market," Virginia Woolf once wrote: "Death, oblivion, and rest lap round your songs with their dark wave." But then, "a ... Read More

Have you ever wondered what you would do if you washed up on a deserted island? Daniel Defoe dramatizes such an experience in "Robinson Crusoe"! Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe" was ... Read More

Written at a pace of one chapter a day, Stevenson drew extensively from established writings about pirates. In his effort to create such a fantastic adventure novel, Stevenson admitted to ... Read More

The man we know as Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564. He died on the same day in 1616. So, what's the deal with this guy? Why is he ... Read More

On April 22, 1915, Rupert Brooke was serving with the Royal Naval Division on the Greek Island of Skyros when he died of blood poisoning. In an obituary, Winston Churchill ... Read More

Charlotte Brontë was born on April 21, 1816. She sometimes wrote under the pseudonym Currer Ellis, and she was the sister of Anne and Emily. Read more about Charlotte Brontë--on ... Read More

Mark Twain died on April 21, 1910 in Redding, Connecticut of angina pectoris. Upon hearing of Twain's death, President Taft said, "Mark Twain gave pleasure--real intellectural enjoyment--to millions, and his ... Read More

On this day in 1841, Edgar Allen Poe's The Murders in the Rue Morgue first appeared. The story has been called the first detective story. Of course, some have called ... Read More

Interweaving in and out of time and history, Kelly draws us into the story of the Black Death. Boccaccio, Stefani, Petrarch, and so many other writers captured the lives and ... Read More

Some of our greatest literary writers have written in celebration of nature. Now, as Earth Day approaches at the end of this week, we have the opportunity to read up ... Read More

"Eureka" was the first thing that came to mind when I read about the breakthrough that Oxford University scientists have made. In an article for The Independent, David Keys and ... Read More

Language is a powerful tool, but it also is an under appreciated wonder! In a new article from the Aberdeen News, Elaine Babcock writes: "Slow down with your favorite classic ... Read More

According to Jim Salter, with the Associated Press, a replica of Tom Blankenship's childhood home "is being reconstructed." Tom Blankenship was the model for Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. And, according ... Read More

"Treasure Island" is Robert Louis Stevenson's novel about a young boy, Jim Hawkins, who follows a treasure map to discover a long-lost treasure. But, he was not alone. This book ... Read More

According to a report from Subir Bhaumik in Calcutta, for BBC News, nearly 145,000 books were burned in Manipur, India. Many ancient text were in the library and Historian Gangumei ... Read More

Seamus Heaney is a Nobel-Prize winning Irish poet--born on April 13, 1939. In his Nobel Lecture, he said: "Only the very stupid or the very deprived can any longer help ... Read More

On this day, Gustave Flaubert's masterwork, "Madame Bovary," was published--in 1857. Flaubert said that the book was "all cunning and stylistic ruse." Read more about the infamous novel. Along the ... Read More

Memory is the act of remembering or recollecting events from the past. Past events come back to haunt us, or happy remembrances help to brighten our days. As the story ... Read More

The Oxford Literary Festival runs from April 10th until the 17th, 2005. The event is scheduled to be the largest festival ever. According to an article in the BBC News, ... Read More

A library contains literary documents for reference or borrowing. In many cases, a library is a large collection of books, periodicals and other resources, which are all maintained by a ... Read More

It was a time of death and dying. Thousands of people fled before the devastating onslaught of the Black Death, but the horror was unrelenting. In "The Great Mortality," John ... Read More

Charles Dickens drew from an early life of poverty, loneliness and exile to create the magic of fiction. Now, the world of Charles Dickens is coming to life--with a new ... Read More

Anne Bradstreet was 18 when she journeyed to America in search of a new life. Faced with the brutal realities of life in an unforgiving landscape, she joined the other ... Read More

What happens when a character wakes up in a different time or an alternate reality? Or, what would you do if a spirit or ghost took you on a journey ... Read More

In April, we celebrate National Poetry Month--with poetry readings, discussions, activities, and much more. Learn more about the poets! National Poetry Month Poetry Speaks Great Writers Speak Read more works in literature: American Literature Anthologies Poetry, ... Read More

In 1904, Joseph Pulitzer made provision in his will for establishing the Pulitzer Prizes--to recognize excellence in writing. Since 1917, famous American writers like Edith Wharton, Willa Cather, Pearl Buck, ... Read More

With Daylight Saving Time just beginning for some of us, who can help but think about time? But, how does the idea of time appear in literature? In fairy tales, ... Read More

Washington Irving (1783-1859) was born on April 3rd, and he was named after George Washington. He once wrote: "I am always at a loss to know how much to believe ... Read More

Millions of people around the world are mourning the death of Pope John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla). In his Letter to Artists, he said: "Not all are called to be ... Read More

If you've never heard of Hans Christian Andersen, you've undoubtedly read "The Ugly Duckling," "The Little Mermaid," or any of the myriad of adaptations based upon his famous tales. As ... Read More

Mark Twain once wrote: "The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year." Read more about fools in literature, and ... Read More