Esther's Classic Literature Blog July 2006 Archive

Are you going back to school? Or, are you just looking for a few new resources and references to enhance your reading experience? With these picks, you'll find easy word ... Read More

Ernest Hemingway is a famous novelist and short-story writer. He's also famous for his appreciation for cats. Now, the descendants of Hemingway's cat are roaming around on Hemingway's former Key ... Read More

The Bronte sisters--Charlotte, Emily and Anne--are coming to the big screen, and giving us new insights into the lives of these famous 19th-century women writers., according to an article from ... Read More

Booth Tarkington is known for The Magnificent Ambersons (1918), which won the 1919 Pulitzer Prize in fiction, and Alice Adams (1921), which won the 1922 Pulitzer Prize in fiction. He ... Read More

In A Reading Diary, Alberto Manguel writes about what he's reading, as he makes connections with world events, with books he's read in the past, and books on his list ... Read More

Some of the greatest classics have gone in and out of print, which makes it a bit difficult to find that great book you've been told you must read. How ... Read More

Are there secrets in books and literature you wish you never knew? Perhaps there's trivia you've discovered about an author, which changes the way you think about his/her life and ... Read More

It sounds a bit odd to say that the long-lost manuscripts were lost in a bog in Ireland, but that's apparently where the scrolls have resided for more than 1,000 ... Read More

In a recent book-banning case in Florida, books were removed from the library shelves, apparently because they were about Cuba (and Fidel Castro). Now, a judge has "temporarily overturned" the ... Read More

I've always thought that coffee and books go well together. Not only can I sit in a comfy chair and enjoy my cup of coffee while I read my book, ... Read More

A garden is not only a great place to read, walk, and just sit; but they also smell great! What is your favorite part of a garden? Do you enjoy ... Read More

On July 23, 1999, Raymond Chandler was born in Chicago, Illinois. He would become a mystery writer, famous for Philip Marlowe, his famous character in the tradition of the hard-boiled ... Read More

I love reading children's books! They are so full of colors: vibrant and full of life. Just thumb through your favorite classic in children's books, and you're sure to be ... Read More

The author's name is a secret, but that's really not surprising, given the connection to Espionage and spying. As we celebrate the centary of the birth of Ian Fleming, Ian ... Read More

Who doesn't know about Ernest Hemingway? He's only one of the most famous writers of the 20th century. If you've never read A Clean, Well-Lighted Place, perhaps you've read The ... Read More

Mark Twain's book, The Innocents Abroad, was first published on July 20, 1869. In this bestselling book, Mark Twain details his journey to Europe and the Holy Land. Read more ... Read More

On July 19, 1799, the Rosetta Stone was discovered in Egypt by a French soldier. This black basalt slab was important because it featured not only Egyptian hieroglyphics, ... Read More

Have you heard about the new marketing strategy some publishers are using to promote literature? On Morning Edition this morning, there was talk of the new "book trailers." They're ... Read More

With all the turmoil in the Middle East, it's time again to look at wars and terrorism in literature. What have writers said about violence, terror and death? In An ... Read More

The Catcher in the Rye is one of the most famous (and controversial) novels of the 20th century. This book, by J.D. Salinger first appeared on July 16, 1951. But, ... Read More

Lady Chatterley's Lover, by D.H. Lawrence, was first published in 1928. He wrote three versions of the novel. The book was widely criticized and censored in the U.S. and England ... Read More

Isaac Bashevis Singer was born Icek-Hersz Zynger in the town of Radzymin, near Warsaw, Poland, on July 14, 1904. He once wrote: "The very essence of literature is the war ... Read More

The manuscripts of William Shakespeare are important works of English literature, but now the First Folio has been successfully auctioned off, according to The Guardian. In the article, Richard Lea ... Read More

Born on July 12, 1817, Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was an American writer, poet, philosopher and naturalist. He is perhaps most famous for Walden; or, Life in the Woods (1854), ... Read More

E.B. White was born on July 11, 1899, in Mount Vernon, New York. White once said, "Walden is the only book I own, although there are some others unclaimed on ... Read More

Marcel Proust was born on July 10, 1871, in Auteuil, near Paris, France. He is perhaps best known for Remembrance of Things Past (also translated as In Search of Lost ... Read More

In this review, John Thornton writes about Jane Austen's classic Pride and Prejudice: "Jane Austen is a novelist with an extremely narrow focus that extends, surprisingly, into a wide range ... Read More

Dylan Thomas wrote, "Do not go gentle into that good night, / Old age should burn and rave at close of day; / Rage, rage against the dying of the ... Read More

I'm quite certain that I wouldn't want to meet a pirate on the open sea, but Captain Jack Sparrow (played by Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's ... Read More

Wide Sargasso Sea is the famous prequel to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. Now, according to The Guardian, the book (by Jean Rhys) will be adapted to a made-for-TV movie. Read ... Read More

Mark Twain began his life as a reporter in Virginia City on July 6, 1862. He'd moved to Nevada to join his brother, Orion. His time out West was an ... Read More

George Bernard Shaw was a playwright, essayist, political activist, lecturer, novelist, philosopher, revolutionary evolutionist, and most prolific letter writer in literary history. It was on July 5, 1880 that Shaw ... Read More

Yes, it's finally the 4th of July. We call it Independence Day in the U.S.--the day we all hang out, watch the fireworks, and think about how many years this ... Read More

Summer is the time of weddings, and the season for nuptials is well underway. While you're preparing for your own wedding, watching someone you know walk down the aisle, or ... Read More

The Jungle was just one of the more than 90 books by Upton Sinclair, but it is the work for which he is best known. And, it's not hard to ... Read More

George Sand was a French Romantic novelist. One of her claims to fame was her relationship with Frederic Chopin. She used the pseudonym George Sand, but she was born Aurore ... Read More