Esther's Classic Literature Blog

Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley is famous as the author of Frankenstein, which she published in 1818. She was born in London on August 30, 1797. Her parents were William Godwin ... Read More

Today, we remember a literary giant: Naguib Mahfouz. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, the first Arab writer to be so honored. He once said, "If the urge ... Read More

"At its best, literary travel combines the dynamic intensity of the work of art with the thrill of being there, experiencing the landscape immediately and directly." Westrow Cooper, of literary ... Read More

Students are still reading the classics in classrooms across the nation, and around the world. And, it's likely that classics will remain on reading lists--as long as those works endure. ... Read More

Jane Eyre is still a great favorite to readers around the world. That's why it's interesting to note that on August 24, 1847, Charlotte Bronte sent off her famous work ... Read More

In a recent essay, Steve Henderson writes: "The traditional canonical texts of Western literature are seen by the feminist movement to define who has the power to speak in Western ... Read More

No stranger to controversy himself, Salman Rushdie is now defending the works of Guenter Grass, according to an article from BBC News. In an interview, Rushdie brings up Ezra Pound, ... Read More

Have you ever discovered something about an author that changed the way you saw that person? Was the author controversial? Was there something that he/she said or did? How did ... Read More

Alex Haley was born on August 11, 1921. He's most famous for Roots, which was awarded the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize in 1977. Haley once said: "What Roots ... Read More

Virginia Woolf (born Adeline Virginia Stephen) married Leonard Woolf on August 10, 1912. She had met Leonard in 1899, along with Clive Bell and Lytton Strachey. Together, they would all ... Read More

School boards sometimes have difficult decisions to make when they determine the reading list for schools. They must sift through the mounds of potential candidates, and decide what books are ... Read More

Collecting books can be a lot of fun, but if you're serious about it, you've got to do your homework. Even the most casual collector can learn a great deal ... Read More

Georg Stiernhielm was born on August 7, 1598. He was a poet, who has been called "the father of Swedish poetry." One of his most famous works is Hercules, a ... Read More

Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892) was born on August 6, 1809 in Somersby, Lincolnshire, England. Tennyson succeeded William Wordsworth as Poet Laureate, and he is considered one of the most representative English ... Read More

Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) was a famous French writer, who was born on August 5, 1850. He was a French writer of naturalism. With his photographic memory, he was able ... Read More

Percy Bysshe Shelley was born on August 4, 1792. He was the husband of Mary Shelley, who was influential in the shaping of his memory after he was killed in ... Read More

Charles Dickens published the last installment of Great Expectations on August 3, 1861. In this novel, Dickens writes: "That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes ... Read More

If you've ever wondered about the devices used in theaters to pull off some of the greatest special effects, now is the time to find out--at least for Le Grand ... Read More

Is it just me, or is it hard to believe that August is already here? The month of August has been associated with bad luck. It's the "month of the ... Read More