Jane Austen’s Mock History Book
Working with her sister, Cassandra, the teenaged Austen composed a satirical send-up of England's monarchs.
T. S. Eliot and the Holy Grail
The Nobel Laureate drew on a centuries-old legend when he put the Fisher King in The Waste Land.
All Male Cats Are Named Tom: Or, the Uneasy Symbiosis between T. S. Eliot and Groucho Marx
Class and religious differences, among other factors, thwarted the would-be friendship between two cultural titans, suggesting opposites attract, but may not adhere.
Emily Brontë’s Lost Second Novel
The author of the English literary classic Wuthering Heights died tragically young, leaving her second novel unfinished.
Her Majesty’s Kidnappers
In the 17th century, Nathaniel Giles had the right to conscript young singers into the British royal children’s choir. He and a business partner went a step further.
Black Americans in the Popular Front against Fascism
The era of anti-fascist struggle was a crucial moment for Black radicals of all stripes.
The Souls of Magnets
Lodestones are dull, lumpy, and slate-gray, but their “magnetic intelligence” made them fabulously expensive.
Jane Austen’s Subtly Subversive Linguistics
Why are Jane Austen books still so beloved? A linguist argues it has more to do with Austen's masterful use of language than with plot.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” and Women’s Pain
Charlotte Gilman wrote her famous short story in response to her own experience having her pain belittled and misunderstood by a male physician.