Frankenstein, The Vampyre, and the Spirit of the Humanities
How one ghost story competition continues to haunt the humanities—just in time for Halloween.
Misunderstood Malthus
The English thinker whose name is synonymous with doom and gloom has lessons for today.
Transatlantic Studies: A Reading List
Using the Atlantic Ocean as a guiding metaphor, transatlanticism emphasizes the fluid nature of contrived national boundaries and identities.
The Case of Caspar David Friedrich
Born 250 years ago, Friedrich reimagined landscape painting by portraying the vastness of nature as a setting for profound spiritual and emotional encounters.
“The Murders in the Rue Morgue” by Edgar Allan Poe: Annotated
Poe's 1841 story, arguably the first detective fiction, contains many tropes now considered standard to the genre, including a brilliant, amateur detective.
Is Jane Austen the Antidote to Social Media Overload?
Racking up likes and followers today resembles the nonstop friending of 19th-century England. But Austen's characters figured out how to disengage.
Paper Theaters: The Home Entertainment of Yesteryear
In the nineteenth century, enterprising toymakers developed a novel way to bring theater into the home.
Will Reanimating Dead Brains Inspire the Next Frankenstein?
In recent experiments, scientists brought back cellular functions to the brains of dead pigs, recalling early galvanism.
The Life of Forgotten Poet Letitia Elizabeth Landon
She was known as the "female Byron." So why doesn't anyone read L.E.L. anymore?
Mary Shelley’s Obsession with the Cemetery
The author of Frankenstein always saw love and death as connected. She visited the cemetery to commune with her dead mother. And with her lover.