What if Robinson Crusoe was a Girl?
In nineteenth-century England, stranding a (fictitious) girl on an island made a good argument for imperialism.
Canada’s Most Controversial Novel
Marian Engel's 1976 novel Bear is famous for its embrace of bestiality, but it also offers a commentary on humans' relationship with the natural world.
A Literary Hit Job: Julian Hawthorne Takes Down Margaret Fuller
Fuller’s works, and works about her, sold very well until Hawthorne cast her as a “fallen woman” in his biography of his parents.
How Books Taught Europeans to Smoke
The printed word helped spread the inhaling habit across the continent.
Monique Truong’s The Book of Salt
Centered on the Stein-Toklas household and written from the point of view of their gay Vietnamese cook, Binh, this novel tells a story of converging queer diasporas.
William Morris, Anti-Capitalist Publisher
By drawing on traditional typefaces for Kelmscott Press, Morris showed that he was unwilling to yield to capitalism’s demands for speed and efficiency.
Books on the Battlefield
During World War II, GIs battled boredom with novels provided by the Armed Service Division, raising questions about the “feminizing” effect of reading.
Jane Austen’s Mock History Book
Working with her sister, Cassandra, the teenaged Austen composed a satirical send-up of England's monarchs.
The Hoax That Inspired Mary Shelley
In the hot summer of 1826, the British people—including science fiction author, Mary Shelley—embraced a fake and frozen Roger Dodsworth.
The Symbolic Survival of The Master and Margarita
Neither supernatural forces nor Soviet censors were able to suppress individual creativity and determination.