F. Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald, 1923

Zelda Fitzgerald on F. Scott’s Writing

Zelda’s satirical review of F. Scott's second novel, The Beautiful and the Damned, revealed much more than her wit.
Portrait of L.M. Montgomery

L. M. Montgomery’s Plain Jane

Though not as well known as Anne of Green Gables, Montgomery's Jane of Lantern Hill also explores domesticity, freedom, and, yes, Prince Edward Island.
Portrait of Aldous Huxley, 1920s

When Aldous Huxley Dropped Acid

In Hollywood, the esteemed ex-pat made the acquaintance of Alfred Hubbard, a Kentucky-born smuggler of ill-repute who introduced him to a brave, new world.
An illustration of a crocodile head

“The Crocodile,” Dostoevsky’s Weirdest Short Story

Why being eaten by a crocodile named Little Karl is really a lesson in the dangers of foreign capital.

Revolutionary Writing in Carlos Bulosan’s America

Bulosan’s fiction reflects an awareness of the inequality between the Philippines and the US and connects that relationship to his own class experience.
Sui Sin Far

Sui Sin Far, the Chinese Canadian-American Sentimentalist

The short story collection Mrs. Spring Fragrance should be read in the context of nineteenth-century sentimentalism, which was shaped by Christian morality.
Portrait of Mary Taylor

Mary Taylor, Charlotte Brontë’s Cool Friend

An independent traveler and business owner, Taylor inspired many of Brontë's own enterprises, including her relocation to Brussels.
John G. Neihardt

A Tale of Two Visionaries

What roiled the mind of Nebraska poet John Neihardt with whom Black Elk, the iconic Lakota holy man, shared his story?
A painting of Elizabeth Hamilton

Redeeming the Old Maid

Scottish-born novelist Elizabeth Hamilton used her characters to anticipate a future for herself in middle age as a confident and intelligent woman.
Cyclist and writer Dervla Murphy in Barcelona in 1956

Dervla Murphy: The Godmother of Hitting the Road

Perhaps the greatest female travel writer of her generation, Murphy defied the narrative of the dutiful Irish daughter—and motherhood—to find freedom.