literature

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, the Mother of the Monster

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, the Mother of the Monster

Only a few 19th century literary works have become an icon in today’s popular culture. Among them are the detective story and its most prominent protagonist Arthur Conan Doyle‘s  Sherlock Holmes as well as some of the gothic horror novels, primarily Bram Stoker‘s Dracula and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.[4,5] “What was I? Of my creation and creator I was absolutely ignorant, but I knew that I possessed no money, no friends, no kind of property.…
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The Life and Works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The Life and Works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

On August 28, 1749, German author, philosopher, natural scientist, and politician Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born in Frankfurt am Main.  He is considered one of the most important creators of German-language poetry. Goethe’s literary work includes poetry, drama, epic, autobiographical, art, literary theory and scientific writings. His extensive correspondence is also of literary importance. Goethe was the forerunner and most important representative of the Sturm und Drang. “Noble be man, Helpful and good! For…
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Jorge Luis Borges and the Library of Babel

Jorge Luis Borges and the Library of Babel

On August 24, 1899, the famous Argentine writer and blind librarian Jorge Luis Borges was born , who is considered one of the foremost literary figures of the 20th century. He is considered to be one of the most important figure in Spanish-language literature since Cervantes. Most famous in the English speaking world for his short stories and fictive essays, Borges was also a poet, critic, translator and man of letters. “Reading … is…
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Ray Bradbury – The Illustrated Man with a Heart for Libraries

Ray Bradbury – The Illustrated Man with a Heart for Libraries

On August 22, 1920, the American novelist Ray Bradbury, best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, was born. Ray Bradbury has won every achievable writing award including the National Medal of Arts in 2004 and the National Book Foundation Medal in 2000. “We think, I’m not a fool today. I’ve learned my lesson. I was a fool yesterday but not this morning. Then tomorrow we find out that, yes, we were a…
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Macbeth – the Tragedy and its Historical Background

Macbeth – the Tragedy and its Historical Background

On August 14, 1040 AD, Mac Bethad mac Findlaích, Mormaer of Moray, today better known as Macbeth, killed the Scottish King Duncan I. to become the new King of Scotland. But, he has to commit further murder to maintain his power. So far the story goes. Most of the rest we know from Shakespeare‘s adaptation of the historical events is merely pure fiction.[2,3] Shakespeare’s Macbeth Macbeth’s life, like that of his predecessor…
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H. G. Wells and the Shape of Things to Come

H. G. Wells and the Shape of Things to Come

For sure you have seen the classic movie ‘The Time Machine‘, where the Victorian epoch time traveler went to a future far, far away into the world, where the old struggle of good against evil continued. Then, you also might have heard about the story, where aliens from Mars started war against Earth, but finally are going to die because of Earth’s microbes. Or maybe also the story, when famous actor and…
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Victorian Poetry with Alfred Lord Tennyson

Victorian Poetry with Alfred Lord Tennyson

On August 6, 1809, one of the most important English poets of the Victorian era was born, Alfred Lord Tennyson. The works of Alfred Lord Tennyson are best known for their close affinity with the English mythology and English history, they influenced the movement of the 19th century’s Victorian Art as well as the Arts and Crafts Movement, which was to join art and handcraft using simple forms applied to mostly romantic…
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Herman Melville’s Iconic Nightmare and Masterpiece

Herman Melville’s Iconic Nightmare and Masterpiece

Most people know American author Herman Melville only by his most famous novel, the story of Captain Ahab and his paranoid and nightmarish  hunt for the gigantic white whale Moby Dick. Of course, it is Melville‘s singular and also very best story. But, if you are trying to get to know the author Herman Melville better, you should also consider the rest of his oevre, especially some of his other short stories or…
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One Ring to Rule Them All – J.R.R.Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings

One Ring to Rule Them All – J.R.R.Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings

On July 29, 1954, the first volume of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy story ‘The Lord of the Rings‘ was published. Ever since it has cast a spell over generations of readers. The Lord of the Rings has become one of the most popular books of the last century. But, who was this Oxford professor for Anglo-Saxon and why in the world did he come up with this terrific and rather unusual piece of writing?…
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Raymond Chandler and the Invention of the Hardboiled Detective Novel

Raymond Chandler and the Invention of the Hardboiled Detective Novel

On July 23, 1888, American-British novelist and screenwriter Raymond Chandler was born. Chandler is considered one of the pioneers of American hardboiled novels. He invented the character of the melancholic and ultimately moral private detective Philip Marlowe for his crime novels. In addition to his crime novels, he wrote a series of short stories and screenplays. Along with Dashiell Hammett, he is one of the great authors of the black series in…
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