‘When Shall We Three Meet Again’ is the opening line of William Shakespeare’s great tragedy, Macbeth. Spoken by the First Witch, the line immediately ushers us into a world of witches, prophecy, and black magic, elements which Shakespeare probably chose to include because the new King of England, James I, […]
In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library, Dr Oliver Tearle explores the origins of a popular girls’ name with literary connections Did the girls’ name Wendy really originate with Peter Pan? The claim is often made. And the answer is both simple and not simple.
The story of Theseus and the Minotaur is one of the most famous and enduring myths of ancient Greece. Among other things, the tale helped to inspire the central premise of one of the most popular series of dystopian novels and films of the twenty-first century (of which more below).