Here are ten of our favourite quotes about books, from those who should know them pretty well – writers themselves. The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame. – Oscar Wilde Why can’t people just sit and read books and be nice to each other? – … Read more
In honour of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s birthday (he was born on 22 May 1859 – fans of The Smiths may be interested to learn that this was exactly 100 years to the day before Morrissey’s birth), we’re here with five of our favourite fascinating facts about the man who gave us Sherlock Holmes. 1. … Read more
Did you know Mark Twain and Count Leo Tolstoy were captured on film? Although they’re associated with the nineteenth century, both writers lived until 1910 and would be filmed in their final years when the technology was still in its infancy. (Mark Twain, who had been born two weeks after Halley’s Comet appeared in 1835, died … Read more
In this new guest blog post, Victoria Best puts the spotlight on Rumer Godden (1907-98), the prolific novelist who, among other things, gave her name to Rumer Willis, the actress daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, and to Rumer, the musician born Sarah Joyce… 1. Before she started writing, Rumer Godden ran a mixed … Read more
The early Gothic novelists are an interesting lot. Matthew Lewis, known for his 1796 novel The Monk, wrote his will on a servant’s hat while dying on board a ship from Jamaica to the UK. William Beckford wrote the bestselling Gothic novel Vathek in French in 1782, with the English version being translated by a vicar four years later. … Read more