Washington Irving (1783-1859) is often known as ‘the father of American literature’. Named in honour of the (future) first US President, Irving has had a huge influence on American writers for two centuries, and has also been responsible (indirectly) for the name of the knickerbocker glory dessert and, even, the word ‘knickers’ (both words come from Irving’s fictional creator, Diedrich Knickerbocker).
Best Books
10 of the Funniest Female Writers in English
Who are the funniest female authors – whether poets, novelists, or writers of short fiction or non-fiction – in the English language? Reducing the number to just ten names is going to be a challenge, but here’s our essential pick of the funniest female voices in English (or English-language, more accurately) writing.
10 of the Best Books by C. S. Lewis
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Although Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) – known as ‘Jack’ to his friends and family – is best-known for his seven children’s fantasy novels set in the land of Narnia, C. S. Lewis wrote a number of other works – fiction and non-fiction, science fiction and literary criticism – which have become classics in their field.
10 of the Best Books about Class and Poverty
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Previously, we offered ten classic poems about poverty. But what about classic novels about poverty and class? Or, indeed, classic non-fiction works about living in poverty, and working-class life? Of course, ten books doesn’t give us much scope to be comprehensive, but we’ll do our best to introduce ten classics of English (and American) literature which touch upon these themes.
10 of the Funniest Comic Writers in English
Selected by Dr Oliver Tearle
English literature has a rich tradition of comic writing. From Chaucer’s ‘Miller’s Tale’ to Shakespeare’s Falstaff to the early comic novels of Smollett, Sterne, Fielding, and Swift, there are plenty of laughs to be had from the pages of the literary greats. But what will raise a chuckle among 21st-century readers? In this post, we introduce who we think are ten of the greatest and most laugh-out-loud humorous writers in the English language …