By David Gibbons The early English translations of Alessandro Manzoni’s historical novel I promessi sposi are in many ways an object lesson in how not to do things. The six versions published between 1828 and 1845 are valiant attempts, but all of them include some pretty major clangers. Based on years spent looking, and laughing, at them, … Read more
In this guest blog post written for the excellent Great Writers Inspire blog, run by the University of Oxford, our founder-editor Dr Oliver Tearle explores the complex history of dystopian fiction. Click on the link below to visit the Great Writers Inspire site and read the blog post, which includes details of the science fiction novel written by … Read more
By Dr Michael Greaney, Lancaster University Imagine a reader – say, a Martian with a library card — whose sole acquaintance with human experience was from books. What picture of human life would this well-read alien carry around in its imagination? And what would be missing from that picture? One area of our creaturely existence … Read more
One of the things we like to do at Interesting Literature is find authors who aren’t as celebrated as they perhaps should be, and find some reasons why they should be better known, if not more widely read. A perfect case in point is George Meredith (1828-1909), the Victorian poet and novelist. Although he was popular … Read more
By Gemma Norman, University of Birmingham The name ‘Dracula’ is a name synonymous with vampires: the handsome, seductive aristocratic Count of Bram Stoker’s novel is the image that first comes to mind upon hearing the name. Most people have also heard the name Vlad the Impaler, but it’s rare to find someone who knows that … Read more