In honour of World Book Day, which is being celebrated today in the UK, we thought we’d delve into the interesting stories and trivia hiding behind some of the most popular and successful books ever written. So, here goes …
Fiction
Nine Interesting Facts about Washington Irving
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Washington Irving. Who was that man? Find out just a handful of reasons why we should all have his name on our lips.
Guest Blog: Revamped – How the Twenty-First Century Vampire Is Redefining Masculinity
By Tracy L. Bealer, Colorado State University Power, good looks, and a preoccupation with penetration. These qualities unexpectedly describe both privileged masculinity and vampires. With their preternatural strength, lethal attractiveness, and penetrative fangs, the figure of the vampire has long been understood, by Nina Auerbach and others, as a literary and cinematic representative of the … Read more
A Short History of Detective Fiction
An introduction to the history of the detective story Since this is a short history of the detective story, it will, inevitably, make some pretty glaring omissions. We’d love to hear from detective fiction aficionados in the comments section below, for any other interesting takes on mystery and detective tales. The first detective story is … Read more
Surprising Facts about Aladdin and the Arabian Nights
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
The story of Aladdin is one of the most familiar narratives in all of literature, a classic ‘rags to riches’ tale featuring a young hero who has to learn an important lesson; an exotic setting; a good healthy dose of magic; a beautiful heroine; and an evil villain (or two, depending on which version of the story you follow). We have analysed the story of Aladdin itself in detail here.