A Tiny Typo May Explain a Centuries-Old Mystery About Chaucer’s ‘Canterbury Tales’ and ‘Troilus and Criseyde’
The medieval writer made puzzling references to a story called “The Song of Wade,” which has been lost to history. Only a few lines quoted—or perhaps misquoted—in a 12th-century sermon survive
Jane Austen Never Loved Bath—but Bath Loves Jane Austen. Now, the City Is Exploring Why the Novelist Was So Unhappy There
To celebrate the author’s 250th birthday, a new exhibition spotlights her complicated relationship with the English city where she set parts of “Persuasion” and “Northanger Abbey”
A New Biography Offers the Most Intimate Portrait Yet of One of the 20th Century’s Greatest Authors
Research into James Baldwin’s archives reveals incisive details about the writer’s personal relationships, both platonic and romantic, with other men
Untold Stories of American History
Tattered Pages Discovered in Storage Reveal an Enslaved Man’s Daring Bid for Freedom—and His Second Life at Sea
Historians are investigating the haunting handwritten manuscript, which chronicles Thomas White’s escape from slavery in Maryland and adventures around the world nearly 200 years ago
See Inside Jane Austen’s Lively Literary Mind Through Letters, Line Edits and Locks of Hair
To celebrate the author’s 250th birthday, a new exhibition at the Morgan Library and Museum in New York City features original manuscripts, financial records and correspondence with family and friends
Could the Semicolon Die Out? Recent Analysis Finds a Decline in Its Usage in British Literature and Confusion Among U.K. Students
Not only are semicolons evidently becoming more rare, but young people are less aware of how to use them, according to a survey
You Can Now Visit the Small House Where Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë Were Born
The newly renovated Brontë Birthplace in Bradford, England, was the three sisters’ home until 1820, when the family moved to a nearby parsonage
Salvador Dalí’s Surrealist Screenplay ‘Giraffes on Horseback Salad’ Was Never Made. Can A.I. Bring It to Life?
The Dalí Museum is collaborating with an advertising agency to “reawaken” the Spanish artist’s failed script, which studio executives rejected nearly 90 years ago
See Flannery O’Connor’s Little-Known Visual Artworks That Had Been Collecting Dust in Storage
From childhood cartoons to thoughtful self-portraits, the acclaimed Southern writer was always a keen observer of her surroundings
Say Goodbye to This Massive ‘Hobbit’-Themed Sculpture of Gandalf Riding an Eagle
For more than a decade, the eye-catching artwork had hung from the ceiling of Wellington International Airport in New Zealand, where “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” were filmed
You Can Buy Novelist Charles Dickens’ Personal Travel Writing Desk and Silverware Set
The ornate desk features a silver plaque with a personal inscription that references the English writer’s family nickname, “Venerables”
See the Imaginative Illustrations on the Endpapers of Children’s Books Like ‘The World of Pooh’ and ‘Blueberries for Sal’
A new exhibition celebrates the often-overlooked endpapers of more than 50 works of children’s literature ranging from the mid-20th century to the present day
This Complete Set of Shakespeare’s Four Folios Could Sell for $6 Million
In the 17th century, the Bard’s plays were preserved for posterity in the First, Second, Third and Fourth Folios. Now, all four volumes are being sold as a set
See the Forgotten Paintings Made by Jane Austen’s Older Sister, Cassandra
A new exhibition at the Jane Austen House in England includes six artworks that are going on public display for the first time
Rare Watercolor by ‘Wuthering Heights’ Author Emily Brontë Will Go on Public Display for the First Time
“The North Wind,” painted while Emily and her sister Charlotte were studying in Belgium, is now heading to the Brontë family home in Yorkshire
Advanced Imaging Reveals Crossed-Out Words in the Poems of Alfred Tennyson
The 19th-century English poet was a “prolific reviser” who tested out many variations of his work before publication. A new study sheds light on his creative process
Flannery O’Connor Wanted to Shake Her Readers Awake. Her Family Wanted Her to Write the Next ‘Gone With the Wind’
This year marks the writer’s 100th birthday. Through fiction anchored in her Southern background and Catholic faith, O’Connor revealed how candid confrontations with darkness lead to moments of reckoning
Women Played a More Important Role in Producing Medieval Manuscripts Than Previously Thought
New research suggests that women were the scribes of at least 1.1 percent of manuscripts in the Latin West between 400 and 1500 C.E.
‘Politically Repurposed’ Copy of Famous Shakespearean Love Sonnet Discovered Inside a 17th-Century Poetry Collection
The rare handwritten copy of “Sonnet 116” features several additional lines, which may have been an attempt to insert British royalist ideas into the romantic ode, according to researchers
Eight Never-Before-Seen Short Stories by ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ Author Harper Lee Will Be Published This Year
After Lee’s death in 2016, typescripts of her early fiction were discovered in her New York apartment. The previously unseen drafts offer new insights into her creative development
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