LITERATURE

What 10 Classic Books Were Almost Called

Remember when your high school reading list included ‘Atticus,’ ‘Fiesta,’ and ‘The Last Man in Europe’? You will once you see what these books were renamed before they hit bookshelves.

What did Scrooge mean when he said “Bah! Humbug!” anyway?

What Does “Bah, Humbug!” Actually Mean?

The meaning of ‘Bah, humbug!’ is a little more layered than what people normally attribute to Ebenezer Scrooge of ‘A Christmas Carol.’

18 Fascinating Facts About Charles Dickens

Dickens’s unprecedented celebrity made him the most popular novelist of his century—but the author of Great Expectations, Bleak House, A Christmas Carol, and dozens of other works was more than just a writer.

Actress Bernice Golden as Tess in David Belasco’s stage production of ‘Tess of the d’Urbervilles,’ c. 1903.

Remembering Elizabeth Martha Brown, the Convict Who Inspired Thomas Hardy’s ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’

Thomas Hardy’s memorable heroine was modeled after the last woman to be hanged in Dorset, England.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘Letters From Father Christmas.’

When J.R.R. Tolkien Posed as ‘Father Christmas’ for 23 Years

The Middle-earth author spent some imaginary time in the North Pole for an audience of just four people: his children.

The Royal Ballet's Steven McRae and Roberta Marquez as the Prince and the Sugar Plum Fairy in 2012.

8 Magical Facts About ‘The Nutcracker’

Peek behind the curtains of ‘The Nutcracker,’ Tchaikovsky’s famous Yuletide ballet.

A Los Angeles Book Club Has Spent 28 Years Reading James Joyce’s ’Finnegans Wake’ and Still Doesn’t Understand It

James Joyce once famously declared, “The demand that I make of my reader is that he should devote his whole life to reading my works.“ After 28 years, members of a Venice, California-based book club have come pretty close.

Some of your favorite writers faced rejection.

20 Famous Authors and Their Rejections

From James Baldwin to Gertrude Stein and beyond, literature’s most celebrated authors have faced stinging and ruthless rejections.

Anthony Burgess had difficulty creating his slang dictionary.

When ‘Clockwork Orange’ Author Anthony Burgess Wrote a Slang Dictionary

Penguin Books commissioned the work in 1965, but the "A Clockwork Orange" author only completed several hundred entries before discarding the project.

10 Fascinating Facts About Louisa May Alcott

‘Little Women’ author Louisa May Alcott was also an early suffragette who fought against slavery and registered women to vote.

You Bull’s Pizzle! Breaking Down 10 Iconic Shakespeare Insults

Here’s how to pepper your next argument with Shakespearean insults.

The Otherworldly History of the Demogorgon

The Demogorgon is much, much older than ’Stranger Things,’ or even ’Dungeons & Dragons.’

Don’t Know What to Read Next? This Comprehensive Book Map Can Help

TheLibraryMap organizes 100,000 book titles in a way that’s visually pleasing and easy to navigate.

12 Novels Inspired by Real Events

Novelists have used everything from real killers to newsworthy hostage situations to literal white whales to craft their fiction.

When Did Vampires and Werewolves Start Hating Each Other?

Their (often literal) blood feud is a relatively modern creation. So how did vampires and werewolves end up at each other’s throats?

The cover of Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.’

11 Strange Facts About ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde’

The true facts surrounding the classic work are as mysterious and intriguing as the novel itself.

The cover of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ by Ruben Toledo.

10 Blood-Curdling Facts About ‘Dracula’

In true undead style, Dracula holds up well: He’s as creepy today as he was when Bram Stoker invented him in 1897.

Guided by Voices: 7 Books Supposedly Written by Ghosts

From famous authors to a Roman emperor, these spirits sure had a lot to share.

Dollar Baby: Why Stephen King Sells the Rights to His Work to Up-and-Coming Filmmakers for Just $1

The Dollar Baby contract is Stephen King’s way of helping film students adapt his stories without financial barriers.

The cover of Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein.’

11 Surprising Facts About Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’

Here are the nuts and bolts about Mary Shelley's 200-year-old tale about what can go wrong when people play God.

These spooky tales will have you thankful you live in modern times.

6 Creepy Victorian Ghost Stories to Read Right Now

These stories need no contrivances to create places that are lonely and old, a place where bad things are kept hushed up instead of dealt with.

When Ernest Hemingway Walked Away From Two Plane Crashes Just Hours Apart

The novelist endured a crash in East Africa. Then his 'rescue' plane went down, too.

Charles Dickens gifted us with plenty of new words and phrases—including ‘not to put too fine a point on it.’

The Origins of 8 Literary Clichés

Clichés are viewed as a sign of lazy writing, but they didn’t develop that reputation over night.

The Girl With the Green Ribbon: A Grisly History of ‘Headless Woman’ Stories

Precursors to the story about the girl with the green ribbon were written by Washington Irving, Alexandre Dumas, and more famous authors.

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