literature

This Week In History News, Sept. 5 – 11

Mysterious stone balls unearthed at Neolithic Scottish tomb, 800-year-old Merlin texts translated, Napoleon's hat containing traces of his DNA goes up for auction.

By All That's Interesting • Sep 10, 2021

News

This Week In History News, Sept. 5 – 11

Mysterious stone balls unearthed at Neolithic Scottish tomb, 800-year-old Merlin texts translated, Napoleon's hat containing traces of his DNA goes up for auction.

By All That's Interesting • September 10, 2021

What Happened When A White Man “Became” Black In Mid-20th Century America

In an attempt to understand a non-white life in America, John Griffin dyed his skin "black" and set off to the South. His experience, recounted in Black Like Me was, as you might expect, painful.

By John Kuroski • Aug 31, 2021

What Happened When A White Man “Became” Black In Mid-20th Century America

In an attempt to understand a non-white life in America, John Griffin dyed his skin "black" and set off to the South. His experience, recounted in Black Like Me was, as you might expect, painful.

By John Kuroski • August 31, 2021

Gloria Hemingway’s Tragic Life As The Transgender Child Of Ernest Hemingway

Throughout his adult life, Gregory Hemingway struggled with gender dysphoria and tried to live as a woman — which irreparably damaged his relationship with his father.

By Kaleena Fraga • Jun 7, 2021

Gloria Hemingway’s Tragic Life As The Transgender Child Of Ernest Hemingway

Throughout his adult life, Gregory Hemingway struggled with gender dysphoria and tried to live as a woman — which irreparably damaged his relationship with his father.

By Kaleena Fraga • June 7, 2021

Meet Josiah Henson, The Escaped Slave Whose Journey To Freedom Inspired ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’

After walking 600 miles to Canada in 1830, Josiah Henson returned to the United States to free over 100 more slaves.

By Genevieve Carlton • Feb 28, 2021

Meet Josiah Henson, The Escaped Slave Whose Journey To Freedom Inspired ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’

After walking 600 miles to Canada in 1830, Josiah Henson returned to the United States to free over 100 more slaves.

By Genevieve Carlton • February 28, 2021

Meet Joan Vollmer, The Beat Generation Muse Killed In A Drunken Party Trick Gone Wrong

Joan Vollmer opened her New York City home to the raucous Beats — and was ultimately shot in the head by one of the movement’s most influential writers, her common-law husband William S. Burroughs.

By Marco Margaritoff • Jan 21, 2021

Meet Joan Vollmer, The Beat Generation Muse Killed In A Drunken Party Trick Gone Wrong

Joan Vollmer opened her New York City home to the raucous Beats — and was ultimately shot in the head by one of the movement’s most influential writers, her common-law husband William S. Burroughs.

By Marco Margaritoff • January 21, 2021

How A Japanese Noblewoman Defied Convention To Write The World’s First Novel, ‘The Tale Of Genji’

In 11th-century Japan, Lady Murasaki Shikibu had a vision that inspired her to write a novel whose vivid scrolls survive to this day.

By Natasha Ishak • Jul 15, 2020

How A Japanese Noblewoman Defied Convention To Write The World’s First Novel, ‘The Tale Of Genji’

In 11th-century Japan, Lady Murasaki Shikibu had a vision that inspired her to write a novel whose vivid scrolls survive to this day.

By Natasha Ishak • July 15, 2020

‘Indiana Jones Of The Art World’ Recovers Stolen 15th-Century Manuscript Of Persian Poetry By Hafez

"To find copies of the Divan of great quality…is rare enough, but this is also signed by a famous calligrapher with beautiful quality illumination, and dedicated to a key figure in the Persian and Islamic arts of the book."

By Marco Margaritoff • Mar 23, 2020

News

‘Indiana Jones Of The Art World’ Recovers Stolen 15th-Century Manuscript Of Persian Poetry By Hafez

"To find copies of the Divan of great quality…is rare enough, but this is also signed by a famous calligrapher with beautiful quality illumination, and dedicated to a key figure in the Persian and Islamic arts of the book."

By Marco Margaritoff • March 23, 2020

Meet The Real-Life Dog That Inspired Buck From ‘The Call Of The Wild’

Jack London became so enamored with a dog he met while prospecting for gold in the Yukon Territory that he used their bond to create one of the 20th century's most iconic works of literature.

By All That's Interesting • Feb 11, 2020

Meet The Real-Life Dog That Inspired Buck From ‘The Call Of The Wild’

Jack London became so enamored with a dog he met while prospecting for gold in the Yukon Territory that he used their bond to create one of the 20th century's most iconic works of literature.

By All That's Interesting • February 11, 2020

Queen Elizabeth I’s Sloppy Handwriting Gave Her Away As The Unknown Translator Of A Roman Text

"The higher you are in the social hierarchy of Tudor England, the messier you can let your handwriting become. For the queen, comprehension is somebody else’s problem."

By Natasha Ishak • Dec 3, 2019

News

Queen Elizabeth I’s Sloppy Handwriting Gave Her Away As The Unknown Translator Of A Roman Text

"The higher you are in the social hierarchy of Tudor England, the messier you can let your handwriting become. For the queen, comprehension is somebody else’s problem."

By Natasha Ishak • December 3, 2019

Louisa May Alcott: The Free-Thinking Abolitionist Who Overcame Poverty And Depression To Write ‘Little Women’

Louisa May Alcott infused Little Women with her personal trials and tribulations of growing up in an impoverished and unconventional family.

By Natasha Ishak • Nov 24, 2019

Louisa May Alcott: The Free-Thinking Abolitionist Who Overcame Poverty And Depression To Write ‘Little Women’

Louisa May Alcott infused Little Women with her personal trials and tribulations of growing up in an impoverished and unconventional family.

By Natasha Ishak • November 24, 2019