Showing results for "Was" in Literary History & Criticism

Just before the small-time bootlegger Max Gerlach died, he tried to reveal his secret: he was the inspiration for the mysterious Jay Gatsby. It’s a nice story, but was he telling the truth? Veteran reporter Joe Nocera and producer Poppy Damon investigate this century-old literary mystery and uncover untold secrets about the Great American Novel.

The world will end in seven days. Winter is a Priestess, her life is simple and uncomplicated, but shortly takes a turn when she is appointed as an aide for a Mage who intends to stop the God of Death from spreading a plague that would end their world. Both of them begin searching the Urvalis library for answers and find more than they had bargained for.

Eight million people improve their mornings by tuning into Terry's words of wisdom on Wake up to Wogan. But is their appetite sated by this daily exposure? Not in the slightest. So it's lucky that Terry has been known to turn his hand to the odd bit of writing. This has allowed him to shed light on such weighty matters as how to survive a wedding, what Bank Holidays are for, why Eurovision could be responsible for the Celtic Tiger, whether we should watch out for potatoes, and where exactly it all went pear-shaped.

An “extraordinarily brilliant” and “pleasurably naughty” (André Aciman) investigation into the Shakespeare authorship question, exploring how doubting that William Shakespeare wrote his plays became an act of blasphemy…and who the Bard might really be. The theory that Shakespeare may...

Focused on the good, the great, and the problematic in the best-selling novel series The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Josh is an avid Dresderner, Alyssa is brand new!Together, they'll review and break down the series from different perspectives. Topics will include everything from the quality of the world-building and storytelling, to the problematic scenes and issues with the male gaze, and even to how accurate the crime scenes are (Alyssa is a coroner-investigator). Not to mention everything in between!New episodes every Sunday (Saturday with Patreon sub!)!https://www.patreon.com/...

Surely all of us know fear, and know the different types of fear we can experience. In this book, Arthur Christopher Benson walks us through these different types, going through a range of different topics, among others childhood fears many of us will remember, to the fears plaguing us in other periods of our lives, the origins of different fears, and essays on what a number of notable authors (of fiction) had to say about the subject. It should be noted that this book is not a scientific study, though written by an eminent scholar. Instead, all of Arthur Christopher Benson's remarkable ...

This is a volume of poetry by Henry Lawson, the well-known Australian poet. Some of the poems in this collection are still widely taught in school, some others are not widely known at this time. All of them, however, paint vivid images of Australia around the turn of the last century. As The Academy put it in 1909, "These ballads (for such they mostly are) abound in spirit and manhood, in the colour and smell of Australian soil. They deserve the popularity which they have won in Australia, and which, we trust, this edition will now give them in England." - Summary by Carolin

It Was A Book First is a weekly podcast about new book-to-screen adaptations. Hosted by culture reporters and former colleagues Sophie Vershbow and Rudi Greenberg, IWABF dissects the TV and film adaptations everyone is talking about, what you'll be reading and watching next, and the business behind what actually makes it off the page.

This children's historical fantasy book, a Newbery Honor Book in 1929, tells of a boy, blessed with eternal life, who experiences 3,000 years of history in the Bay of Naples, Italy. The boy's experiences cover Greek and Roman life, the destruction of Pompeii, up to the coming of Garibaldi. - Summary by Mark Harrington

Subtitled by the author as a "Nightmare", this is a fantasy, comic thriller about a plot to end the world by a group of anarchists. Generally regarded as Chesterton's most impressive novel. - Summary by Anthony Ogus

A short, humorous biography of famous people from 5000 BC to 1914. -- S. McGaughey From the Introduction, "The editor begs leave to inform the public that only persons who can produce proper evidence of their demise will be admitted to Who Was Who. Press Agent notices or complimentary comments are absolutely excluded, and those offering to pay for the insertion of names will be prosecuted. As persons become eligible they will be included without solicitation, while the pages will be expurgated of others should good luck warrant."Each section is shared by three readers: Sean McGaughey (Sections...

Doug Weaver and Theresa Buchheister started getting coffee together every week in September of 2024, when Buchheister moved back to Lawrence, KS from Brooklyn, NY after exactly 20 years. They met in the year 2000 when Weaver was a professor and Buchheister was a student.The vibes have always been solid and they persist.Giving into inevitability, they started a podcast in 2026.

Born into the influential Welsh Salusbury family and married to the rich brewer Henry Thrale, Hester Piozzi was associated to the most illustrious figures of London society in her time, among others the famous Samuel Johnson, to whose biography her diaries added valuable details. After surviving Mr. Thrale and her second husband Gabriel Mario Piozzi, at the age of 80, she fell in love with William Augustus Conway, to whom she wrote these letters. - Summary by Carolin

In this short pamphlet, Annie Besant - a well-known British women's rights activist - lays down British marriage laws as they were at her time. She opposes the view of married women as mere property of their husbands, with virtually no rights of their own, and makes suggestions for the improvement of marriage law, footed on equality of the sexes. In the second part of the pamphlet, she advocates for a law governing full divorce, instead of only the separation of husband and wife the church was granting, unwillingly, if at all. Although the pamphlet was written in 1882, Besants views of ...

This is undoubtedly the best of Chesterton's novels, a thriller which follows Gabriel Syme as he tries to find a way to bring the Supreme Anarchist Council to justice. Cast List: Narrator: Lynette Caulkins Lucian Gregory: Larry Wilson Gabriel Syme: Matthew Soanes The Secretary: Adrian Stephens Gogol: Cavaet The Marquis: Wayne Cooke Professor De Worms: Algy Pug Dr. Bull: Mozartjr Sunday and Gentleman 1: Dale Grothmann Rosamund Gregory: Devorah Allen Waiter and Zoo-Keeper: Marie Christian Mr. Buttons: TJ Burns Old Anarchist and Valet: Greg Giordano Mr. Witherspoon and Policeman: D.L. Brown ...

Discover the original stories behind Hollywood's biggest blockbusters—completely free! "The Book Was Better" delivers full audiobook versions of classic novels that inspired your favorite films. From "Pride and Prejudice" to "The Great Gatsby," "Winnie-the-Pooh" to "Alice in Wonderland," experience the rich source material that filmmakers have turned into cinematic gold for decades. Compare the book's vision with its silver screen adaptation, uncover deleted scenes Hollywood left on the cutting room floor, and appreciate the brilliant writing that caught directors' attention. No ...

Every kind of religious group has its zealots. Some of us were those zealots. Teenage pharisees. And we bought into the thing whole-heartedly to our own spiritual detriment. We grew up without televisions, pop music, movies, dancing, cards, alcohol, voting and a thousand other little things. We sacrificed these things so as to please God and know Him and be able to share Him with others. We went to church five times a week. Sober-faced, King James Only, Victorian church. And all that really didn't work out very well. We became prodigal's elder brothers, many of us. Unhappy, closed, cold, ...

Welcome to Was It Good?, the most unserious serious literary podcast on the internet. Silly geese PhD students Sid Robichaud (she/her) and Rowan Li (they/them) combine their scholarly expertise with their goofy natures to give you the rundown on adaptations of literature to film, TV, music, and other new media. What is the best Pride & Prejudice? Was Netflix’s Persuasion really that bad? Will they ever stop adapting Austen? Each month, Sid and Rowan will get in the pond to tackle these questions and more, taking you from page to screen (and beyond!) in order to decide: Was It Good?

Please note: this recording contains strong language. Also known simply as "1601", this is a humorously risque work by Mark Twain, first published anonymously in 1880, and finally acknowledged by the author in 1906. (Summary by John Greenman & Wikipedia)

In this captivating narrative, Margaret Dunlop Gibson recounts the remarkable journeys she undertook with her twin sister, Mrs. Lewis, in 1892 and 1893. Their first expedition led to the groundbreaking discovery of an early and significant codex of ancient Syriac gospels. The subsequent journey, joined by fellow Cambridge scholars and their wives, aimed to decipher this invaluable manuscript. Gibson reflects on the misconceptions that have arisen in the public discourse, asserting that while more skilled writers will chronicle the significance of these gospels, it falls to her to share how the...