Tag: books
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Fantastic Miscellany Special Offer!
For a short time only you can buy all three of my miscellanies — The Book Lovers’ Miscellany, A Library Miscellany and A Museum Miscellany direct from the Bodleian Library shop for the bargain price of £25 (they are usually £9.99 each). What’s more they come tied in a fancy ribbon! This book bundle would…
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My Next Book: A Museum Miscellany
It is with great excitement that I introduce my next book A Museum Miscellany — the final instalment of my miscellany trilogy (see here for more details on sister books The Book Lovers’ Miscellany and A Library Miscellany). I am especially excited about the gorgeous cover designed in-house by my wonderful publishers, Bodleian Library Publishing…
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6 Writers and Artists who Quit
The creative urge is seen as something that can’t be ignored, and yet over the years a number of hugely talented writers and artists have walked away from writing, poetry or the art world. Some cited disillusionment, others fatigue, while a few never explained their reasoning at all. Below are a number of writers and…
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On Definitions of Short Stories
I just finished reading Henry James’ Daisy Miller (1878) and once I’d finished the story itself I flicked on to read the appended essay that was included in my Penguin English Library edition. The first thing that caught my eye was the description, or should I say classification, of the story as a ‘nouvelle’. This…
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When Charlotte Brontë met William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray was one of Charlotte Brontë’s literary heroes. In 1848 she dedicated the second edition of Jane Eyre to him, after much admiring the recently released Vanity Fair (1848). She wrote in the preface to that edition that Thackeray was ‘the first social regenerator of the day’, adding, ‘His wit is bright, his…
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10 Bestselling Books Written in Less Than 2 Months
Writing often seems like a tortuous process, we tend to picture novelists hopped up on coffee, hunched over their laptops staring into space while their creative muse torments and then deserts them. However some writers subvert that image by churning out a book in the time it takes most people to get round to writing…
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A Collection of Literary Orphans of Note
Literature is littered with orphans. The classic plot trope of the poor parentless child has appeared in numerous books across the eras, untethering our fictional heroes and allowing them to muster their resilience and overcome their tragic start. For a bit of fun I thought I would collate some literary orphans of note here and…
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The Real McCoy Blog Tour!
To celebrate the publication of my latest book The Real McCoy and 149 Other Eponyms I am embarking on a blog tour! From November 1 to 10 I will be sharing extracts from the book so please do drop by all the featured blogs and take a look. See below for the details of all…
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Real streets named after literary characters
The built-environment often reflects the especial history of an area, with local luminaries, ancient landmarks and builder’s names often revealed in the street names. More recently town planners have been indulging their love of literature by including references to fictional places, characters or authors that have become associated with the region. Below are some examples…
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Introducing my next book: The Real McCoy
It is with great excitement that I announce my next book: The Real McCoy and 149 Other Eponyms. Here is a taster of what to expect: The English language is rich with eponyms – words that are named after an individual – some better known than others. This book features 150 of the most interesting…