Wuthering Heights is now a classic of English literature, but back in the Victorian era it was controversial because of its unusually stark depiction of mental and physical cruelty, and it challenged strict Victorian ideals regarding religious hypocrisy, morality, social classes and gender inequality. Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights was first published in London in 1847 by Thomas Cautley Newby... Read More
Thomas Hardy, an English novelist and poet, failed to find a publisher for his first novel. He then showed it to his mentor and friend, the Victorian poet and novelist, George Meredith, who felt that The Poor Man and the Lady would be too politically controversial and might damage Hardy's ability to publish in the future. So Hardy followed his advice and he did not try further to publish it. He... Read More
Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented is a novel by Thomas Hardy. It initially appeared in a censored and serialised version, published by the British illustrated newspaper The Graphic in 1891. The “fine and handsome” daughter of a poor country peddler, with evidently little more than her brimming emotions and her “large innocent eyes” to distinguish her from the other gi... Read More
As Alexander Theroux once said that Hardy was "committed to the deep expression of ironic chaos and strange apathy, even hostility, toward man." Thomas Hardy was one of Britain’s greatest authors. Hardy's work was admired by many younger writers, including D. H. Lawrence, John Cowper Powys, and Virginia Woolf. One of Thomas Hardy’s most powerful works, The Return of the Native centres famously... Read More
O. Henry is best known for his witty short stories with unexpected endings. Born William Sydney Porter, this author decided to use a pen name for his writings while he was in prison and afterwards. O. Henry brought his own information about prison and “the life of crime” into his stories. This paired with wit and plot twists is what made him such a renowned author. While O.Henry’s style is to u... Read More
Masha Gessen is a Russian-American journalist, author, translator and activist who has been an outspoken critic of the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin and the President of the United States, Donald Trump. Masha Gessen’s “The Brothers: The Road to an American Tragedy” seeks to explain how Dzhokhar and his older brother, Tamerlan, became the Bombers. Early in Masha Gessen’s book “The Brother... Read More