A 4 Million Word Betrayal
By some estimations, Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time is the longest novel ever written. It is also considered one of the best. Though broken up into seven volumes, with the last three still rough drafts at the time of Proust’s death, the 1,200,000 word novel is lauded as a singular work of “daily epiphanies.” Christopher Hitchens … Read more
200 Pages of Tension in The Woman in White
Wilkie Collins (1824-1889) composed the memoriam on his own tombstone, listing what he considered the singular accomplishment of his life: “AUTHOR OF THE WOMAN IN WHITE.” Collins wrote other famous books–The Moonstone, for example, is considered the first true detective novel– but he will forever be tied to this one serial that was published in … Read more
Rape and Blood and Dracula
What was it about Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice that inspired the folks at Quirk Publishing to think, “This would be so much better with zombies?” Given that the mash-up spawned imitators and graphic novels and prequels and sequels, it obviously struck a public nerve. I think it is because the Quirk folks hit on the same idea as … Read more
Jo Refuses Laurie
In my final post on Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, I want to focus not on the death of Beth, which is the climax of the novel, but on that peculiar narrative twist that Alcott was so proud of: Laurie doesn’t end up with Jo. Let’s put this deferred romance in perspective. If you look … Read more
Writing about kids, for kids in Little Women
The premise of this blog is to read “the greatest works of literature.” Looking at that very long reading assignment, compiled and winnowed by twenty-odd “best of” lists from the last hundred years, there’s something glaringly missing: children’s literature. The idea of children’s lit didn’t exist until the 19th century, so it is no fair … Read more
