#20th century authors

[edwardian-girl-next-door]

"And, as she spoke, I had a sudden vision of broad spaces, virgin tracts of forest, untrodden lands... I seemed to see her for a moment as she was, a proud wild creature, as untamed by civilization as some shy bird of the hills."

Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920)

[bookloversofbath]

The Turning Point: Thirty-five Years in this Century :: Klaus Mann

[bauliya]

i really think this was the novel that birthed ecocriticism like my god. 1851. 1851!

[edelweiss-maiden]

‛𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 — 𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚠𝚗. 𝚊 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍, 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚜, 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗.’

𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐞 (𝟏𝟗𝟑𝟗)

[lady-sophie-kat]

Thinking about how The Secret History could have been written in the 2020s as well as in the 1930s or as it actually was in the 90s... It's such a versatile and compatible-to-any-century book. Leaving it open to the reader, to imagine the time the characters live in... It's what makes the book so amazing & the truly timeless classic it has become. In 50 years our descendants will read it, and still be mesmerized by it like we were when we read it for the first time. They will still be, hopefully, to relate to it as we do. What are your thoughts on this?

[mahgnib]

Agatha Christie, age 16, Paris, 1906

[chadlesbianjasontodd]

Closely connected to the act of name signing was the act of writing poems on walls. As scholars have already pointed out, with beginnings traceable to the Six Dynasties, wall poems (tibishi) were already very widespread during the Tang. By Christopher Nugent's count, well over one thousand entries in the Complete Tang Poems had titles indicating that they began as inscriptions on some surface other than paper or scrolls. These surfaces included walls at places of gathering and transit, such as post stations, scenic sites, inns, and increasingly in the latter part of the Tang, Buddhist temples, which also served public roles for lay gatherings and performances. (100)

In one anecdote, a latecomer casts aspersions on a first writer's literary skills, comparing him to the general Xiang Yu (232-202 BCE), who was infamous for having learned just enough writing to manage his name: "Li Tang signed his name on a pavilion in Zhaoying County. When Wei Zhan [jinshi degree 865] saw it, he took a brush and dashed off a taunt: 'The rivers of Wei and Qin brighten the eyes, / but why is Xiren short on poetic spirit? / Perhaps he mastered only what Beauty Yu's husband could / learning to write just enough to put down his name.' " ... It would not be a stretch to imagine the sniggering of those who read this inscription in a frequented pavilion. (102)

For a degree seeker in Chang'an, these circuits of information and judgment received more discussion than the actual examination itself. Tang literati wrote copiously about activities such as name signing, public exposure, and triumph. It would not be an exaggeration to say that in ninth-century temples and popular recreation areas, the vertical spaces were teeming with verses that clamored for attention. (104)

selections on poetic graffiti from linda rui feng's city of marvel and transformation: chang'an and narratives of experience in tang dynasty china (university of hawaii press, 2015)

[sassafrasmoonshine]

Félix Lorioux (French, 1872–1964) • Illustration of Tom Thumb from Tales of Perrault , Charles Perrault, authot (1628-1803) • 1926

[frenchnewwaves]

"I never wish to be easily defined. I'd rather float over other people's minds as something strictly fluid and non-perceivable; more like a transparent, paradoxically iridescent creature rather than an actual person."

-Franz Kafka (diary of March 24th 1914)

[sesamestreep]

it really is SUCH a shame that there’s no episode of TOS where the enterprise crew time jumps to Regency-era England or goes to a planet that modeled its culture on that era or something, because it would truly slap for every single main character. Like I don’t even have to explain why this would be awesome for Spock— Mr. I’ll-smash-a-computer-with-my-bare-hands-before-I’ll-admit-I’m-horny himself, king of repression, who basically recreated the famous Pride and Prejudice Hand Flex Scene™️ with his beloved Captain that one time, who meets a blind woman with a high tech gown that helps her “see” and LITERALLY tells her to give his compliments to her dressmaker, who mislead a woman once about his affections and tenderly promised to safeguard her reputation forever about it, who has the perfect angular features to be set off by a cravat—I mean, you get it, but then you’ve also got Kirk—handsome, affable, brave Naval captain who loves his crew more than himself, who falls in like deep profound love with every woman the plot throws at him—and then McCoy—cantankerous, sure, (ever heard of a grumpy/sunshine trope??) but with impeccable, downright old school manners towards women and, yeah, a doctor’s not that prestigious in Regency times, but for like a young lady in trouble who needs the protection of a man’s name or who just wants to piss off her stuffy aristocrat family by marrying “beneath” them, who could be better? If you throw Scotty in the mix, well, he’s Scottish, which [points at a whole subgenre of regency romance novels] is all he’d really need. I’m just saying they would have CLEANED UP, okay??

[edwardian-girl-next-door]

"Why, you and me -- we're all that's been. The anger of a moment, the thousand pictures, that's us... How can we live without our lives? How will we know it's us without our past?"

John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath (1939)

[child-of-hurin]

As most novels I read feature sexism in varying degrees, there's something orientating about reading one so imbibed in a more extreme level of misogyny that it helps recalibrate one's standards

[hornyforpoetry]

The Five Stages of Reading Albert Camus

 1. The Discovery – ”The Stranger” (1942)

 „The Stranger” is unquestionably the best choice for anyone who wants to get to know Albert Camus. It's so simple that it fools you at first. You think it's going to be an easy read, but when you finish the book and put it down, you don't even know your name or if it even matters to have a name. It will probably keep your mind busy for months and make you think about the true meaning of life. You will most likely never be the same person again.

 2. Falling in Love – ”Betwixt and Between” (1937) // ”The Fall” (1956) // ”Exile and the Kingdom” (1957)

After "The Stranger" has had time to settle and stick in your mind (a process that takes about six months to a year), it's time to explore other writing. Camus doesn't use the same language in every book, so it's important to be careful what you choose to read after. The best options to fall irrevocably in love with this French philosopher are ”Betwixt and Between”, which is his very first published book, ”The Fall”, which offers a very interesting narrative perspective, or ”Exile and the Kingdom”, his only collection of short stories. After going through these, your heart will be caught in the nets of love for Camus.

 3. The Surprise – ”The Plague” (1947) // ”A Happy Death” (written 1936–38, published 1971) // ”Summer” (1954) // ”Nuptials” (1938)

After the reader has gone through the above books, he will have the impression that he knows Camus. Now is the time for him to have the surprise of his life. Camus managed the feat of not giving the audience the same thing twice. That is why each of his writings is unique. Some are easier to read and digest, some are not. At this stage, it is time to get acquainted with its more difficult side. "The Plague" is a story that shakes you to the core and is difficult for even the best readers to get through. ”The Happy Death” should never have seen the light of day, being the first version of what we now know as The Stranger. "Summer" and "Nuptials" are dubbed essays and are similar in format to ”Betwixt and Between”, but here Camus approaches a completely new language, so poetic and refined that it instantly wins you over. Only after the reader goes through these books can he say that he understands a part of Camus.

 4. Not just a writer – ”The Myth of Sisyphus” (1942) // „The Rebel” (1951) // Theatre Plays // Journalism Articles

 Camus was not only a great French writer. He was also a philosopher (though he never called himself that), a journalist and a playwright. If you are interested in fully understanding Camus, you must also understand his writings in other fields. "The Myth of Sisyphus" is the essay that formed the basis of the formation of a new philosophical current called absurdism. "The Rebel" continues the work started by "The Myth of Sisyphus", going much deeper into the issues related to the meaning of life, art, war, etc. Plays like "Caligula" (1938) or "The Misunderstanding" (1944) are wonderful pieces of art in the history of the theater, while summing up the entire philosophy of Camus. His journalistic articles reveal a Camus involved in society, trying to change something in one way or another through writing. "Reflections on the Guillotine" (1957) for example was an important work that contributed to the abolition of the death penalty in France. Camus never confined his writing to a single specialization, and this can be seen in the skill with which he explored the power of the word in its various forms.

5. Camus the Human – ”The First Man” (incomplete, published 1994) // ”American Journals” (1978) // ”Correspondence (1944–1959)” // ”Notebooks”

At this point, after going through all these readings, we also want to find out who was the man behind the word. Camus put many things from his personal life into writing, but in this selection we have the most personal point of view. ”The First Man” was supposed to be an autobiographical novel, but Camus died before he could finish it. The remaining manuscript was revised and published years after the author's death. "American Journals" captures a highly sensitive moment in his life, an existential crisis in Camus's life. ”Correspondence” is an exchange of letters between Camus and the woman with probably the greatest influence in his life, Maria Casares. Finally, the "Notebooks" are a collection made from the notes that Camus wrote over the years in his countless notebooks. Every intimate thought, beginning of a novel, reflection, trace of feeling, all these complete the image of Camus as a man.

Congratulations! If you have reached this point, you have managed to go through all the stages of knowledge and you can call yourself a true fan of Albert Camus. Now go and spread his teachings to other little outstiders. And don't forget, the only purpose of life is to be happy (reading Camus together).

[edelweiss-maiden]

‘𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑓𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑑’ — daphne du maurier, rebecca (1938)

[have-you-read-this-short-fiction]

"Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote" is available to read here

*Originally published in Spanish under the title "Pierre Menard, autor del Quijote"

[darkacademianew]

I derive my personality from his. He showed me that even philosophers can be cool.