#historical lit

[motherlarkspur]

Dearest Enkimoots (Epic of Gilgamesh Mutuals), today I have learned that the Epic of Gilgamesh is made up of 5 sumerian poems (Gilgamesh and Huwawa; Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven, Gilgamesh and Agga of Kish; Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld; and Death of Gilgamesh) dating to over a thousand years before the full Epic (which was in Akkadian).

I know I will be reading these along with The Descent of Ishtar and Eridu Genesis (The Flood Myth), so i thought you all may also like it.

[disast3rtransp0rt]

"'You do not know me,’ said Tortoise. ‘I am a changed man. I have learned that a man who makes trouble for others makes trouble for himself.'"

- Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (published in 1958)

[er-cryptid]

Phaedo (57a to 61c)

-- takes place in Phlius, a Peloponnesian town

-- Echecrates lives in Phlius

-- Phaedo is an admirer of Socrates

-- Phaedo visits Echecrates

-- Echecrates heard about the delay between Socrates' trial and execution

-- Phaedo tells him about the trip to Delos

-- no executions may be carried out during this journey

-- Socrates spent a long time in prison because of this

-- Echecrates asks for the story of Socrates' execution

-- Phaedo says he did not pity Socrates because Socrates was happy

-- Phaedo and Socrates had a philosophical discussion, but it took place in an unhappy situation (the execution)

-- there was a mix of pleasure and pain

-- many people were present

-- Crito, Simmias, and Cebes were there

-- Plato was ill and absent

-- Socrates' wife was there and hysterical

-- Crito took Socrates' wife outside

-- Socrates said pleasure and pain are opposites but seem intimately connected and one is rarely found without the other

-- Socrates had been composing poetry out of a need to cultivate the arts

-- Socrates' poetry is based on Aesop's fables

-- Socrates had always considered philosophy the greatest art

.

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[kaiserin-erzsebet]

One of the more frustrating things about the particular kind of anti-intellectualism directed at the humanities here and on places like tiktok is that pointing it out makes you seem like a killjoy.

No, I actually didn't find your "historians will say they were just friends" joke funny. No I don't think speculating that old photos are in black and white to make them seem older is harmless. But I seem uptight and "not fun" when I say these things.

[nedlittle]

apropos of nothing, here are some gay historical fiction novels that engage with historical queerness in thoughtful, complex, and interesting ways (organized chronologically)

hild by nicola griffith ↪ early 7th century england

a tip for the hangman by alison epstein ↪ 1585-1593 england

confessions of the fox by jordy rosenberg ↪ 1702-1724* england

the confessions of frannie langton by sara collins ↪ 1812-1826 jamaica to england

patience and sarah by isabel miller ↪ 1816 america

devotion by hannah kent ↪ 1830s prussia to australia

the sweetness of water by nathan harris ↪ 1865 america

whiskey when we're dry by john larison ↪ 1885 america

the city of palaces by michael nava ↪ 1897-1913 mexico

tipping the velvet by sarah waters ↪ 1890s england

at swim, two boys by jamie o'neill ↪ 1915-1916 ireland

the gods of tango by caro de robertis ↪ 1913-1920s argentina

uncommon charm by emily bergslien and kat weaver ↪ 1920s america

the book of salt by monique truong ↪ 1930s vietnam to paris

the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay by michael chabon ↪ 1939-1954 america and beyond

the flight portfolio by julie orringer ↪ 1940 france

the savage kind by john copenhaver ↪ 1940s america

a thin bright line by lucy jane bledsoe ↪ 1950s america

*this one has a framing device and footnotes from the present day but the bulk of the story is set in the early 1700s

[ardley]

Lexington Street, Soho

Photographed by Freddie Ardley

[reputayswift]

VASILISA PETROVNA was an ugly little girl: skinny as a reed-stem with long-fingered hands and enormous feet. Her eyes and mouth were too big for the rest of her. Olga called her frog, and thought nothing of it. But the child’s eyes were the color of the forest during a summer thunderstorm, and her wide mouth was sweet. She could be sensible when she wished—and clever—so much so that her family looked at each other, bewildered, each time she abandoned sense and took yet another madcap idea into her head. In truth, VASYA was still awkward, but she had begun growing into her face. The bones were still rough-hewn and overlarge, her mouth still too wide and full-lipped for the rest of her. But she was compelling: the moods passed like clouds over the clear green water of her gaze, and something about her movements, the line of her neck and braided hair, caught the eye and held it. When the light struck her black hair it did not gleam bronze as Marina’s had, but dark red, like garnets caught in the silky strands. (x,x)

[lets-get-lit]

There are years that ask questions and years that answer.

- Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

[androgynealienfemme]

"The faggots and their friends live the best while empires are falling. Since the men are always building as many empires as they can, there are always one or two falling and so one or two places for the faggots and their friends to go. When an empire is falling, the men become so busy opposing the rebellions elsewhere and searching for the reasons why this is happening, that they have no time to watch the faggots and their friends at home. The populace, tired of hearing only of foreign defeats, allows the faggots room to play. This entertains them. Once the empire is gone, the cause of the present evil must be found. And the faggots and their friends along with others often get chosen. Then times get bad and the faggots and their friends fade."

The Faggots & Their Friends Between Revolutions, Larry Mitchell (1977)

[ereyies]

"Hey, little songbird, give me a song..."

hey guys it's me elaine and dare i say this is one of the best drawings i've made all year??

my style fluctuates and changes so much, i love experimenting with all sorts of styles and brushes and effects. my art regressed significantly and became suddenly manufactured by apple or something because i was producing art rapidly and frequently every day, however it was simple and wonky and messy and my art suffered. seeing how much i've learnt and improved upon since the beginning of the year gives me great pride as i was so close to giving up art completely. this piece gives me the same feeling, along with many other of my recent works i've made for others.

but anyways i know you aren't here to read anything i have to say so i'll wrap this up with a quick thank you to all of my followers, best friends, and my soul family for supporting me and my art so far, your support is sometimes the only thing that keeps me motivated!! thank you to the of mice and men fandom for reminding me that cringe is dead and for being interested in my silly oc <33 you all have my eternal gratitude.

maybe i will get back to phantom of the opera and frankenstein art soon enough when my college workload has eased up a bit, love you all!!

without effects + sketch

[margridarnauds]

Emer ingen Forgaill did not tell a guy her father was trying to force her to marry "lol I want to marry Cú Chulainn, I will always want to marry Cú Chulainn, and also he could beat you up" for me to constantly see "have you considered the women in the Middle Ages who LIKED arranged marriages" -- like there's room for nuance, especially re: literature VS reality, as well as the way it's generally treated by the protagonist as being shocking (I remember a particularly egregious example in a book about Juana of Castille), but also...like...there's a reason chivalric romances exist in the form they do.

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

The Companion by E.E. Ottoman

goodreads

New York, 1949

After years of trying to break into New York City's literary scene, Madeline Slaughter is emotionally and physically exhausted. When a friend offers her a safe haven as the live-in companion to reclusive, bestselling novelist Victor Hallowell she jumps at the chance to escape the city.

Madeline expects to find rest and quiet in the forests of Upstate New York. Instead, she finds Victor, handsome and intensely passionate, and Audrey Coffin, Victor's mysterious and beautiful neighbor.

When Victor offers her a kiss and the promise of more Madeline allows herself to become entangled even as Audrey is also claiming her heart. The only problem is that Audrey and Victor are ex-lovers with plenty of baggage between them. As Madeline finds herself opening up and falling in love with both she starts to wonder, can there be a future for all three?

Mod opinion: I haven't read this one yet but it is on my tbr. t4t4t romance yippiiiieeeeeeee. Update: I've read and enjoyed it. t4t4t erotic romance.

[pridepages]

Dear Gentle Reader, can't get enough Bridgerton? Think it would be better if we'd just admit Eloise is sapphic? Fear not! These ladies loving ladies have just the thing... A Bluestocking's Guide to Decadence by Jess Everlee ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A decadent butch lesbian in a lavender marriage seeks out the aid of a straight-laced, bluestocking doctor for a friend. It's just business...until it isn't!

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Lord Marleigh died at Waterloo and like a phoenix, Viola Carroll rose from the ashes to spread her wings. Now she's home, but does she dare trust her old friend, the Duke of Gracewood, with her heart and her true self?

Don't Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Marriage is a lady's only preservative from want. Imagine the scandal if one fell for her best friend! There is no future there...unless the two of you can make a match between your newly-single parents.

Infamous by Lex Croucher ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Edith "Eddie" and Rose have been best friends since childhood. But after their debutante ball, Rose is talking about marriage while Eddie can't imagine anything but being a famous writer. When a curious invitation from scandalous poet Nash Nicholson brings Eddie and Rose to an eccentric, hedonistic house party...will it be the end of their friendship or the start of something more?

[shiroganejpg]

the prompt was "den finally gets little a money and nor pickpockets him Immediately"

[sad-eyed-lady-of-the-paperbacks]

I’m doing a thing! It’s a retelling of the plot of The Brothers Karamazov from Grushenka’s perspective. You can read it on ao3.

[ardley]

Blindmoor, Somerset

Photographed by Freddie Ardley