By Elodie Barnes | On September 7, 2024 | Updated March 15, 2025 | Comments (2)
Flora Thompson (December 5, 1876 – May 21, 1947), was an English novelist and poet, best known for her semi-autobiographical trilogy Lark Rise to Candleford.
The commercial and critical success of the books — Lark Rise, Over to Candleford, and Candleford Green — is such that they have never been out of print, and were adapted by the BBC for a four-season series in 2008. Read More→
By Katharine Armbrester | On August 27, 2024 | Updated August 30, 2024 | Comments (0)
Stevie Smith (September 20, 1902 – March 7, 1971) was known for satirical poetry as well as novels (including her best known, Novel on Yellow Paper) suffused with black humor, acid wit, and unorthodox contemplations of death.
Vastly different cultural epochs bookended her life. She was born the year after the end of the conservative Victorian Era and died the year after the turbulent “Me Decade”of the 1970s, as author Tom Wolfe dubbed it — began. (Photo above courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
As The British Empire lost its colonies and women gained independence, Smith’s poetry tapped into the era’s emotional and societal upheaval. Read More→
By Tyler Scott | On July 11, 2024 | Updated July 17, 2024 | Comments (0)
Dame Edith Sitwell (September 7, 1887 – December 9, 1964) was a British poet considered one of the first of the avant-garde movement. She had an enormous influence on literature and was also known for her eccentric demeanor, bon mots, and rather pronounced, if sarcastic, opinions.
As Elizabeth Bowen once said, she was “a high altar on the move.” Photo at right by Cecil Beaton.
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By Elodie Barnes | On June 9, 2024 | Updated March 15, 2025 | Comments (0)
Jan Morris (October 2, 1926 – November 2, 2020) was a Welsh author and historian, whose work spanned the genres of journalism, memoir, history, essays, articles, and novels.
As a writer, she is best known for her Pax Britannia trilogy (a social history of the British Empire) and her written portraits of cities including Trieste, Venice, Oxford, Hong Kong, and New York City.
She is also famous for her transition from male to female in 1972, making her one of the first transgender public figures. Read More→
By Alex J. Coyne | On June 3, 2024 | Updated June 1, 2025 | Comments (0)
Mariama Bâ (April 17, 1929 – August 17, 1981) was a Senegalese novelist, poet, teacher, and feminist. Her best-known works, So Long a Letter and Scarlet Song, both written from a woman’s perspective, explored themes of multiculturalism, polygamy, oppression, interpersonal relationships, and grief.
These two novels are among the most widely translated and studied African works of the twentieth century, according to Cambridge University Press. Read More→
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