Beowulf the Bro
A new translation finds Beowulf comfortably at home in the 21st century.
Literature
The Romantic Reputation of John Keats
On his death, John Keats and his work looked sure to be forgotten. Why is his poetry now so well-loved?
What’s in a Name?
Erasing women writers in the name of uplifting them.
Angels Ever Bright and Fair
The ‘Angels of Mons’, a short story written in the earliest days of the First World War, became an enduring symbol of British providence.
Frankenstein: Between Two Worlds
Mary Shelley’s great novel is not a commentary on the Industrial Revolution, nor is it a simple retelling of the myth of Prometheus. It is far more original than that.
Chaucer: The Poet in His World
Is a biography of Chaucer impossible?
Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover (Quote)
How does the reader decide if a history book is worth their time?
The Enigma of Emily Brontë
Since the moment Emily Brontë died we have tried – and failed – to understand who she was.
The Medieval Invention of Fiction
What goes on in other people’s minds? The idea of writing about what we can never know – the interior lives of others – was born in the fertile hybrid culture of 12th-century England and made possible by the pursuit of romantic love.
Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover
The Parisian pornographer who modernised literature.