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Louisa May Alcott

Books

10 Memorable Sets of Sisters in Fiction

By Alison Nastasi on

Unconditional love and support, sibling rivalry, and family secrets pepper the world of literary sisters. One half of a famous pair of real-life sisterly scribes has a birthday today: Emily Brontë. The Wuthering Heights author spent a lifetime penning poems and other tales with siblings Charlotte and Anne (using masculine pseudonyms), all devoted to their craft and each other — especially during the troubled times of their youth. Since the Brontës often used material from their lives to inform their stories — including their tight-knit relationship — we felt inspired to take a look at fictional sisters who also shared powerful bonds full of passionate and complex emotions unique amongst women and girls. Add to our list below. … Read More

Books

Fantastic Novels with Disappointing Endings

By Judy Berman on

They can’t all end with “yes I said yes I will Yes,” but is there anything less satisfying than turning the final page of a book you’ve loved and being thoroughly dissatisfied with its conclusion? This only happens to us rarely, and while a weak ending usually won’t completely ruin a great novel, it can certainly leave us feeling frustrated. After the jump, we round up books both classic and contemporary that have had us hooked all the way through, only to leave us wanting more (and not in a good way). Warning: spoilers abound. … Read More

Books

Literary Mixtape: Jo March

By Emily Temple on

If you’ve ever wondered what your favorite literary characters might be listening to while they save the world/contemplate existence/get into trouble, or hallucinated a soundtrack to go along with your favorite novels, well, us too. But wonder no more! Here, we sneak a look at the hypothetical iPods of some of literature’s most interesting characters. What would be on the personal playlists of Holden Caulfield or Elizabeth Bennett, Huck Finn or Harry Potter, Tintin or Humbert Humbert? Something revealing, we bet. Or at least something danceable. Read on for a cozy reading soundtrack, character study, or yet another way to emulate your favorite literary hero. This week: the second eldest (and most fiery) March sister, Jo. … Read More

Books

10 Lost Novels the World Found Again

By Emily Temple on

This past week, Jack Kerouac’s first-ever novel, The Sea is My Brother, was finally published 40 years after his death. The novel, long thought to be lost by experts, was unearthed in Kerouac’s personal archive by his brother-in-law. We are constantly inspired by the way that our over-processed world still hangs on to its secrets, and even more by the way that bits of history can hide in plain sight, so to celebrate this newest development in the literary canon, we decided to take a look at Kerouac’s newest/oldest book and other lost novels that were eventually found again. Click through to see our list of lost and found novels, and if you’ve ever had a literary relative, get ready to go hunting in your attics for your own treasure chests. … Read More

Books

RIP, Our Favorite Secondary Characters in Literature

By Kathleen Massara on

We all grieve when the protagonist of a novel dies, but how about when we mourn over characters who aren’t as prominent? They might be the friends, mentors, peers, and family members who share the spotlight at times but who either peripheral to the main action or because of other circumstances drift apart from the storyline at some point along the way, due to their untimely ends. From the unexpected deaths to the horribly slow ones, we offer you ten secondary characters who passed too soon but who will not be forgotten. … Read More

Books

Our Favorite Writers as Legos

By Emily Temple on

We already knew that you can do just about anything with Legos, but we never imagined we’d see our favorite writers portrayed with that telltale yellow skin and weird cup hands. Luckily for us, way back in 2007, Fine Clonier held a contest asking people to build Lego versions of historical figures. But it’s only now, via Booklicious, that we’re hearing of it, and we thought we’d share. Obviously our favorites are the literary figures, but there are many great ones, so click through to see all the literary legos, and browse all the contest entries, from Hatshepsut to Pelé, here. … Read More

Books

5 Literary Romances We’d Like to Read

By Caroline Hagood on

In The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott, Kelly O’Connor McNees adds some New England nookie into the famously single author’s life back in the summer of ’55 (1855, that is). Here, Alcott is not portrayed merely as a suffrage-minded spinster, but as a sexual being capable of forbidden love and even, gasp, coitus with the dapper Joseph Singer.

McNees doesn’t invent her protagonist’s sensual side out of nothingness. Alcott may have written the safely moralistic Little Women, but she also penned more salacious tales, with titles such as A Long Fatal Love Chase, under the pen name, A.M. Barnard; and was rumored to have had an affair with Ladislas Wisniewski (“Laddie”) while in Europe that inspired the character of Laurie in her novel. … Read More

News

The Morning's Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

By Caroline Stanley on

1. So this is exciting news: Netflix is coming to the iPad. The free app will be available as of April 3rd, and will allow subscribers access to their full-streaming library. [via Silicon Alley Insider]
2. Meet the rising stars of gossip blogs, including once-upon-a-time Flavorwire contributor Foster Kamer. [via NYT]
… Read More