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Archive: "novels" Tag

Jack London

100 years ago today, Jack London, American author and activist, died at age 40 in California. London is best known for his tales of the Klondike Gold Rush, including the novel The Call of the Wild and the oft-anthologized short story “To Build a Fire.” He was a prolific writer who wrote nearly two dozen …

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H.G. Wells

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of novelist Herbert George Wells. Best known for his science fiction, Wells’ first career was as a science teacher. His first forays at publishing were educational articles and even a science textbook (pictured at the left)! Special Collections’ Victorian and Edwardian Collection is home to numerous first …

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Celebrating Cervantes

April 23 marks the 400th anniversary of the death of Spanish novelist Miguel Cervantes, author of Don Quixote. Special Collections holds over a dozen rare copies of Don Quixote in Spanish, French, and English, from early 17th century English translations to fine press versions illustrated by modern artists. Here are some of our favorites! The …

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Irish literature in Special Collections

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Celebrate with a book of Irish literature! Special Collections owns many first editions of literary works by Irish writers of the 19th and 20th centuries, from prolific novelist Charles Lever to modernist provocateur James Joyce. Here are a few suggestions to get your celebration started, whatever your literary taste: Start traditionally …

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New acquisitions: bestselling 19th century mysteries

Two of Special Collections’ newest additions in the realm of rare literature are groundbreaking mystery novels, one British, the other American. Fergus Hume’s The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (Victorian Collection PR 4809 .H87 M8 1887b) was the best-selling mystery novel of its day. Hume self-published the novel in 1886 while working as a law …

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Victorian Book of the Month: Famous first lines

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times….” (Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities)   “There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.” (Bronte, Jane Eyre)   “It is a truth universally acknowledged….” (Austen, Pride & Prejudice)   Great 19th century British novels provide some of the best opening …

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Victorian Book of the Month: Wonderland edition

Lewis Carroll’s beloved Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was first issued by his London publisher, Macmillan, in July 1865. Before Alice Carroll had published a number of mathematical works under his true name, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. He adopted his famous pseudonym in 1856 for the many poems, short prose, and even puzzles which he submitted to …

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Anthony Trollope, 1815-1882

Today we celebrate the birth of beloved (and prolific!) Victorian author Anthony Trollope, 200 years ago. Trollope wrote over 60 books during his lifetime, including 47 novels, as well as numerous short stories, an autobiography, and even a few plays. Trollope’s professional career was with the General Post Office. His early novels were written while …

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Louisa May Alcott’s First Novel

December marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of Moods, Louisa May Alcott’s first novel. Alcott wrote Moods, a novel of love and marriage, sometime during the period 1860-61. She may have been partly inspired by the 1860 marriage of her older sister Anna to John Pratt. The plot of Moods revolves around a love …

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