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The Original Nutcracker Story: Tchaikovsky's Ballet vs. Hoffman's Tale
Discover the enchanting differences between Tchaikovsky's ballet and Hoffman's original Nutcracker story.
Marisa
Dec 21, 2021

10 Facts About Edgar Allan Poe
Biographical facts about Edgar Allan Poe, the famous American Gothic writer.
Marisa
Oct 28, 2021

Who's Who in 'The Sun Also Rises'
It is no secret that Ernest Hemingway drew on his personal experiences attending the bullfights in Pamplona to draft his 1926 novel The...
Marisa
Sep 27, 2021

The Hemingway Special Cocktail (Papa Doble)
While Ernest Hemingway's oeuvre speaks for itself—The Sun Also Rises (1926), A Farewell to Arms (1929), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940),...
Marisa
Sep 20, 2021


The Lost Generation in Literature
In his memoir titled A Moveable Feast (1964), Ernest Hemingway recounts how writer Gertrude Stein first heard the term “génération...
Marisa
Sep 18, 2021


10 Facts About Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’
1. Aware of her growing popularity, Austen had anxiety over how Emma would be received by the reading public, writing: “My great anxiety...
Marisa
Aug 17, 2021


A Historic Glimpse of the French Literary Salons
What is a literary salon? Literary salons have their origins in the Renaissance idea of gathering for debate in the courts of Italy and...
Marisa
Jul 26, 2021

Book Diversity in Canadian Literature
Explore the vibrant world of Canadian literature with diverse narratives! Discover 13 must-read books.
Marisa
Jun 30, 2021


A Jane Austen-inspired Cocktail Recipe from Toronto’s Famous Last Words Bar
I am so thrilled to bring you a cocktail from the amazing literary-themed bar in Toronto, Ontario, Famous Last Words (FLW)! Over the past...
Marisa
May 13, 2021

Capturing the Gothic Life of Shirley Jackson on Film
I finally had the time to sit down and watch the 2020 movie Shirley (currently on Amazon Prime), based on a novel of the same name by...
Marisa
Apr 28, 2021

Charlotte Brontë's Rejected Novel 'The Professor'
On this day in 1816, Charlotte Brontë was born! So, it is only fitting that I recently completed my reading of the first novel she ever...
Marisa
Apr 21, 2021

School Textbooks Reflect our Societal Values
I recently wrote a post about What Makes a Literary Classic in which I was thinking about what we culturally consider a ‘classic’ and how...
Marisa
Apr 11, 2021


Literary Cocktail: Miss Cathy's Whip
"Wuthering Heights is the name of Mr. Heathcliff's dwelling, 'wuthering' being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the...
Marisa
Mar 18, 2021


Filling the Literary Gaps: English Female Writers 1750 - 1915
Not Just Jane: Rediscovering Seven Amazing Women Writers Who Transformed British Literature (2016) by Shelley DeWees is a delightful...
Marisa
Mar 8, 2021


Reviewing One of the First English Novels
How do you review a book that is 300 years old? The grammar, punctuation, and narrative structure are not like anything we see in today's...
Marisa
Feb 24, 2021

Classic F#@*ing Literature
Not typical classroom vocabulary, but a historical lesson nonetheless! That oft used F word can be a noun, an adjective, a verb, an...
Marisa
Feb 9, 2021


What Makes a Literary Classic?
Is it the amount of time that has passed? A wide readership? Originating from an ancient civilization? Defining a 'Classic' There is an...
Marisa
Jan 31, 2021

25 Books to Help with your Lockdown Wanderlust
Usually with the flip of the calendar to the New Year, we all begin looking ahead, planning for new adventures. But this year is so...
Marisa
Jan 20, 2021


Finding Their Voice: The Female Bildungsroman
Is there such a thing as a female bildungsroman? I break it down for you (including some suggested reading!).
Marisa
Jan 3, 2021

Creating Christmas Traditions with Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1843) continues to be read, watched and performed after more than 175 years, and is enjoyed by all...
Marisa
Dec 14, 2020
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