On March 31, 1836, Chapman and Hall published the first installment of Charles Dickens' Pickwick Papers. The story bore little resemblance to what the publishers thought they were going to print--to the advantage of the young Dickens, who was quickly vaunted to literary fame. The Pickwick Papers was certainly not the first serial novel, but it did make an indelible mark on the publishing world.
The friendship between writers Washington Irving and Charles Dickens began in 1840, after the publication of Dickens’ The Old Curiosity Shop. Irving wrote a letter to Dickens complimenting him on the novel, and Dickens replied enthusiastically. The two continued to correspond until Dickens arrived in America in January 1842.
The two writers finally met in person when Dickens traveled to New York. At a party celebrating his visit, Dickens gave a speech in honor of his friend, Irving:
On March 19, 1842, Honoré de Balzac's play Les Ressources de Quilona opened to an empty theatre. The fault was Balzac's own; in an attempt to create buzz around the play, he'd started a rumor that the play was sold out. The plan obviously failed to incite the clamor for tickets that Balzac had hoped for. By this time, Balzac was already a well known writer, but his plays had never been received well. They were, in a word, flops. Luckily for Balzac, his novels both made and saved his literary reputation, mitigating the negative impact of his plays. And he's not alone; a number of other famous authors have published works that critics found disappointing.
When Emily Brontë published Wuthering Heights, critics were less than enthusiastic about the book. On December 18, 1847, The Spectator printed a rather harsh review, which echoed the opinions of contemporary critics:
"The success is not equal to the abilities of the writer; chiefly because the incidents are too coarse and disagreeable to be attractive, the very best being improbable with a moral taint about them, and the villainy not leading to results sufficient to justify the elaborate pains taken in depicting it."
When a new edition was published in 1850, it included a "Biographical Notice" penned by Charlotte Brontë. In addition to justifying all three sisters' decision to publish their works pseudonymously, she clearly intended to defend her sister against her critics. But most modern critics think that Charlotte overstated the case, making the critics seem more harsh than they'd actually been. At any rate, Wuthering Heights has endured as a paragon of Romantic literature.
John Updike is proof that quality doesn’t have to be sacrificed for quantity. This highly accomplished author averaged at least one book a year during his career, while also composing poetry, short stories, and essays. He is one of three fiction authors to win more than one Pulitzer Prize. Both novels to receive the prize were a part of his famous Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom series.
John Steinbeck has become a central figure in the American literary canon. A winner of the National Book Award, Pulitzer Prize, and Nobel Prize, Steinbeck certainly has the accolades to justify that position. But Steinbeck's detractors--including members of the Swedish Academy--doubted the legendary author's merits, and Steinbeck himself didn't believe he was worthy of the Nobel.
It is a curious incongruity that Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - widely considered one of the great American novels - was first published in Great Britain. Released stateside in February 1885, the book has remained in constant state of controversy ever since. The subject of that controversy, however, has vacillated considerably according to the mores of the time.
Twain initially intended the book as a sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Its first working title was Huckleberry Finn’s Autobiography;
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain has long been considered an invaluable work of literature – some even declaring it THE great American novel. Students pore over it in the classroom; lovers of classic literature read it, and reread it, and reread it again; and book collectors dream of adding rare editions to their libraries.
Although Twain’s story manages to capture a long-passed time period while also exploring themes relevant to today’s society, books of a certain age rarely make the headlines of our newspapers. They are seen as time capsules, set in stone just as they are. But the final word on Huckleberry Finn has yet to be spoken.
Virginia Woolf, born Adeline Virginia Woolf on January 25, 1882, ended her prolific life on March 28, 1941 by filling her overcoat pockets with rocks and drowning herself in the current of the River Ouse near her home at the age of 59. She's remembered for having brilliantly mastered the art of writing in essays, novels, and letters. Woolf was also a passionate literary critic and an avid diarist.
On December 30, 1816, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Wollenstonecraft Godwin were wed. The two had already run away together in July, 1814, but they couldn't get married because..Percy was already married. Once his wife died, he and Mary tied the knot almost immediately. Though Shelley had been heir to a wealthy relative's estate, he'd been banished from Oxford after refusing to admit authorship of a controversial essay. Thus he and his wife spent most of their time in Europe, dodging creditors.
C.S. Lewis is one of the most important Christian intellectual and influential writers of the twentieth century; it's unlikely anyone would argue with that. Lewis has inspired generations of fiercely loyal readers and collectors. His books are staples not only in fantasy and children’s literature, but also in theology. Certainly, Lewis distinguished himself as a classic in world literature.
