Category Archives: Classics

Little Dorrit is divided into two sections. The first is Poverty, and the second is Riches. Is this all you need to know about its imagery? Of course not — but if you add the title of the first chapter, … Continue reading →

At the end of his introduction to John Shade’s poem “Pale Fire,” Charles Kinbote advises readers to read his commentary on the poem before reading the poem itself, and then to consult the commentary while reading the poem, and then … Continue reading →

There’s a story I love about Graham Greene. In 1949, the New Statesman held a contest for parodies of Greene’s writing style. Greene himself entered the contest under a pseudonym, and won second (!) prize. Sixteen years later, in 1965, … Continue reading →

I’ve been waiting to write about The Waves until after I met with my Read More Woolf reading group. I hoped that our meeting would give me some extra insight about this difficult and complex novel — I already appreciated … Continue reading →

When I mentioned on Twitter last weekend that I was considering reading Mariana by Monica Dickens, Frances almost immediately piped up to say that she “looooooved that book.” That was more than enough to get me to read it, but … Continue reading →

“Yes, of course, if it’s fine tomorrow,” said Mrs. Ramsay. “But you’ll have to be up with the lark,” she added. You may remember that I am participating in a Read More Woolf reading group at my university. Our first … Continue reading →

Nanda Grey is 9 years old when her father, a convert to Roman Catholicism, enrolls her in the Convent of the Five Wounds in Lippington village, outside London. Nanda is an intelligent child who, after a few stumbles getting used … Continue reading →