Filling in the Blank Spaces In Joseph Conrad’s famous 1899 novella Heart of Darkness the narrator, Marlow, notes that since his childhood the world has become increasingly mapped and explored : “At that time there were many blank spaces on the earth, and when I saw one that looked particularly read more…
British Literature
“He’s always going to be the guy who wrote Sherlock Holmes” [Article]
When Authors are Overshadowed by their Creations: A Frankenstein Tale When Dr Victor Frankenstein brings his famous creature to life in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), it is not long before he has lost control of his creation. The creature is bigger, faster, and stronger than his creator and so, when read more…
Episode 2: Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes, and Spiritualism
Sherlock Holmes is the most rational and scientific detective of them all. So why did his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, passionately believe in ghosts, fairies, and telepathy? Arthur Conan Doyle Arthur Conan Doyle is now best remembered as the creator of Sherlock Holmes. In fact, his creation has long taken read more…
[Article] Invasion Fiction to Spy Novels: Erskine Childers and John Buchan
The Rise of the Spy Novel: The Riddle of the Sands and The Thirty-Nine Steps Episode 1 of Words To That Effect was on invasion fiction, sometimes also called invasion literature or future war fiction (you can listen to episode 1 here). If you are interested in the area then read more…
Episode 1: Invasion Fiction, William Le Queux, and Fake News
What is invasion fiction? Who was the mysterious William Le Queux? Why did a group of famous British authors secretly meet at the outbreak of World War I? And what did “fake news” look like a century ago? Episode 1 of Words To That Effect explores the power of read more…