Literature

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien's fantastical world of Middle-earth may be make-believe, but for Tolkien it had a real purpose: It was a land where he could create a rich tapestry ...

"The Water Margin," also known in English as "Outlaws of the Marsh" or "All Men Are Brothers," is ...

I’d been reading Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” to my 10-year-old daughter. I admit I was immediately motivated by my ...

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Sometimes this is true. A picture comes in handy ...

Readers will enjoy the new Charles Krauthammer book, “The Point of It All: A Lifetime of Great Loves ...

As the border wall with Mexico that President Trump is building gains greater and greater attention, so too ...

The Russian poet Anna Akhmatova is too tragic and striking a figure ever to be forgotten. A famous portrait depicts ...

Anyone who has read classic literature knows that there are things in old books that offend our sensibilities. ...

Albert Einstein’s quote, “The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the ...

Since the days of Aesop, animals have been used as vehicles by which humankind has addressed its moral, ...

It was Lord Chesterfield, not a particularly profound thinker, who in 18th-century England correctly observed that "I am ...

Celebrating its millennial anniversary in 2008, “The Tale of Genji” (“Genji Monogatari”) is a masterpiece of Japanese literature. Completed ...

Writer Andrew Davies, who has won general acclaim for his television adaptations of historical novels, including most famously ...

“The Lord of the Rings.” “Star Wars.” “Harry Potter.” These beloved fantasies, despite their differences in tone and setting, all ...

In November 2018, the Nation’s Report Card announced that no more than 40 percent of America’s fourth and eighth graders are proficient ...

Dear Readers, Studies suggest that loneliness permeates our world today, undermining health and even leading to early mortality. ...

The New Year has come, and I am sure most of us are considering or have written those ...

The Northern Land   When the first glimmer of dawn appears As if heaven and earth have just ...

Ah! It’s a lovely Friday evening. You’ve had a successful work week and now it’s time to have ...

Everyone knows a drama queen. In Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility,” Marianne Dashwood happily plays the role, and ...

While a vast majority of Americans believe in God or a “universal spirit,” many feel they have trouble connecting to ...

There’s an allure and intimacy to handwritten words, as though they can capture a part of humanity in ...

Charles Dickens took six short weeks to pen his iconic story “A Christmas Carol,” which tells the tale ...

In 1804, a 19-year-old Oxford University undergraduate named Thomas De Quincey swallowed a prescribed dose of opium to ...

For almost 20 years, I have written book reviews for a weekly newspaper in Western North Carolina. In ...

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the chaos and the noise that seems to be a normal part ...

Jane Austen’s last completed novel, “Persuasion,” was published in 1817, less than six months after her death. Austen ...