The Three Endings of ‘Great Expectations’

Great Expectations begins. In one of the most memorable openings Dickens ever wrote…

Notes on Susanna Clarke’s “Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell” (2004)

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Tolkien Reread 1: ‘The Ring Sets Out’

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John Crowley, ‘Little, Big: or, The Fairies’ Parliament’ (1981)

Anne Boleyn’s Sixth Finger

We’ve all heard the story, though Wikipedia dismisses it:

Nicholas Sander, a Catholic…

Shylock’s Pound of Flesh

There were Jews in Shakespeare’s London, though they were all either actually or notionally Christian converts. In…

Why Are So Many Fantasy Novels Published As Trilogies?

Who was Phlebas the Phoenician?

Short answer: Eliot made him up. He’s not a person. Which is to say, this is not a name recorded…

Gene Wolfe, ‘The Book of the New Sun’ (1980–83)

Why Is Screwtape Called Screwtape?

Screwtape is the name of the senior devil who, in Lewis’s famous 1942 book, writes a series of…