William Makepeace Thackeray

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Litstack rec | Vanity Fair & The Stars Are Legion

Published on : 17 April, 202017 April, 2020 Published by : LitStackEditor

Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray The early nineteenth century didn’t have reality television, but it did have William Makepeace Thackeray’s Vanity Fair—and if you’re in need of a novel to escape into, this is the one. Vanity Fair is a classic of social-climbing, backbiting, profligate behavior, and true love. […]

Litstack Recs: Vanity Fair & Slade House

Published on : 1 November, 20191 November, 2019 Published by : Lauren Alwan

Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray The early nineteenth century didn’t have reality television, but it did have William Makepeace Thackeray’s Vanity Fair—and if you’re in need of a novel to escape into, this is the one. Vanity Fair is a classic of social-climbing, backbiting, profligate behavior, and true love. […]

LitStaff Pick: Our Favorite Politically Satirical/Guilty Pleasure Reads

Published on : 8 November, 20128 November, 2012 Published by : LitStackEditor

We just couldn’t make up our minds. Some of the folks on the staff were beyond tired of hearing about anything political. (We know a few of you are as well). Others, however, knew that they wanted to discuss the satirically political books they loved the most. And since the […]

On this day, February 26, in 1802, Victor Hugo was born in Besançon, France. Considered one of France’s greatest authors, the man who penned Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame was born at a time of great political upheaval both in his country, and in his family. His father was an officer in Napoleon’s army, but his mother was a staunch supporter of the Bourbon Monarchy. Early in his career he gained fame as a poet and in 1841 was honored by King Louis-Philippe, but was exiled when Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III) seized power ten years later. Returning to Paris in 1870, he was hailed as a
national hero. He remained active politically, championing social issues, until his death from pneumonia in 1885, at age 83.

On this day, December 3, in 1857, Joseph Conrad was born in Berdichev, Imperial Russia (modern
Ukraine, then a part of Poland). While he settled in England and wrote in English, he always considered himself a Pole. Heart of Darkness, one of the most famous of his 20 novels (which explores colonialism and the attitudes regarding what constitutes a barbarian versus civilized society) is considered one of the best English novels of the 20th century, as is his novel Lord Jim, which chronicles a crew’s abandonment of its disabled ship. Conrad died in England in 1924 at age 66.