"'It’s a girl,' the nurse said, softly. My mother smiled big, then nodded in silence. That was the first sentence of a book that describes my undoing. That was the first story someone else told for me."
American writer William Sydney Porter died #OTD in 1910.
O. Henry's stories are known for their memorable characters, vivid descriptions, and especially their surprise endings. Some of his most famous stories include "The Gift of the Magi," "The Ransom of Red Chief," "The Last Leaf," and "The Cop and the Anthem."
"At times he regarded the wounded soldiers in an envious way. He conceived persons with torn bodies to be peculiarly happy. He wished that he, too, had a wound, a red badge of courage."
Venetian scholar Elena Cornaro Piscopia was born #OTD in 1646.
She was the first woman in the world to receive a doctoral degree. On June 25, 1678, Elena became the first woman to be awarded a Doctor of Philosophy degree. Her doctoral examination was held in the cathedral of Padua to accommodate the large audience, including prominent scholars and nobles. The next female doctorate was granted by the University of Bologna in 1732 to Laura Bassi.
"What can any individual do? Of that, every individual can judge. There is one thing that every individual can do, — they can see to it that they feel right."
Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery serial, Uncle Tom's Cabin, or Life Among the Lowly, starts a ten-month run in the National Era abolitionist newspaper.
‘Hallowed be – thy –’
The light is come upon the dark benighted way. Dead!
Dead, your Majesty. Dead, my lords and gentlemen. Dead, Right Reverends and Wrong Reverends of every order. Dead, men and women, born with Heavenly compassion in your hearts. And dying thus around us, every day.”
Big Barrel is off to the dumpster to get some grub. Jakub Żulczyk draws a picture of decline in Many Years of Hardships, translated by John and Małgorzata Markoff.
Following along with #SPFBO ? Check out @davedobson amazing haiku project! What a great celebration of books. I especially love the best name and favorite word aspects.
Just beginning to reading a new danmei series, “Golden Terrace” 🌸 which was recommended to me by @geraineon. After a quick break reading some Japanese manga, I’m ready for the more complex world of these novels. Masha, the tiny black kitty, is ready for sofa time 😺📚
First appearance of E. W. Hornung's fictional gentleman thief A. J. Raffles in the story "The Ides of March" in Cassell's Magazine (London).
The stories were collected into one volume—with two additional tales—under the name "The Amateur Cracksman", which was published the following year. Hornung used a narrative form similar to Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories.
I am a Nebula Award finalist, and the Nebula conference is this week. My book, THE INN AT THE AMETHYST LANTERN, is nominated for the Andre Norton Nebula Award for younger fiction (young adult in this case). So what's the book about? I've got you covered: https://jendiagammon.com/2024/03/18/about-the-inn-at-the-amethyst-lantern/
"Artists are people who are not at all interested in the facts—only in the truth. You get the facts from outside. The truth you get from inside." –Ursula K. Le Guin
If you ever wanted a version of Dionysus in Wisconsin that was short, set in 2010, and replaced most of the magic with discussions of philosophy, I've got a new short story out! It's free and full of whimsy (and existentialism). It's a slow burn, friends-to-lovers, dealing with depression, café AU version of DIW. You can find it on my website in both epub and pdf formats: http://ehlupton.com/extras/