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Craft and Criticism
Literary Criticism
Craft and Advice
In Conversation
On Translation
Fiction and Poetry
Short Story
From the Novel
Poem
News and Culture
History
Science
Politics
Biography
Memoir
Food
Technology
Bookstores and Libraries
Film and TV
Travel
Music
Art and Photography
The Hub
Style
Design
Sports
Lit Hub Radio
The Lit Hub Podcast
Awakeners
Fiction/Non/Fiction
The Critic and Her Publics
Windham-Campbell Prizes Podcast
Memoir Nation
Beyond the Page
First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing
Thresholds
The Cosmic Library
Culture Schlock
Reading Lists
The Best of the Decade
Book Marks
Best Reviewed Books
CrimeReads
True Crime
The Daily Thrill
Log In
English literature
How Close Did We Come to Losing
Beowulf
Forever?
Robert Bartlett on a Vital Work of the Western Canon That Barely Survived Multiple Disasters
By
Robert Bartlett
| October 10, 2025
How Charlotte Brontë’s Shyness Helped Make Her a Storyteller
Graham Watson Explores the Influence of Friendship and Community on the Author of "Jane Eyre"
By
Graham Watson
| August 11, 2025
What Jane Austen’s Possessions Reveal About Her Literary Ethos
Kathryn Sutherland Explores the Iconic Author’s Life and Work Through the Most Seemingly Mundane Objects
By
Kathryn Sutherland
| August 4, 2025
The Power of
Persuasion
: Why Lawyers Love Jane Austen
Natalie Jenner Explores the Legal and Judicial Side of One of English Literature’s Most Beloved Writers
By
Natalie Jenner
| May 6, 2025
How Charles Dickens’s Troubled Childhood Influenced His Literary Output
Peter Conrad Explores the English Novelist’s Cyclical Vision of Life and Art
By
Peter Conrad
| May 5, 2025
How Mr. Darcy Became One of Jane Austen’s Most Memorable Creations
Janet Todd Explores the Origins and Afterlives of a Longtime Object of Literary Desire
By
Janet Todd
| March 19, 2025
Best Reviewed
Books of the Week
Did Jane Austen Like Music? And Why Should We Care?
By
Gillian Dooley
| April 29, 2024
How Jane Austen Almost Walked Away From Writing
By
Anna Beer
| November 18, 2022
Trying to Teach English Literature in the Wake of Mao’s Cultural Revolution
By
Kim Echlin
| January 15, 2021
On John Milton, the Gunpowder Plot, and the Poet Who Laughed at Purgatory
Nicholas McDowell Navigates Heaven, Hell, and Everything In-Between
By
Nicholas McDowell
| October 29, 2020
Teaching High Schoolers to Talk Equally About Joy and Pain
Nick Ripatrazone Speaks to Teacher Catherine Reed
By
Nick Ripatrazone
| November 22, 2019
7 Novels That Explore Motherhood's Complexities
November 4, 2025
by
Donna Freitas
To Break Up with Friends, or to Murder Them: 5 Novels Featuring Fatal Friendship Failings
November 4, 2025
by
Jenna Satterthwaite
The Trauma Behind the "Good Old Days": Christina Henry on the Dark Trap of Nostalgia in Fiction
November 4, 2025
by
Christina Henry
The Best Reviewed Books of the Week
"Not much happens In fact there is much in the text that is not made…"