Six Facts About the Brontës
With three literary geniuses in the family—Charlotte, Emily, and Anne—the Brontës certainly secured themselves a (rightful) place in the...
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Marisa
- Jun 30, 2021
Book Diversity in Canadian Literature
Traditionally Canadian Literature, or CanLit, has highlighted voices of European settlers, been divided along English versus French...
Marisa
- Apr 28, 2021
Capturing the Gothic Life of Shirley Jackson on Film
I finally had the time to sit down and watch the 2020 movie Shirley (currently on Amazon Prime), based on a novel of the same name by...
Marisa
- Apr 21, 2021
Charlotte Brontë's Rejected Novel 'The Professor'
On this day in 1816, Charlotte Brontë was born! So, it is only fitting that I recently completed my reading of the first novel she ever...
Marisa
- Apr 11, 2021
School Textbooks Reflect our Societal Values
I recently wrote a post about What Makes a Literary Classic in which I was thinking about what we culturally consider a ‘classic’ and how...
Marisa
- Mar 8, 2021
Filling the Literary Gaps: English Female Writers 1750 - 1915
Not Just Jane: Rediscovering Seven Amazing Women Writers Who Transformed British Literature (2016) by Shelley DeWees is a delightful...
Marisa
- Feb 24, 2021
Reviewing One of the First English Novels
How do you review a book that is 300 years old? The grammar, punctuation, and narrative structure are not like anything we see in today's...
Marisa
- Feb 9, 2021
Classic F#@*ing Literature
Not typical classroom vocabulary, but a historical lesson nonetheless! That oft used F word can be a noun, an adjective, a verb, an...
Marisa
- Jan 3, 2021
Finding Their Voice: The Female Bildungsroman
Is there such a thing as a female bildungsroman? I break it down for you (including some suggested reading!).
Marisa
- Dec 14, 2020
Creating Christmas Traditions with Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1843) continues to be read, watched and performed after more than 175 years, and is enjoyed by all...
Marisa
- Nov 11, 2020
Remembrance Day 2020 #CanadaRemembers
You may be familiar with his words, but do you know the man who wrote ‘In Flanders Fields’? John McCrae was a Canadian military surgeon...
Marisa
- Nov 2, 2020
Reader-Response Theory: Putting the "You" Back into Literary Criticism!
When diving into literary criticism, I always encourage people to start with reader-response theory because it is something most people...
Marisa
- Oct 30, 2020
The Gothic Bluebook: Terrifying the Masses
While reading Franz J. Potter’s book The History of Gothic Publishing, 1800-1835 Exhuming the Trade (2005), I recently stumbled upon the...
Marisa
- Oct 16, 2020
Mary Shelley’s “hideous progeny”: Authorial Intent of 'Frankenstein'
Battle of the Editions: 1818 vs. 1831 Many are aware of the myth of how Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) came about: one stormy summer...
Marisa
- Oct 15, 2020
Tracing the Vampiric Roots of Bram Stoker's 'Dracula'
When we think of the vampire of popular culture, we tend to conjure images of aristocrats, seducers, wanderers. Even the sparkling...
Marisa
- Oct 6, 2020
Exploring the Tradition of the English Gothic Novel
A brief overview of the English Gothic novel, with recommended reading. Want more info? Check out series 1 of the Le Salon podcast.
Marisa
- Sep 28, 2020
Meet Your New Favourite Editions: Broadview Press
These Broadview editions of your favourite classics novels are ideal if you enjoy additional context with the original story.
Marisa
- Sep 7, 2020
Jane Austen: Romance Authoress or Social Radical?
Jane Austen is so much more than a romance writer. In The secret Radical, Helena Kelly dives into how Austen wrote about politics and more.
Marisa
- Sep 2, 2020
Distance Learning During Covid-19: Teaching Classic Literature to your Teen
If you are struggling with a teen who has to tackle classic literature in their English class, here are 5 tips to support them.
Marisa
- Aug 24, 2020
Western Literary Theory in 500 Words
Literary theory can feel overwhelming. Here we breakdown the key theories to apply to your own reading (you are probably even doing them!).
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