George Gissing’s 1891 novel “New Grub Street” about literary and journalistic London has as its main characters two aspiring writers. Jasper Milvain who puts commercial success ahead of art and secures the editorship of an important periodical and Edwin Reardon who although a talented novelist can’t support his family, his wife leaves him and he […]
Tag: novelist
Stephen King turning seventy
Master of horror Stephen King, who has written over fifty novels and roughly two hundred short stories, turns seventy next month. The influence of his work is as strong as ever, with film adaptations of “The Dark Tower” and “It” due for cinema release in the coming weeks and a series based on one of […]
The International Style of Muriel Spark: Sparkiving in Japan
February 1st 2017 would have been Dame Muriel Spark’s 99th birthday. What it will be is the beginning of a year-long countdown to her centenary, signalling a series of events and activities that will celebrate the life and writing of one of Scotland’s greatest 20th Century writers. And while we at the Library are busy […]
Nan Shepherd on the new five pound note
Good news this week for Scottish literature. Nan Shepherd, one of our best and most interesting 20th century writers will feature on a new £5 note from the Royal Bank of Scotland. Who exactly was the commanding figure on the new note? Nan Shepherd (1893-1981) lived in Aberdeenshire all her life, and published only […]
Out in Scotland! LGBT display
(Sandstone Press) February is LGBT History Month and we are celebrating the LGBT Scottish writing perspective with a small display just outside the Reading Rooms in our George IV Bridge building in Edinburgh. LGBT writing is especially vibrant in Scotland at the moment with many top sellers and prize winners. Recent National Library guest Val […]
Stevenson on screen
This week we are celebrating Robert Louis Stevenson’s contribution to cinema with a display highlighting film versions of his most famous novels. Although he died in 1894, a couple of years before the birth of cinema, RLS made an impact on films all the same. He is one of the most adapted writers for the […]
The world of Agatha Christie
In 1921, a publishing phenomenon began with the publication of The Mysterious Affair at Styles, a sophisticated murder mystery with a protagonist by the name of Hercule Poirot. It was the first of more than 60 crime novels by Agatha Christie, and heralded the career of an author who has been unsurpassed by any crime […]
The real Jane Austen: a life in small things
(Photo credit: HarperPress) (Image shows the cover title of the book which features an image of Jane Austen alongside the title and author of the book) Many of us are familiar with Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park and Emma. And we may think that we know much about the author of these novels, Jane Austen. […]
J.R.R Tolkien: the making of a legend
(Photo credit: Lion Hudson) (Above image shows a photograph of J.R.R. Tolkien) Long before the massively successful The Lord of the Rings films, J.R.R Tolkien’s creations and characters had captured the imagination of millions of readers. Today, it is difficult to imagine a world without Tolkien’s stories of Middle-earth, elves, wizards and hobbits. But who […]