#May or may not be inspired by gulliver— | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rosella35 · 2 years

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G/T Stories Appreciation

For everyone who’s followed my stories over the years, you may already know that I’m a pretty inconsistent contributor to the G/T community, but this year has been by far the most challenging! As much as I’ve wanted to keep writing Borrowed Courage and post more art (and fanart) on here, I’ve been struggling through the final year of my psychology degree at university, and while it’s almost over, it’s taken up a lot of the time that I used to spend engaging with the amazing creators here on this platform.

So basically, I’m writing this post to give all of my favourite giant-tiny stories (and their authors) a well-deserved shoutout! There have been a few series that I’ve binged while stressed from thesis-writing this year, and a heap more that got me through high school and plenty of other stressful times in life, so without further ado, have some recommendations!

A Tall and Small Collection by @narrans - Definitely one of my staple reads this year! For anyone wanting a wholesome yet angsty story about a borrower family and their resident human, this one is a must! Narrans is an incredibly talented writer, and I can’t wait for the much-anticipated paperback of ATaSC coming out soon!

Watch Your Step by @not-a-space-alien - Hands down one of the most creative takes on the ‘human catches fairy’ trope. Thistle is such a well-developed character, and the interactions he has with his human roommates are so entertaining (and have literally made me laugh out loud at times!). If you’re after a slow burn trust-building story, then I couldn’t recommend this one more!

Nobody’s Fool by @ratcatcher0325 - I binged this whole story the other night after submitting an essay and it was incredible! I usually don’t read too many pet trope works anymore, but this one warmed my heart for a good reason. I loved the journeys each character went on throughout the story; especially Penn’s. It's always so empowering to read about a character overcoming prejudices and using their story to inspire others!

A Fraction of Justice - another one by @ratcatcher0325 which deserves just as much praise as Nobody’s Fool! Alexander is such a strong yet vulnerable character, and I am loving he and Natalie’s story so far. Seriously amazing writing, especially during the emotional scenes!

Online Dating Can Be Hard by @duckit7 - Seriously such a sweet story about two people developing feelings for each other in a mixed-size world. I love the world-building in this one, and how realistic the characters and their struggles are. Definitely worth a read if you like slow burn romance with a sprinkle of angst!

Gulliver’s Children by @rosabea6 - This one’s a webtoon about a teenager with a size-shifting disease. Once again, some crazy world-building, and scarily realistic scenes. Also, the art is absolutely incredible! I’ll flag that this one is for mature audiences since there are some violent scenes, but overall hands down the most amazing G/T themed comic I’ve read!

Perspectives Series by @hiddendreamer67 and @arc852 - I'm not part of the Sanders Sides fandom, but this series was wild! I can’t believe how many different scenes and tropes you guys managed to write over such a short period; it’s beyond impressive. If I had to pick a favourite, it would have to be ‘Switched Perspectives’, since I’m a sucker for size switching shenanigans (and in this case angst)!

Borrowtober Series by @Nicole08196 over on deviantart - This one doesn’t get old! A super cute story about a family of borrowers and their two resident humans, with a really fresh perspective on the lives of borrowers. Nicholas and Darius would have to be my favourite pair; their guitar practicing bonding sessions are so wholesome!

Trust Series by @creatorofuniverses and @neonthewrite over on deviantart - As if I would forget mentioning the trust boys. This one has a special place in my heart, since I basically went through high school following along with the series (and now here I am at 23)! For those who haven’t read it yet, Trust follows the lives of two viri (who pretty much live like borrowers) and their human counterparts, and has four main AUs so far. Definitely worth checking it out!

Spirit of Adventure - also by @creatorofuniverses , with a supernatural twist! Basically a viri who can see ghosts, his ghostly friend and a team of human detectives out fighting crime. What could go wrong?

The Prince and the Faeling - another amazing series by @creatorofuniverses which you can find at @askthefaeling . It’s an angsty story about a spoiled prince and his snarky fae companion.

Brothers Apart by @nightmares06 - This series definitely takes the throne for most prolific! Even if you’ve never watched Supernatural, Brothers Apart and its many AUs explore just about every G/T theme under the sun, and with incredible writing to boot! If I were to pick a favourite, it’d have to be a tie between ‘Brothers Adopted’ and ‘Brothers Lost’, but all of the AUs are amazing in their own right ^_^

I also want to give a special mention to @neonthewrite ’s Bowman of Wellwood, @keydekyie ’s The Moth and the Bear, and @bittykimmy13 ’s Christian and Gloria stories for being my G/T nostalgia bombs, the first two of which are now published! If you haven’t already, go check them out!

I’m sure there are many more writers who I’ve missed, so please add them in if you’d like! Huge thank you to you all for doing what you do! ^_^

#gianttiny #gtcommunity #g/t community #g/t writing #g/t author #author appreciation #the borrowers

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tsaritiz · 1 year

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All Identity V references (or easter eggs) to popular culture found.

Some are taken from theories of fandom others are found by me.

Martha Remington as the surname taken from the typewriter brand "remington" (also curious beacause in the game you have to decode typewriters)

Doctor, Emily Dyer is inspired by Amelia Dyer a british serial killer who killed lots of young children while beyond her cares.

Helena Adams references to Helen keller, a blind def woman who were a full-time activist.

Priestress (Fiona Gilman) references to HP Lovecraft's story "The dream in the witch's house."

The Magician references to Servais le roy, the creator of the illusion technic of levitation.

Naib Subedar, in his backstory makes reference to the british invasion of india.

Thief, Kreacher Pierson references George Müller, a Christian evangelist and the director of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England. He was one of the founders of the Plymouth Brethren movement. His surname is named after Arthur Tappan Pierson, a friend of George Müller who wrote his biography.

The explorer references to Gulliver's Travels.

William Ellis references William Webb Ellis, the alleged inventor of rugby. He also shares the exact same name as him

Norton Campbell's background story references the author H.P Lovecraft's short story titled The Transition of Juan Romero.

Enchantress, Patricia Dorval's adoptive mother references Marie Laveau a Louisiana Creole practitioner of Vodou, herbalist and midwife who was renowned in New Orleans.

Wilding, Murro's Deductions mentions Kasper Hauser, a German youth who claimed to have grown up in the total isolation of a darkened cell.

Female Dancer, Margaretha Zelle references both Mata Hari, a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I and Natalia from The Last Circus.

Acrobat, Mike Morton's appearance references both Arlecchino from Commedia dell'arte and Vander Clyde Broadway an American female impersonator, high-wire performer, and trapeze artist born in Texas.

"Prisoner", Luca Balsa references Nikola Tesla a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and futurist best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system.

Entomologist, Melly Plinius references Pliny the Elder (Gaius Plinius Secundus) the Roman author/naturalist/natural philosopher.

Batter, Ganji Gupta's background story references the British Colonization of Indian Subcontinent (1858-1947).

"Psychologist", Ada Mesmer's Surname references Franz Anton Mesmer, a German physician who developed the theory of animal magnetism. She may also be inspired in Ada Lovelace the matematician

Soul Weaver, Violetta references Aloisia 'Violetta' Wagner, a famous German freak show performer from the early 20th century. She was renowned for having tetra-amelia syndrome.

The Ripper, Jack references Jack the Ripper an unidentified serial killer active in the impoverished districts in and around Whitechapel in the East End of London in 1888. His background story references Walter Sickert, a German-born British painter and print maker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London and was suspected of being Jack the Ripper.

Geisha, Michiko references Chōchō-San from Madame Butterfly. She may also reference Yosano Akiko or Higuchi Ichiyo, both famous writers and geishas. But not only, she may reference the play of Fukuchi Ochi "Mirror Lion" .

Hastur is based on The King in Yellow from H.P. Lovecraft novels (Cthulhu Mythos Franchise).

Wu Chang, Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiu references Heibai Wuchang (黑白无常, Black and White Impermanence) the two Deities in Chinese folk religion in charge of escorting the spirits of the dead to the underworld.

Photographer, Joseph Desaulniers references both Nicéphore Niépce a French inventor, usually credited as the inventor of photography and a pioneer in that field and Dorian Gray from The Picture of Dorian Gray. His background story also mentions the French Revolution.

Mad Eyes, Burke Lapadura references Edmund Burke, a highly regarded Canadian architect best known for building Toronto's Prince Edward Viaduct or "Bloor Street Viaduct" and Toronto's Robert Simpson store.

Dream Witch, Yidhra references Yidhra from the H.P. Lovecraft novels (Cthulhu Mythos Franchise).

Bloody Queen, Mary references both Marie Antoinette the last queen of France and a controversal figure during the French Revolution and the abilities based on Bloody Mary.

"Disciple", Ann's background story references the Salem witch trials.

Violinist, Antonio references Niccolò Paganini an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique.

Sculptor, Galatea Claude possibly references Camille Claudel a French sculptor known for her figurative works in bronze and marble and her name references to the statue carved of ivory by Pygmalion of Cyprus of the same name from Greek Mythology.

"Undead", Percy references Victor Frankenstein from the author Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein.

The Breaking Wheel, Will Brothers references the Breaking wheel with their trailer also referencing the Execution of St Catherine.

Naiad, Grace references Naiads, fresh water nymphs presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water from Greek Mythology. She also appears to reference H.P. Lovecraft's novella The Shadow Over Innsmouth.

Wax Artist, Philippe is based on Philippe Curtius a Swiss physician and wax modeller who taught Marie Tussaud the art of wax modelling.

Hermit, Alva Lorenz references Thomas Edison, a famous inventor.

Night Watch, Ithaqua is based on Ithaqua from H.P. Lovecraft novels (Cthulhu Mythos Franchise).

"Big Daddy" is likely a reference to "Big Brother" from 1984 by George Orwell, the leader who keeps all citizens under constant surveillance and controls them.

Allen, while little is currently known about him, is likely based off Zadok Allen from The Shadow Over Innsmouth.

Andrea may be based on Antonia Bianchi, a singer and the long term lover of Niccolo Paganini.

Arthur Byers is likely based on Ambrose Bierce, the author of “Haïta the Shepherd” in which Hastur first appeared.[1]

Catherine is based on St. Catherine of Alexandria who was executed using a breaking wheel.

Christina's death scene in Philipe's character trailer is an allusion to The Death of Marat by French painter Jacques-Louis David.

Claude Desaulniers is based on Claude Niépce, the older brother of French inventor Nicéphore Niépce.

Damballa is based on the benevolent spiritual intermediary in Haitian Voodoo of the same name.

James Reichenbach's last name is a reference to Reichenbach Falls, the name of the location where Arthur Conan Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes had his fight to the death with his greatest foe Professor Moriarty.

James Whistler is based on the real life painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler who was the mentor of Walter Sickert.

Papa Legba is based on trickster spiritual intermediary in Haitian Vodou of the same name.

Princess Lamballe is based on Marie Thérèse Louise of Savoy (Princesse de Lamballe) who was one of Marie Antoinette's closest friends.

Robert is likely based off Robert Olmstead, the main character and narrator of The Shadow Over Innsmouth.

Sullivan is based on Anne Sullivan Macy, an American teacher and lifelong friend of Helen Keller.

The currently Unnamed Cat God is likely based on the short stories Nyarlathotep and Cats of Ulthar by H.P. Lovecraft.

Blue Aladdin references to Aladdin from Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp.

Violet Peacock's Chinese description references to The Peacocks Fly Southeast.

Both Poseidon's Crown and Poseidon references to Poseidon the god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses from Greek Mythology.

Caged Butterfly's description mentions Madame Butterfly.

The 1st Essence of Season 2 is based on several Fairy Tale Stories on each Costumes.

King's Tailor references to one of the Swindler from The Emperor's New Clothes.

Both Lazy Mr. Bunny and Mr. Turtle references to The Hare and The Tortoise from The Tortoise and the Hare.

King Arthur references to the character of the same name

Merlin references to the character of the same name.

Black Swan is based on Odile (The Black Swan) from Swan Lake.

Anubis is based on the god of the same name who is the god of death, mummification, embalming, the afterlife, cemeteries, tombs, and the Underworld in Egyptian Mythology.

Ancient Soul references to the Ankh an ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol used in Egyptian art and writing to represent the word for "life" and, by extension, as a symbol of life itself.

Soul Catcher references to Day of the Dead a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6 from Mexica.

Golden Touch is based on King Midas a king of Phrygia who is known to turn everything he touched into gold from Greek Mythology.

The 1st Essence of Season 6 has several references to Greek Mythology.

Icarus is named after and based on the hero of the same name who is the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the creator of the Labyrinth on Greek Mythology.

Apollo is named after and based on the God of the same name who is the god of oracles, healing, archery, music and arts, sunlight, knowledge, herds and flocks, protection of the young and the Member of Twelve Olympians.

Leonidas is named after Leonidas I a king of the Greek city-state of Sparta.

Pam possibly is based on Pan the god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, rustic music and impromptus, and companion of the nymphs.

Captain Hook is based on Captain James Hook.

Eversleeping Girl is based on Wendy Darling.

Forgotten Boy is possibly based on Peter Pan or one of the Lost Boys.

Siren is possibly based on the Mermaids from Mermaids' Lagoon.

March Hare is based on the Character of the Same Name.

Alice is based on the Protagonist of the Same Name.

Mr. Bunny is based on The White Rabbit.

Bill is based on Bill The Lizard.

Caterpillar is based on Hookah-Smoking Caterpillar.

Knave of Hearts is based on the character of the same name.

Executioner is based on one of the Queen of Hearts' Card Soldiers.

The Mad Hatter is based on the character of the same name.

Queen of Hearts is based on the character of the same name.

Serpent is based on Quetzalcoatl the god of life, light and wisdom, lord of the day and the winds from Aztec Mythology.

Lady Thirteen is based on Yu Mo from The Flowers of War, portrayed by the actress Ni Ni.

Sophia is based on Sophia Palaiologina a Byzantine princess, member of the Imperial Palaiologos family, Grand Princess of Moscow as the second wife of Grand Prince Ivan III.

Ivan is possibly based on Ivan III of Russia a Grand Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of all Rus'.

Maroon Crystal is based on Dorothy Gale.

Princess Ozma is based on the character of the same name.

The Wicked Witch is based on both Wicked Witch of the West and Dorothy Gale.

Emerald City Coachman is based on the Coachman.

Oz, the Wizard is based on Wizard of Oz.

The Tin Man is based on Tin Woodman.

The Spookcrow is based on Scarecrow.

The Toothless Lion is based on Cowardly Lion.

Golden Ratio references to the Philosopher's Stone a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold.

Electrolysis references to the technique of the same name that uses direct electric current (DC) to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction.

Ouroboros references to the ancient symbol of the same name that depicts a snake or dragon eating it's own tail.

Choir Boy has a The squared circle symbol an alchemical symbol (17th century) illustrating the interplay of the four elements of matter symbolising the philosopher's stone on his back.

Mutation represents Chrysopoeia an artificial production of gold, most commonly by the alleged transmutation of base metals such as lead.

Sulfuric Acid has a tattoo on chest resembling the symbol of the same name based on Dalton's Law of Atomic Weights.

Vine references to the Elixir of life a potion that supposedly grants the drinker eternal life and/or eternal youth.

Philofelist possibly references to Necromancy a practice of magic or black magic involving communication with the dead – either by summoning their spirits as apparitions, visions or raising them bodily – for the purpose of divination, imparting the means to foretell future events, discover hidden knowledge, to bring someone back from the dead, or to use the dead as a weapon.

Judge represents Pride.

Deputy represents Greed.

Clerk represents Envy.

Court 3 Commissioner represents Wrath.

Court 5 Commissioner represents Sloth.

Court 6 Commissioner represents Gluttony.

Court 7 Commissioner represents Lust.

Narcissus is named after the character of the same name who rejected all romantic advances, eventually falling in love with his own reflection in a pool of water, staring at it for the remainder of his life, his name is the origin of Narcissism.

Clio is named after the goddess of the same name who is the goddess of history, lyre playing and a member of the Muses.

Talia is named after Thalia who is the goddess of comedy and a member of the Muses.

Hebe is named after the goddess of the same name who is the goddess of eternal youth, prime of life, forgiveness

"Succubus" is named after a demon of the same name they are female demons that appears in dreams to seduce men, usually through sexual activity.

Rainmaker's Beauty Form is based on both Lady Shizuka, one of the most famous women in Japanese history and literature and Ameonna, a yōkai thought to call forth rain while the Prajna Form is based on Kuchisake-onna, that appears as a malicious spirit, or onryō, of a woman, that partially covers her face with a mask or other item and carries some sort of sharp object.

"The Prince" is based on the titular character of the The Happy Prince.

Feathered Cloak is based on Freyja, a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future) from Norse Mythology.

The 3rd Essence of Season 17 is based on The Masque of the Red Death.

Man in Red is based on The Red Death.

Runaway is based on Prince Prospero.

The 1st Essence of Season 18 is based on The Marriage of Figaro.

Fury is based on both Count Almaviva (Philippe) and Countess Rosina (Christina).

"Susanna" is based on the character of the same name.

The 1st Essence of Season 20 is based on And Then There Were None.

The 2nd Essence of Season 20 takes place on The Crystal Palace on a fictional setting.

Lockheart is shown to be a fictional daughter of the in real life historical figure Joseph Paxton an English gardener, architect, engineer and Member of Parliament, best known for designing the Crystal Palace.

The 1st Essence of Season 21 is based on Bacchanalia, an unofficial, privately funded popular Roman festivals of Bacchus, based on various ecstatic elements of the Greek Dionysia.

Spring Heated Wine is based on Dionysus, the god of the grape-harvest, wine making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre and a Member of the Twelve Olympians from Greek Mythology.

Bai Ze is based on Bai Ze itself, a mystical Chinese beast connected with spirits.

The 3rd Essence of Season 22 is based on insects and also the seven virtues.

Winter Cicada represents Humility.

Frozen Butterfly represents Chastity.

Ant represents Charity.

Scorpion represents Kindness.

Mayfly represents Diligence.

Centipede represents Temperance.

Worker Bee represents Patience.

Boudoir Dream is based on Child Jane Hudson from What Ever Happened to Baby Jane which is a film adaptation of a novel of the same name, portrayed by the child actress Julie Allred

Iron Lady is based on Harriet Craig from the film of the same name which is a film adaptation of Craig's Wife, portrayed by the actress Joan Crawford.

Samara is based on Samarra from The Prodigal which is a film adaptation of Parable of the Prodigal Son, portrayed by the actress Lana Turner.

Rhythm of the Rain is based on Kathy Selden from Singin' in the Rain, portrayed by the actress Debbie Reynolds.

Recluse is based on Jef Costello from Le Samouraï, portrayed by the actor and filmmaker Alain Delon.

Hamlet is based on the titular character of the 1948 film which is the film adaptation of the play of the same name, portrayed by the actor and director Laurence Olivier.

Colonel Dax is based on the character of the same name from Paths of Glory which is a film adaptation of the novel of the same name, portrayed by the actor and filmmaker Kirk Douglas.

The Red Shoes is based on Victoria Page from The Red Shoes which is a film adaptation of a fairy tale of the same name, portrayed by the actress ballet dancer and actress Moira Shearer.

The Black Tulip is based on both Guillaume de Saint Preux and Julien de Saint Preux from The Black Tulip which is a film adaptation of the novel of the same name, both portrayed by the actor and filmmaker Alain Delon.

Just Around the Corner is based on Penny Hale from Just Around the Corner which is a film adaptation of Lucky Penny, portrayed by former child actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat and diplomat Shirley Temple.

Zouzou is based on the titular character of the 1934 film, portrayed by actress, French Resistance agent, and Civil Rights Activist Josephine Baker.

Ben-Hur is based on Judah Ben-Hur from Ben-Hur which is a film adaptation of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, portrayed by the actor and political activist Charlton Heston.

Dorothy is based on Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz which is a film adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, portrayed by actress and singer Judy Garland.

Salome is based on the titular character from the movie of the same name, portrayed by actress, dancer, and producer Rita Hayworth.

Da Vinci is based on Leonardo da Vinci from The Life of Leonardo da Vinci which is a miniseries about the real life artist, portrayed by actor Philippe Leroy.

Svengali is based on the titular character of the 1931 film which is a film adaptation of Trilby, portrayed by the actor on radio, stage and radio John Barrymore.

Rashomon is based on the Samurai's wife from Rashomon which is a film adaptation of two Ryūnosuke Akutagawa novels "In a Grove" and "Rashōmon", portrayed by the actress Machiko Kyō.

Broken Blossoms are based on Cheng Huan from Broken Blossoms which is a film adaptation of The C**** and the Child, portrayed by the actor Richard Barthelmess.

Scarlet is based on Scarlett O'Hara from Gone with the Wind which is a film adaptation of the novel of the same name, portrayed by the actress Vivien Leigh.

Faust is based on the titular character of the 1927 film which is a film adaptation of the play of the same name, portrayed by the actor, director and singer Gösta Ekman.

Million Dollar Mermaid is based on Annette Kellerman from the film of the same name which is a biography about the real life swimmer, portrayed by swimmer and actress Esther Williams.

#identity v #idv embalmer #idv #idv shitpost #easter eggs #so many references #idv easter eggs #identityv gameplay #identityv #idv gamekeeper #idv yidhra #idv geisha #idv fanart

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calciumdeficientt · 10 months

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hello clockwork orange community. do you like nadsat? i have nadsat (old commission)

Welly welly welly well my brothers it is time once again it would appear, for uncle Alex to tell you a story. An omission from the tale of my previous exploits and this, my dear brothers, is my way of sending my deepest appy polly logies to you all; twas a nochy like any other I suppose, my little droogies and I out in the thick of it. A routine trip to the korova milk bar was well underway, my cancer now barely a nub of ash and orange filter when suddenly, like some great divine inspiration from bog or whoever else may be lurking up above us in the great black nowhere. Dim opened his great big maw as if to say something, noticing the shift in my expression no doubt, a raised hand from myself soon silenced him and he fell quickly back into submission. This was our second visit of the evening, our nightcap until we four parted and I found myself headed bedways to municipal flatblock 18-a, but tonight brothers I found that this second bout of moloko plus had done me no good at all; no indeed my brothers, all it seemed to achieve was to further stir me for another few hours out to myself, the other three could follow me or not. Georgie had a funny look about his glazzies,shagged fagged, fashed and downright useless. In no state for any more of the ultraviolence tonight. No indeed.

“Dobby nochy, brothers”

I found myself humming absentmindedly, staring through the film of moloko left at the bottom of my glass and adjusting the hat placed atop my gulliver, stood up to take my leave

“Bedways so soon, Alex?”

Pete guffawed, leaned so far back in his chair I was almost certain he would disappear into it. Despite questioning my quick exit, he looked in no way prepared to leave himself

“Quite the opposite, o my brother. Much fun is yet to be had, although it is now clearer than crystal to me that our earlier fillying hath done all tree of you in, and with thus I must bid you adieu”

Outside it was bitter cold, much much bitterer and colder than I had remembered it. Soon enough the knives that I had ingested would begin to work their magic, brothers and I would become all the more aware of the lewdies, or lackthereof out and about on the streets. I had bid my little droogies a dobby nochy, that much was true but it was now more apparent than ever that night would soon be over and was bleeding over into the young hours of the morning. Luckily for little old me, I had my maskiwask in my clutches from an earlier spree of shop crasting under full, glorious anonymity hidden, too under the cover of darkest and most mysterious night. Black sky was now a very deep blue and as the moloko plus paid its due dividends I feel, o dear brothers, that the sand in my own ultraviolent hourglass was running out, running thinly like the krovvy of a malchick low on his iron. A rustle from an abandoned gazetta pricked mine ears as I trudged carefully through the street, waiting patiently for any sign of life.Caution was the key in these night-time affairs as the threat of the barry place was ever present, and while I did not fear the stripy hole I did fear for what it may have done to me old pee and em.

I took some liberties with my route home, opting for small alleys as opposed to wider, much more open streets. An unorthodox decision considering I had found myself droogless and after yet another clash with Billy boy and his other eunuch jellies could have even put myself at risk of an ambush but having no one but myself beside me makes this victory mine alone. My pocket jingled with pretty polly, distended from the volume of it. The noise seemed to draw out a devotchka. She looked poogly, her dress hanging off her as though it had been thrown on in a hurry. Big brown glazzies met mine and I could see the glimmer of tears in them, clearly she had been boo hoo hooing and for why I did not know. The old in-out always went down a treat when the urge was still around, nagging even after a whole nochy of fillying. I fancied I could slooshy her heart hammering against her ribs and what a pleasant sound it was, strands of dark brown glory flopped limply over her pale, moonish face as she looked up at me all, like expectant. I watched her back herself up against the wall, making it clear to me that someone had gotten to her first. Had I been a bit more present, I might have left her to find some other dama for myself. There were plenty about after all but mostly I was glad to have found her in the state I had. All warmed up, brothers. Relaxed despite her best wishes not to be. I fancied myself to be a kot, I did. Quite right. This is what, dear reader, cats of the street are so fond of doing. Breeding, filling the streets with as many filthy beasts as their malenky bodies might let them before bog gets them as he does all things. Never one for lubbilubbing was dear uncle Alex, brothers. Not one care for it at all I must attest.

Now, where were we? Ah yes, the devotchka with the moony litso. Very very pretty, yes yes there was no denying that brothers and droogs alike, she was beautiful. I fancied the krovvy on her might have tasted like jammiwam but I didn't bother to test it, most of it was staining her dress. Beginning to dry that horrible old blood brown as opposed to that gorgeous red that sent shivers through me when even the tiniest bead dropped from a lewdie. Not so rare and yet far more precious to me than any jewel in the world.

What happened next, brothers, was something I could be nothing but proud of. I let my face drop a little bit so I wasn’t scowling so much, it helps to lessen resistance in devotchkas I find. Despite my partiality to a bit of chase and find, that fateful nochy I was not in the mood, no autos were crasted that night so my poor dear feet were so achy that any more fillying about may have caused them to drop off. I stood there for a bit, chumbling to myself before I pounced. Her creeching was low and half-hearted as if she knew herself that it wasn't going to garner a drop of sympathy from me. This certainly was not the fault of the devotchka, most persons would be in the mindset to creech for their life, especially this one. The creetching soon stopped when, from out of my pocket I brough out my most trusted nozh. Hardly used that night, nice and clean, or at least as clean as a knife could be. It was sharp, cold, so tantalising I could feel my pan handle straining against my neezhnies at the thought of how pretty she might look under it. How still she might be if i teased it against her neck… if I teased it somewhere else. Brothers I found myself drooling at the concept. Just as I suspected, the creeching ceased and was replaced with silent weeping. I watched her chest jerk up and down as she tried to keep herself nice and quiet for me, as I pressed the blade into her neck, gently so it would only barely nick the skin. I would press harder elsewhere when she was nagoy, I thought to myself with deepest delight, watching this devotchka, already poogly from another encounter, half dressed as it were, struggling to undress herself at my command was too much. Then, out came the kot, slashiwashing with my knife the dress was out of the picture.

Ah. Nothing underneath. The cry at the sudden cold made me believe this was not something she had chosen for herself. Fearing the millicents on their early morning beats I worked quickly to strip myself of anything below my waist and get cracking on with the in-out-in out. She would have to warm up to it or suffer the consequences, most devotchkas did when I was with my droogies. On my oddy knocky I was not so sure but she would have to put up with it, my pan handle was now growing too hard to ignore. Her nogas were clasped tight, a feeble attempt for her to keep her dignity. Unlikely to work when I was in such a beastly temperament, every second wasted only seemed to make me angrier. Like when you flap a red cloth at a bull. I parted the clasped legs, it took a lot, mind, but the trembling of the muscles and the purple, pulsing, cables under her pale skin let me know she wouldn’t try and close them again.

Something possessed me to speak to her. A small slip of the tongue to keep her quiet at the world woke up. An angry throb below the belt led my mind elsewhere. I figured the nozh would be enough to keep her quiet, little drops of blood beaded around where the pressure was. Even the lowest whimper made her delicate skin press against the blade. My free hand circled a glazz, and pinched it. Her cry sent me jolting into her on just instinct alone, sheathing myself comfortably. It was clear that someone had been at her before me as there was no resistance, no horrible gravelly feeling and I pushed my way into her. In-out-in-out, smooth as if we were luddilubbing. Her face was scrunched up as if she was trying to build the nerve to start creeching. I wouldn’t have minded, sometimes I find, it really eggiwegs me to keep going.

As I moved. The hand that had been cupping her bezoomny had moved to firmly grip her waist, the hand with the knife had done the same. I made a real show of that one, creating a fine red line down from the centre of the neck all the way down her middle. Like I was a surgeon about to cut her up and perform the old in-out-in out on her guttiwuts. The krovvy only made me harder, so maybe, oh my brothers, it was a mistake to cut her as I did. But oh, it was heaven. Bog new damned. I cast my eyes toward her grahzny dress, and then back to her naked frame. I noted, brothers, that she looked like a doll more than she did a living, breathing lewdie. In and out I moved over and over, listening out for any millicents that may have interrupted such an intimate interaction. Eventually, I noticed that the shirt of my koshtoom was sticking to my back. Clinging to the skin, adhered by pearls of sweat. I could taste that irony taste fizzling in the back of my throat, it was almost time for the big finale brothers. My muscles were shouting this from the rooftops too, make no doubt about that little droogies, they burned so fiercely that even knives devoid of moloko could not quell the sensation.

The devotchka had quite visibly relaxed under my touch. As I, your dear and most trustworthy uncle Alex, kept tight firm hold of her bony waist I pondered the possibility that in some way shape or form she was thoroughly enjoying this feeling. Having accepted it she might have allowed herself to take pleasure in this. A twitch from my pan handle let me know the end was upon us and acting yet again on my most trusted friend, animal instinct, I grabbed a fistful of her luscious glory and tugged as hard as I could muster. Her creech of pain as her hair departed from her scalp was more than enough noise to conceal the low groan that accompanied my orgasm. As I slid out of her I relished in the fact that she seemed too full to move from my seed.

I cleaned myself off using her dress and dropped it on her nagoy frame. Dressing my lower half swiftly and nimbly, the deliberately quiet platching of the young girl was terribly terribly moving. I threw some coins at her litso, knowing I only had a minoota or two until the millicent’s found her or even worse that she found them. Wordlessly I left her, nudging her with my boot as she left just to check that she was ticking away nicely and the pol hadn’t killed her. When she groaned, I knew at once it was bedways for me, and quickly.

A nochy to remember indeed. O my brothers.

#a clockwork orange #acwo #aco #nadsat

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jujupepi · 1 year

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A Pre-History of Fanfiction I: Disclaimer, Introduction, Pamela, & Gulliver's Travels

Disclaimer:

This was originally written as a script for a video essay, so you might find reference to this medium. I am releasing this in this format mainly to get myself more comfortable with showing my writing publicly. I am not a trained scholar or journalist. I research this using the wealth of wonderful fanmade blog and wikis as well as scholarly articles available on JSTOR. If you noticed any mistakes or can offer more context to what I'm saying, please let me know! I love this topic and always want to learn more.

Introduction & Definitions

I’m not going to start this with “fanfiction has been around since the dawn of time; if you think about it the greek myths are fanfic!” because you’ve heard it before and it doesn’t really help us. Instead, I want to talk about operating (loosely) within a fanfiction definition that I came up with arbitrarily: Fanfiction is print based fiction inspired by the characters, settings, or situations derived from copyrightable work. Special bonus for fiction based on works owned by a national or international media corporation. So we’ll be mostly focused on the pre-1980’s era before the internet! Or atleast, before normal people used the internet on a regular basis.

That’s not to say any other definitions of fanfic aren’t valid; I’m just not using them for our purposes here. I’d also like to say that my scope is limited to fanworks created in the UK, USA, and Canada.

If you do any amount of sleuthing on the early days of fanfic you will come across a common origin myth: fanfiction was created by housewives who watched Star Trek and then wrote Kirk/Spock slash for fan magazine (nicknamed fanzines or zine). This isn’t untrue but it doesn’t tell you the whole story. We’ll try to track the beginning of modern fanfiction from the birth of copyright in the 18th century to the death of the fanzine in the 80s and 90s. We’ll talk about who was writing it, the tv shows and books that inspired it, the moral and legal paranoia surrounding it, and oh yeah, we’ll talk about The Gays™.

Chapter 1: Earliest Examples

Printing, mass literacy, and the rise of the middle class had a huge impact on the reading habits of 18th century Britons. The novel as a medium was born at the beginning of this century. The novel became hugely popular especially among the middle class.

The novel leaves no space between the mind of the character and the mind of the reader making the medium uniquely suited to explore the interiority of a character. Though characters brought to life in the theater, Shakespeare’s Falstaff for one, were beloved, the particularities of the novel allow the reader to inhabit the inner life of a character in ways that hadn’t been possible before.

Thus begins an obsession over fictional characters in a way that is familiar to internet-users today. One of the earliest characters that inspired this kind of devotion was Lemuel Gulliver from Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels published in 1976. If you’re unfamiliar, Gulliver’s Travels satirizes human nature while exploring a fantastical world of miniature people and other strange creatures. Not only did the audience get to experience Gulliver’s Travels through the narrator’s point of view, Swift himself implied an off-page life for Capt. Gulliver. He suggests other episodes in the Travels like “The Malingers” and the “Opinions of the Learned Men” which set fans’ minds ablaze with ideas. These inventive incidents created the ideal launching pad for other stories within this *ahem* shared universe.

The first people to get in on the fun were members of Jonathan Swift’s writing group known as the Scriblerians. Together in May 1727, they published Several Copies of Verses Explanatory and Commendatory, a series of dramatic monologues by characters from Travels or who else might be believably part of that world. One of these characters was the hilariously named Titty Tit Esq, poet laureate of Lilliput who I only bring up because his name gives me joy.

The most interesting of these poems, to me at least, is the lament of Gulliver’s wife Mary. She bemoans her husband’s absence and inadequacies. She implies that her husband might be more sexually suited for the stable boy than her. SLASH ALERT!

These verses are arguably fanfiction since they are stories about already established characters, settings, and situations not written by the original author but they are legitimized. Swift knew about these stories and they are included in most post-1727 versions of Gulliver’s Travels. Meaning that readers would have consumed these works together. The inclusions of these addendums muddle the canocity of what can be considered one of Gulliver’s Travels and what cannot. Contemporary picked up on this and went wild with the concept.

Non-Scriblerians wrote Gulliver stories, too. One such appeared in Apple’s Original Weekly Journal wherein the author writes from Gulliver’s perspective, hinting at unsee and as of yet unimagined adventures. These Gulliver stories didn’t have to agree with each other either, they all represented possibilities within a fictional universe. Fans voraciously wrote and read Gulliver’s continuing tales. David Brewer says that these stories are not exhaustive in their explorations of Gulliver’s worlds but instead, “a bundle of possibilities held together by the magnetic field of a proper name (40)”.

Another sensation in the 18th century was the novel Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson published in 1740. The novel was a huge success especially with men who had an affection and a sexual interest for the eponymous character. Pamela deals with the common 18th century themes of shifting social strata and rapidly evolving marriage norms. Pamela is a 15 year old girl with impoverished parents who works as a servant in the house of the wealthy Mr. B. Mr. B sexually harasses and attempts to rape Pamela, eventually kidnapping her. She virtuously fights off these attempts all the while writing to her parents about the tension she feels between her propriety and her desire to please her employee. Due to Pamela’s moral strength, Mr. B is reformed and asks her to marry him, which she accepts, launching herself from the lower class to the upper. The second volume deals with her negotiating her new place in society.

I don’t need to tell you how messed up, creepy, and damaging the events in the novel are. It’s disgusting to me that the harassment of a working young girl is entertainment for so many adult men. BUUUUTTTT, it serves as an interesting case study in early fanfiction.

Like Twilight and Nightlight or Lord of the Rings and Bored of the Rings, Pamela inspired it’s own parody novel named An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews or Shamela written by Henry Fielding in 1741. The novel imagines Pamela not as a docile servant girl but as a scheming daughter of a prostitute who entraps her employer. The novel was a success and Fielding went on to write Joseph Andrews in 1742, lampooning the idea of a male Pamela figure. Like in Stephanie Meyer’s Life and Death and endless fanfic, Joseph gives us our first taste of genderswap fiction. In an Anne Rice-ian move, Richardson rejected Fielding's works calling them “lewd and ungenerous engraftment of both Paemla and his Property (Brewer 121)”

The off-page lives of these characters don’t stop at Fielding's novel however. Samuel Richardson’s correspondence is full of asking fans for ideas on the proposed next Pamela column. Readers like Aaron Hill showed an ownership over character that echoes to this day. Hill wrote to Richardson that he shouldn’t make an illustrated edition of Pamela since Hill’s visual conception of the character and Richardson’s are different. Richardson describes Pamela as quite slim, but Hill thinks of her as ‘plump.’

Reader George Cheyne wrote a long list of incidents for the next edition mostly about medical emergencies. This is notable because Cheyne himself was a physician. These grown men projected so much of their own lives onto this fictional teenage girl. Pamela was ubiquitous because of “the collective mass of appropriations made by the individual reader (Brewer).” This meaning, fans could take Richardon’s Pamela and create her in their own image.

Pamela, both the novel and character, had a massive following but it all centered around Richardson. Though Richardson asked fans for ideas, he ignored their contributions entirely. Fan didn’t correspond with each other but instead with Richardson directly. This is a huge difference from fandom later on that largely ignores the creator.

I posit that it was the rise of the novel as a medium that allowed for fanfiction to emerge as a fan activity. The immediacy of the character’s interiority is not a function of any other artistic medium but the novel. This led to readers inhabiting the mind of their beloved characters and imaging an off-page life for them. These 18th century reading trends served as the starting point for modern fanfiction.

#fanfiction #history of fanfiction #pamela #gulliver's travels #samuel richardson #jonathan swift #article #my writing #non-fiction #novels #victorian novel

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grandpasessions · 7 months

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Listened to an English record: Excerpt from Gulliver, the chapter on Yahoos. Never has the horror of being a man, the disgust, the physical and moral aversion which it inspires, been carried so far. I knew the text well in French, in English it is even stronger. Gulliver, returning home after five years' absence, embracing his wife, fainted with disgust. He came from horses, and he couldn’t stand the stench of the human animal. Man smells bad, he’s a stinking monster, that’s Swift’s conclusion. It is conceivable that he abhorred sexuality and died a virgin. No ascetic at any time in history has gone as far as him. A keen sense of smell makes the most important acts of life impractical. Holiness itself may be nothing but terror, panic at certain smells.

Notebooks Emil Cioran

#cioran #theory #theology #philosophy #gulliver #swift #literature #truth

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ribanana · 2 years

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How to download gulliver mod 1.7.10

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This mod lets you install a fully functioning Minecraft television set right on almost any wall. Instead of a hollow shell within your castle, you can create an elaborate TV room. The TV Mod for Minecraft is a great addition because it can instantly transform the interior of any structure you’ve just completed. Because of this, there have been a few attempts to incorporate art or other objects that can be placed on walls. It is fun to create large castles, skyscrapers and towers with all of the resources available to you.īut once the initial structure is built, it may feel somewhat barren.

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Some mods have attempted to address this issue, since a lot of structures built in the game may feel bare. Adding some creativity to Minecraft Many people have expressed a desire to make their Minecraft communities feel more like a home setting. This review will cover some of the basics behind using this mod and let you know where you can find it. The package doesn't take long to download or install, so it is very user friendly as well. This is a very fun mod to play around with and use in your every day Minecraft activities. (93 votes) If you have ever wanted a television for you Minecraft home or castle, then this mod will be for you. It's named for the book Gulliver's Travels, though much of. It’s named for the book Gulliver’s Travels, though much of the inspiration comes from The Borrowers, Ali It’s named for the book Gulliver’s Travels, though much of the inspiration comes from The Borrowers, Ali. Gulliver Mod 1.5.2 This mod is called Gulliver. Sign up with iThenticate to start using our plagiarism checker and IP protection software today.Ĭliccate mi piace per altri tutorial/recensioni sulle MOD di Minecraft Link alla Gulliver - ModLoader - Mi raccomando. So its better to pay for the software and use. Often the files which claim to provide free version or crack for any software carry virus with them. The stakes of ensuring originality of content have. Free paper: 7 Misconceptions of Plagiarism Detection Software. Seven falsified claims about plagiarism detection software examined and explained. Watch a video on how iThenticate plagiarism detection software works.

#How to download gulliver mod 1.7.10

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gardenofkore · 3 years

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The Theory of the Sicilian Origin of the Odyssey refers to a particular trend (particularly fashionable during the 19th century) according to which the true author of the Odyssey was a young woman from Trapani, who took inspiration from people and places familiar to her to write this famous epic poem. The postulation was made especially renowned after Victorian novelist Samuel Butler published his work The Authoress of the Odyssey in 1897 and is still debated nowadays. The main reasonings who could support the theory of a female writer are the fact that, in the Odyssey, women are depicted as more reasonable and positive than men, who act almost mechanically and aren’t as exalted as their female counterparts. While Iliad’s women are creatures who need to be protected, Odyssey’s women rule, counsel and protect. When Ulysses reaches Scheria, Nausicaa advises him to plead for help from Queen Arete rather than King Alcinous. No woman in the Odyssey is made fun of, and almost everyone of them is treated with respect, except if they committed a serious crime (like Penelope’s unfaithful handmaidens, who are showed no mercy) while men aren’t considered trustworthy and able. Also, the text is peppered with small errors (about navigation, the structure of a ship, the shape of a weapon etc) which no male author could have made.

Who, then, was she?

I cannot answer this question with the confidence that I have felt hitherto. So far I have been able to demonstrate the main points of my argument; on this, the most interesting question of all, I can offer nothing stronger than presumption.

We have to find a woman of Trapani, young, fearless, self-willed, and exceedingly jealous of the honour of her sex. She seems to have moved in the best society of her age and country, for we can imagine none more polished on the West coast of Sicily in Odyssean times than the one with which the writer shews herself familiar. She must have had leisure, or she could not have carried through so great a work. She puts up with men when they are necessary or illustrious, but she is never enthusiastic about them, and likes them best when she is laughing at them; but she is cordially interested in fair and famous women.

I think she should be looked for in the household of the person whom she is travestying under the name of King Alcinous. The care with which his pedigree and that of his wife Arēte is explained (vii. 54-77), and the warmth of affectionate admiration with which Arēte is always treated, have the same genuine flavour that has led scholars to see true history and personal interest in the pedigree of Æneas given in "Il." XX. 200-241. Moreover, she must be a sufficiently intimate member of the household to be able to laugh at its head as much as she chose. [...]

Lastly, she must be looked for in one to whom the girl described as Nausicaa was all in all. No one else is drawn with like livingness and enthusiasm, and no other episode is written with the same, or nearly the same, buoyancy of spirits and resiliency of pulse and movement, or brings the scene before us with anything approaching the same freshness, as that in which Nausicaa takes the family linen to, the washing cisterns. The whole of Book vi. can only have been written by one who was throwing herself into it heart and soul.

All the three last paragraphs are based on the supposition that the writer was drawing real people. That she was drawing a real place, lived at that place, and knew no other, does not admit of further question; we can pin the writer down here by reason of the closeness with which she has kept to natural features that remain much as they were when she portrayed them; but no traces of Alcinous’s house and garden, nor of the inmates of his household will be even looked for by any sane person; it is open, therefore, to an objector to contend that though the writer does indeed appear to have drawn permanent features from life, we have no evidence that she drew houses and gardens and men and women from anything but her own imagination.

[...]

Richly endowed with that highest kind of imagination which consists in wise selection and judicious application of materials derived from life, she fails, as she was sure to do, when cut off from a base of operation in her own surroundings. This appears most plainly in the three books which tell of the adventures of Ulysses after he has left Mt. Eryx and the Cyclopes. There is no local detail in the places described; nothing, in fact, but a general itinerary such as she could easily get from the mariners of her native town. With this she manages to rub along, helping herself out with fragments taken from nearer home, but there is no approach to such plausible invention as we find in Gulliver's Travels, Robinson Crusoe, or Pilgrim's Progress; and when she puts a description of the land of Hades into the mouth of Circe (x. 508–515)—which she is aware must be something unlike anything she had ever witnessed—she breaks down and gives as a scene which carries no conviction. Fortunately not much detail is necessary here; in Ithaca, however, a great deal is wanted, and feeling invention beyond her strength she does not even attempt it, but has recourse with the utmost frankness to places with which she is familiar.

Not only does she shirk invention as much as possible in respect of natural features, but she does so also as regards incident. She can vilipend her neighbours on Mt. Eryx as the people at Trapani continue doing to this day, for there is no love lost between the men of Trapani and those of Mte. S. Giuliano, as Eryx is now called. She knows Ustica: the wind comes thence, and she can make something out of that; then there is the other great Sican city of Cefalù—a point can be made here; but with the Lipari islands her material is running short. She has ten years to kill, for which, however, eight or eight-and-a-half may be made to pass. She cannot have killed more than three months before she lands her hero on Circe's island; here, then, in pity's name let him stay for at any rate twelve months—which he accordingly does.

She soon runs through her resources for the Sirens’ island, and Scylla and Charybdis; she knows that there is nothing to interest her on the East coast of Sicily below Taormina—for Syracuse (to which I will return) was still a small pre-Corinthian settlement, while on the South coast we have no reason to believe that there was any pre-Hellenic city. What, she asked herself, could she do but shut Ulysses up in the most lonely island she could think of—the one from which he would have the least chance of escaping—for the remainder of his term? She chose, therefore, the island which the modern Italian Government has chosen, for exactly the same reasons, as the one in which to confine those who cannot be left at large—the island of Pantellaria; but she was not going to burden Calypso for seven long years with all Ulysses’ men, so his ship had better be wrecked.

This way out of the difficulty does not indicate a writer of fecund or mature invention. She knew the existence of Sardinia, for Ulysses smiles a grim Sardinian smile (xx. 302). Why not send him there, and describe it with details taken not from the North side of Trapani but from the South? Or she need not have given details at all—she might have sent him very long journeys extending over ever so many years in half a page. If she had been of an inventive turn there were abundant means of keeping him occupied without having recourse to the cheap and undignified expedient of shutting him up first for a year in one island, and then for seven in another. Having made herself so noble a peg on which to hang more travel and adventure, she would have hung more upon it, had either strength or inclination pointed in that direction. It is one of the commonplaces of Homeric scholars to speak of the voyages of Ulysses as "a story of adventurous travel." So in a way they are, but one can see all through that the writer is trying to reduce the adventurous travel to a minimum.

See how hard put to it she is when she is away from her own actual surroundings. She does not repeat her incidents so long as she is at home, for she has plenty of material to draw from; when she is away from home, do what she may, she cannot realise things so easily, and has a tendency to fall back on something she has already done. Thus, at Pylos, she repeats the miraculous flight of Minerva (iii. 372) which she had used i. 320. On reaching the land of the Læstrygonians Ulysses climbs a high rock to reconnoitre, and sees no sign of inhabitants save only smoke rising from the ground—at the very next place he comes to he again climbs a high rock to reconnoitre, and apparently sees no sign of inhabitants but only the smoke of Circe's house rising from the middle of a wood. He is conducted to the house of Alcinous by a girl who had come out of the town to fetch a pitcher of water (vii. 20); this is repeated (x. 105) when Ulysses’ men are conducted to the house of the Læstrygonian Antiphates, by a girl who had come out of the town to fetch a pitcher of water. The writer has invented a sleep to ruin Ulysses just as he was well in sight of Ithaca (x. 31, &c.). This is not good invention, for such a moment is the very last in which Ulysses would be likely to feel sleepy—but the effort of inventing something else to ruin him when his men are hankering after the cattle of the Sun is quite too much for her, and she repeats (xii. 338) the sleep which had proved so effectual already. So, as I have said above, she repeats the darkness on each occasion when Ulysses seems likely to stumble upon Trapani. Calypso, having been invented once, must do duty again as Circe—or vice versâ, for Book x. was probably written before Book v.

Such frequent examples of what I can only call consecutive octaves indicate a writer to whom invention does not come easily, and who is not likely to have recourse to it more than she can help. Having shown this as regards both places and incidents, it only remains to point out that the writer's dislike of invention extends to the invention of people as well as places. The principal characters in the "Odyssey" are all of them Scherian. Nestor, Ulysses, Menelaus and Alcinous are every one of them the same person playing other parts, and the greater zest with which Alcinous is drawn suggests, as I have said in an earlier Chapter, that the original from whom they are all taken was better known to the writer in the part of Alcinous than in that of any of the other three. Penelope, Helen, and Arēte are only one person, and I always suspect Penelope to be truer to the original than either of the other two. Idothea and Ino are both of them Nausicaa; so also are Circe and Calypso, only made up a little older, and doing as the writer thinks Nausicaa would do if she were a goddess and had an establishment of her own. I am more doubtful about these last two, for they both seem somewhat more free from that man-hatred which Nausicaa hardly attempts to conceal. Still, Nausicaa contemplates marrying as soon as she can find the right person, and, as we have seen, neither Circe nor Calypso had a single man-servant of their own, while Circe was in the habit of turning all men who came near her into pigs or wild beasts. Calypso, moreover, is only made a little angry by being compelled to send Ulysses away. She does not seem to have been broken-hearted about it. Neither of them, therefore, must be held to be more fond of men than the convenience of the poem dictated. Even the common people of Ithaca are Scherians, and make exactly the same fault-finding ill-natured remarks about Penelope (xxiii. 149-151) as the Phæacians did about Nausicaa in Book vi. 273-288.

If, then, we observe that where the writer's invention is more laboured she is describing places foreign to her own neighbourhood, while when she carries conviction she is at or near her own home, the presumption becomes very strong that the more spontaneous scenes are not so much invention as a rendering of the writer's environment, to which it is plain that she is passionately attached, however much she may sometimes gird at it. I, therefore, dismiss the supposition of my supposed objector that the writer was not drawing Alcinous’ household and garden from life, and am confirmed in this opinion by remembering that the house of Ulysses corresponds perfectly with that of Alcinous—even to the number of the women servants kept in each establishment.

Being limited to a young woman who was an intimate member of Alcinous’ household, we have only to choose between some dependant who idolised Nausicaa and wished to celebrate her with all her surroundings, or Nausicaa (whatever her real name may have been) herself.

[...]

The fact that in the washing day episode, so far as possible, we find Nausicaa, all Nausicaa, and nothing but Nausicaa, among the female dramatis person, indicates that she was herself the young woman of Trapani, a member of the household of King Alcinous, whom we have got to find, and that she was giving herself the little niche in her work which a girl who was writing such a work was sure to give herself.

[...]

At the same time I think it highly probable that the writer of the "Odyssey" was both short and plain, and was laughing at herself, and intending to make her audience laugh also, by describing herself as tall and beautiful. She may have been either plain or beautiful without its affecting the argument.

I wish I could find some one who would give me any serious reason why Nausicaa should not have written the "Odyssey." For the last five years I have pestered every scholar with whom I have been able to scrape acquaintance, by asking him to explain why the "Odyssey" should not have been written by a young woman.

Samuel Butler, The Authoress of the Odyssey

#historical women #women #history #historicwomendaily #women in history #the authoress of the odyssey #samuel butler #Greek Sicily #trapani #Province of Trapani #people of sicily #women of sicily #historyedit #myedit

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opiatemasses · 3 years

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The Unspoken Mind of a Winner

According to Mind, annually 1 in 4 people in the UK will be affected by a mental health problem. Many people will manage this through a variety of means, including therapy, medication, goal settings, eating well, inspirations of others, and physical activity. The World Health Organisation in 2003 stated that physical activity can improve our mental health. Exercise releases hormones that make us feel better, allows us to forget about our busy lives and improves the bodies health in a numerous of ways. It helps combat health conditions and diseases; also helps you control weight. However, elite sport is distinct from our everyday physical activity. Athletes experience pressure from their coaches as well as themselves to ‘win at all costs’ meaning they go through a very strenuous lifestyle. This lifestyle consists of exceptional amounts of training and lifestyle regimes. According to Gulliver and colleagues who conducted research in Australia in 2015 1 in 4 elite athletes will suffer with depression at some point in their career.

To shed light on the importance of elite athlete’s mental health this blog will identify:

Why athletes suffer from mental health

Risks of bad mental health

Barriers when seeking help

Coping strategies

Why athletes suffer from mental health

Beable et al. in 2017 identify a number of lifestyle stressors that elite athletes experience frequently. The first is loneliness and social life. This is a result of the training requirements which leaves relatively little time for themselves or to socialise. Another stressor relates to their many responsibilities, such as always being in the public eye because of their elite status, responsibilities in a team and the responsibility to maintain the lifestyle they live. Elite athletes have a high demand on their performance and their bodies, which means their excessive training routines could lead to burnout. They are also under pressure from their coach to perform at a high level and if their performance isn’t up to standards, they may be dropped from the team, leading to increased levels of anxiety and stress. Finally, the biggest lifestyle stressor identified in the report was having thoughts and worries about the future. A main worry for athletes would involve their age and whether their bodies can cope with the demands of their sport as they get older, which can cause serious injuries. This could result in retirement, which can raise worries and in some cases depression, because not many athletes continue to work within sport due to there not being many opportunities at elite level.

Risks of bad mental health

Bad mental health can lead to multiple disorders, one type being eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and binge-eating. This can develop as a result of seeking to maintain a specific weight. For example, an elite boxer may wish to remain in a certain weight class, which could lead to an eating disorder if they are gaining/losing weight which they don’t want. This can also lead to other mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. Eating disorders can also influence the athlete’s performance, as they may not perform up to standard due to the ongoing health risks. Athletes with poor mental health may push their family and friends away which leads to loneliness and potentially anxiety and depression. This can have a knock-on effect on the athlete’s teammates performance and can disrupt team morale. Feeling isolated within the team and lonely from family athletes may feel like they have no-one to turn to and bottle up their emotions which could be harmful to their health. A lack of support from teammates and not seeking help from others could lead to burnout causing injury or even worse possibly suicide due to the amount of depression an athlete may go through. For more risk factors look at the article below:

Men, Mental Health and Elite Sport: a Narrative Review | SpringerLink

Barriers when seeking help

It has been argued that the most effective treatment for mental health is psychotherapy. However, before psychotherapy is conducted, the athlete must be diagnosed otherwise psychotherapy may not be efficient. This is because several symptoms are similar to overtraining symptoms. One barrier for athletes is that they are unlikely to seek help. This is because athletes believe they will be seen as weak. Another barrier is that athletes are seen as demonstrating masculine characteristics in the public eye. Athletes develop this sense of being strong, aggressive and a need to mask their emotions, which could mean that if the athlete were to undergo psychotherapy, they may struggle to get their thoughts and emotions across. Additionally, athlete’s may not seek help because they believe they may lose their place in the team or their team might think differently of them and fall out with the athlete because mental health can suggest the athlete is “untrustworthy”. A further barrier is that there are not many athletes who have had psychotherapy and many past athletes have expressed that they feel there is no support for mental health in the sport industry so maybe something more needs to be done in this area.

Coping strategies

There are methods that potentially alleviate mental health in elite athletes. These include eating healthily, taking deep breaths when feeling anxious, getting enough sleep, and (especially for athletes) having a good working relationship with your coaches and develop coping mechanisms with them. This may include thought control, relaxation and mental development. It would be beneficial for an athlete to try and get the coaches to comment on their attitude and efforts rather than performance.

In conclusion, mental health issues are common in elite athletes. There are many factors which can contribute towards mental illness for athletes. For the

future we need to support athletes more and get rid of this idea of being masculine and strong when playing sport. For those of you who may be struggling, you are not alone. Head over to Mind | Mind, the mental health charity - help for mental health problems or contact them on 0300 123 3393 for any support and guidance you may need.

Thank you for reading, please like, share and leave a comment about your opinions or experiences on this topic. I would love to hear from you and listen to your thoughts on why elite athletes decide to talk about their mental health after their career?

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References

Beable, S., Fulcher, M., Lee, A., & Hamilton, B. (2017). SHARPSports mental Health Awareness Research Project: Prevalence and risk factors of depressive symptoms and life stress in elite athletes. Journal Of Science And Medicine In Sport, 20(12), 1047-1052.

Johnson, U. (1997). Coping strategies among long‐term injured competitive athletes. A study of 81 men and women in team and individual sports. Scandinavian Journal Of Medicine & Science In Sports, 7(6), 367-372.

Kuettel, A., & Larsen, C. (2019). Risk and protective factors for mental health in elite athletes: a scoping review. International Review Of Sport And Exercise Psychology, 13(1), 231-265.

Stillman, M., Glick, I., McDuff, D., Reardon, C., Hitchcock, M., Fitch, V., & Hainline, B. (2019). Psychotherapy for mental health symptoms and disorders in elite athletes: a narrative review. British Journal Of Sports Medicine, 53(12).

#mental health #sport #athletes #anxiety #depression #elite #support

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relishredshoes · 3 years

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Interview given to The Severus Snape and Hermione Granger Shipping Fan Group.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/199718373383293/

Hello CorvusDraconis and welcome to Behind the Quill, thank-you so much for sitting down with us to chat.

You’re a well known and beloved figure in the SS/HG community for your many stories - including a personal favourite of mine, A chance for happiness.

Okay, let’s jump right in. What's the story behind your pen name?

I have always had a fascination for the shiny things and the Northwest Coast depictions of Raven the Trickster/Creator, and, I tend to hoard (and get super protective) of my art supplies. Corvids have always been a positive sign in my life. They tend to show up when I’m feeling down and engage in funny antics in the yard. As for dragons, I’ve always had a love for them and think the Western depiction of them as dangerous beasts with no mind but for hoarding treasure and killing people only to be slain by a knight quite despicable.

Which Harry Potter character do you identify with the most?

Severus, actually. I see a lot of my life in his. Hardships, challenges, bullying— trying to be something better and later wondering about unwise decisions. I have a very similar dislike for dunderheads, but I do not share his inclination to denude rosebushes of their petals. Do you have a favourite genre to read? (not in fic, just in general) I have always preferred fantasy and sci-fi.

Do you have a favourite "classic" novel?

I am not sure if you would call it a classic novel, but grew up on all things Tolkien (and even puzzled through the Silmarillion at the grand age of seven), and have a special place in my heart for Watership Down. While I’ve read pieces like War and Peace, Iliad, Ulysses, Pride and Prejudice, Grapes of Wrath, Moby Dick, Great Gatsby, Little Women, Catcher in the Rye, Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn, Scarlet Letter, Don Quixote, To Kill a Mockingbird, Animal Farm, Jane Eyre, Lord of the Flies, Tale of Two Cities, Heart of Darkness, Robinson Crusoe, Alice in Wonderland, Great Expectations, Odyssey, Frankenstein, Dracula, Crime and Punishment, Heart of Darkness, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Secret Garden, Treasure Island, Anne of Green Gables, Les Misérables, Peter Pan, Gulliver’s Travels, all things Jack London, 20000 Leagues, etc.— they never captured me as aptly as Anne McCaffery’s Dragonriders of Pern or Mercedes Lackley’s the Last Herald Mage. Though, if I were to pick classic stories I read more than once (litmus test for things I like) it would be things such as The Secret Garden, Call of the Wild, Wild Fang, The Hobbit, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and The Last Unicorn. At what age did you start writing? The moment I could pick up pencil and paper, I was writing. I had notepads full of stories I wrote as a kid. Alas, my dad found them one day when I was off to college, made fun of them, and I came home and burned every single one in mortification.

How did you get into writing fanfiction?

The moment TV shows did “stupid things” to their characters. I used to write things about Beauty and the Beast (the old CBS show) when they killed off the main character, Knight Rider, Robocop, Transformers— there are probably far more that I just don’t remember now. I was writing it long before there was a fanfiction dot net or a term to even call it. What's the best theme you've ever come across in a fic? Is it a theme represented in your own works? I am a shameless romantic for the beauty within and sometimes the quite literal love for a monster (not just some person who acts like a monster and changes into a better person.) The misunderstood monster is perhaps my most favourite theme, and it shows up in my stories often if not always. What fandoms are you involved in other than Harry Potter? I ship SessKag from Inuyasha, Lucard/Sophie from Dracula: The Series, and Loki/Hermione when I’m feeling crossover-y. If you could make one change to canon, what would it be? Do you have a favourite piece of fanon? Other than my favourite fanon that Severus lives/survives/finds a better life free of two masters and his guilt, I would say I would want Harry to wise the heck up and realise his father was a swine, his godfather was an almost successful murderer that used his own best mate to try and kill off another student, and his mother wasn’t all that hot either. I would want him to find value in himself without having to make stuff up about his “perfect” parents. Then again, I would want Vernon/Petunia to be arrested for child abuse and put in gaol, but— then the story would have been very different XD Do you listen to music when you write or do you prefer quiet? Sometimes quiet, sometimes music. But usually, I am best mates with Spotify.

What are your favourite fanfictions of all time?

In the HP universe: I honestly don’t read many of them because I’m always writing my own stuff XD, but when I really feel like I need a good Ron bashing SSHG HEA, I read just about anything by IShouldBeWritingSomethingElse. However, that being said, I often return to “The Sun is Often Out” by Hannah-1888 for just the right amount of angst and HEA to make me happy.

In the Inuyasha universe: A Trick of Fate by PristinelyUngifted

In the Marvel universe: Mutual Respect Sends His Regrets by moor

In the Star Trek universe: Gratified By Your Company by starfleetdream

Are you a plotter or a pantser? How does that affect your writing process?

I go by the seat of my feathered rump, to be honest. Inspiration is a fickle, unpredictable beast, and I usually don’t know what is going to happen until it does.

What is your writing genre of choice?

Fantasy

Which of your stories are you most proud of? Why?

Chance of Happiness because it was my very first publication. It may not have been my best, but it was my first, and it very well could have been my last yet somehow wasn’t.

Looks Can Be Deceiving and One Step Forward, Two Decades Back are two epic tales that seemed to demand being written. The fact I finished them was something I think deserves a little pride.

Did it unfold as you imagined it or did you find the unexpected cropped up as you wrote? What did you learn from writing it?

Looks started off with me attempted to write Dramione just once. It failed. Draco demanded to be her brother of the heart, Viktor came in and said “nope she’s mine,” and no one was more surprised at the outcome of that story than me. The characters did what THEY wanted.

I learned that trying to plan a story from start to finish is useless when the characters decide what they want. The story demanded more, and I was just a conduit that typed it down. For me, at least, attempting to outline and plan is utterly useless

How personal is the story to you, and do you think that made it harder or easier to write?

I think every story I write is personal in some way. The inspiration comes from somewhere inside, and I often have no idea what it is until I go back and read it later. I think the story wrote itself in a lot of ways, which made it easier in a way, but there are a lot of things I can’t say were from personal experience because as a high fantasy of talking gryphons and such I can only imagine it. There is no basis in real life on how any of that would go down. There is a freedom in that but also many challenges in making it real enough to identify with despite how alien and fantastic the idea is.

What books or authors have influenced you? How do you think that shows in your writing?

Dragonriders of Pern introduced sentient dragons and the idea that despite a vast difference in species there could be teamwork and love between the two as they teamed up against a greater threat.

The herald-mage books by Mercedes Lackley were also important staples in my childhood because it impressed the values of responsibility despite having powers others did not, and that people were fallible despite greatness and potential.

Gandalara Cycle by Randall Garrett and Vicki Ann Heydron: I cannot tell you how often I read this story. I had dog ears on these novels because there was so much I loved about them. It was a search for humanity when displaced in a seemingly alien world, societal clashes, and the great sha’um (the giant rideable cats) that were the main characters’ partners for life.

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C Wrede: A princess rebels against her arranged marriage by running away to be a dragon princess.

All of these books had creatures in it that chose to partner with a human and be with them for life, not as lovers that you find in the more modern supernatural romance blender out there, but the ultimate friend for life— the family you choose.

Do people in your everyday life know you write fanfiction?

Oh heck no. Hah. They have their secrets, and I have mine. Personally, I think mine are more healthy than theirs.

How true for you is the notion of "writing for yourself"?

Very.

I write for myself. Sometimes I’ll write a story for one of my betas or a sshg friend, but for the most part, I write for my own entertainment because nothing like what I write is out there. There is a lot of SSHG out there, but mine is almost always a creature feature story. I blame X-Files growing up. It tickles me that others enjoy my stories, but in the end I write to get things down and out of my head. They just so happen to entertain others as they do me.

How important is it for you to interact with your audience? How do you engage with them? Just at the point of publishing? Through social media?

I will often engage in A/N talk at the end of chapters, but I really don’t engage in the fandom. I loathe social media. That being said, I read every review, and while I don’t reply to everything because FF dot net is a horrible platform for messaging anymore (or ever was really)-- I appreciate every single one. Sometimes it helps to know people are enjoying the story for the story’s sake.

What is the best advice you've received about writing?

Get a beta, even if you are pretty good at writing. Get one because a second pair of eyes will catch things you don’t. Read your own stuff out loud. If you trip over it, your audience will too. If you stumble, so will they.

Get a beta who isn’t afraid to tell you that your shite stinks in places and you make no sense. You may want a cheerleader, but what you need is a beta. If you are super lucky, you can have both at once.

What do you do when you hit writer's block?

I play computer games and sew things. I’ve sewn a lot of things lately. Scrub caps and masks for work—

There has been a lot of writer’s block lately due to the times, and I will not write when I’m uninspired. I will not force inspiration. That’s not fair to me or those unfortunate enough to share in the reading. I want to be able to go back on a story I wrote and enjoy it and not curse at myself. XD

Has anything in real life trickled down into your writing?

Sometimes certain catch phrases and things from real life friends have trickled in as a sort of Easter egg (unbeknownst to them since I don’t tell them I write fanfic). Sometimes random news stories or whatnot find their way in. Lessons of the day. Random events. Things that are too odd not to stick in my brain somehow. I can’t say I always do it on purpose, though.

Do you have any stories in the works? Can you give us a teaser?

No, I have a goal this year to finish off the unfinished stories. This is made harder because Dragon and the Rose keeps adding more and more bunnies into the idea bin, and my brain wants to run with them, but I’m like NO DANGIT, I HAVE STUFF TO FINISH STILL! It’s a hard thing trying to finish what you start when so much interesting stuff pops up and waves at you like “heeeeeyyyyy I’m cool too!”

Any words of encouragement to other writers?

Keep writing but remember you can always be better. You can always improve. Writing isn’t a popularity contest. It isn’t about how many reviews you get or how many fans you may or may not have. Write because you want to write. Write what you like not what other people like. Write for you because in the end, you are the one who goes back to read it and say “I wrote this story, and I still love it” instead of forcing yourself to write something just because the topic is “popular” and gets a lot of visitors. Write something you’ll be proud to go back and read and enjoy. You’ll find when you write something genuinely, readers will come. And if only one person leaves you a paragraph review on how much your story meant to them out of someone else’s hundreds of “great!” (with nothing else)-- think of what you value more.

If my story helped someone through a dark time.

Just one person—

Then it was a good effort.

Maybe that person didn’t have the bravery to leave a message. Maybe they are ashamed. Maybe they send you a PM instead of a review.

That is, to me, the ultimate reason why I realised that despite writing stories for myself that there are people out there that needed to hear my story at just the right time in their life. If my story can bring a little joy to someone else, then it doesn’t matter how many reviews I have. It doesn’t matter that I don’t have thousands of reviews like “that other author.” What matters is that I told my story; someone out there read it and it spoke to them.

I love hearing from people and what they liked about my stories, but I also am glad that there are some people out there who secretly like my stories but do not feel safe enough to review.

So, I would say to the aspiring author: write for yourself but share it. You never know whose day you will make with your story. They may never tell you. They may tell you years later (happened to me!). There is a good chance that someone out there needs your story as much as you need to write it. That being said, find yourself a beta to share your journey with you. You may find a few friend in the process.

Thanks so much for giving us your time.

You are quite welcome.

#fanfiction #fanfic #ss/hg #snamione #writing

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justforbooks · 4 years

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The 100 best novels written in English: the full list

After two years of careful consideration, Robert McCrum has reached a verdict on his selection of the 100 greatest novels written in English. Take a look at his list.

1. The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan (1678)

A story of a man in search of truth told with the simple clarity and beauty of Bunyan’s prose make this the ultimate English classic.

2. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (1719)

By the end of the 19th century, no book in English literary history had enjoyed more editions, spin-offs and translations. Crusoe’s world-famous novel is a complex literary confection, and it’s irresistible.

3. Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (1726)

A satirical masterpiece that’s never been out of print, Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels comes third in our list of the best novels written in English

4. Clarissa by Samuel Richardson (1748)

Clarissa is a tragic heroine, pressured by her unscrupulous nouveau-riche family to marry a wealthy man she detests, in the book that Samuel Johnson described as “the first book in the world for the knowledge it displays of the human heart.”

5. Tom Jones by Henry Fielding (1749)

Tom Jones is a classic English novel that captures the spirit of its age and whose famous characters have come to represent Augustan society in all its loquacious, turbulent, comic variety.

6. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne (1759)

Laurence Sterne’s vivid novel caused delight and consternation when it first appeared and has lost little of its original bite.

7. Emma by Jane Austen (1816)

Jane Austen’s Emma is her masterpiece, mixing the sparkle of her early books with a deep sensibility.

8. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)

Mary Shelley’s first novel has been hailed as a masterpiece of horror and the macabre.

9. Nightmare Abbey by Thomas Love Peacock (1818)

The great pleasure of Nightmare Abbey, which was inspired by Thomas Love Peacock’s friendship with Shelley, lies in the delight the author takes in poking fun at the romantic movement.

10. The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe (1838)

Edgar Allan Poe’s only novel – a classic adventure story with supernatural elements – has fascinated and influenced generations of writers.

11. Sybil by Benjamin Disraeli (1845)

The future prime minister displayed flashes of brilliance that equalled the greatest Victorian novelists.

12. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847)

Charlotte Brontë’s erotic, gothic masterpiece became the sensation of Victorian England. Its great breakthrough was its intimate dialogue with the reader.

13. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (1847)

Emily Brontë’s windswept masterpiece is notable not just for its wild beauty but for its daring reinvention of the novel form itself.

14. Vanity Fair by William Thackeray (1848)

William Thackeray’s masterpiece, set in Regency England, is a bravura performance by a writer at the top of his game.

15. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (1850)

David Copperfield marked the point at which Dickens became the great entertainer and also laid the foundations for his later, darker masterpieces.

16. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1850)

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s astounding book is full of intense symbolism and as haunting as anything by Edgar Allan Poe.

17. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (1851)

Wise, funny and gripping, Melville’s epic work continues to cast a long shadow over American literature.

18. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)

Lewis Carroll’s brilliant nonsense tale is one of the most influential and best loved in the English canon.

19. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (1868)

Wilkie Collins’s masterpiece, hailed by many as the greatest English detective novel, is a brilliant marriage of the sensational and the realistic.

20. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1868-9)

Louisa May Alcott’s highly original tale aimed at a young female market has iconic status in America and never been out of print.

21. Middlemarch by George Eliot (1871-2)

This cathedral of words stands today as perhaps the greatest of the great Victorian fictions.

22. The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope (1875)

Inspired by the author’s fury at the corrupt state of England, and dismissed by critics at the time, The Way We Live Now is recognised as Trollope’s masterpiece.

23. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1884/5)

Mark Twain’s tale of a rebel boy and a runaway slave seeking liberation upon the waters of the Mississippi remains a defining classic of American literature.

24. Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886)

A thrilling adventure story, gripping history and fascinating study of the Scottish character, Kidnapped has lost none of its power.

25. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome (1889)

Jerome K Jerome’s accidental classic about messing about on the Thames remains a comic gem.

26. The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle (1890)

Sherlock Holmes’s second outing sees Conan Doyle’s brilliant sleuth – and his bluff sidekick Watson – come into their own.

27. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1891)

Wilde’s brilliantly allusive moral tale of youth, beauty and corruption was greeted with howls of protest on publication.

28. New Grub Street by George Gissing (1891)

George Gissing’s portrayal of the hard facts of a literary life remains as relevant today as it was in the late 19th century.

29. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy (1895)

Hardy exposed his deepest feelings in this bleak, angry novel and, stung by the hostile response, he never wrote another.

30. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (1895)

Stephen Crane’s account of a young man’s passage to manhood through soldiery is a blueprint for the great American war novel.

31. Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897)

Bram Stoker’s classic vampire story was very much of its time but still resonates more than a century later.

32. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (1899)

Joseph Conrad’s masterpiece about a life-changing journey in search of Mr Kurtz has the simplicity of great myth.

33. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser (1900)

Theodore Dreiser was no stylist, but there’s a terrific momentum to his unflinching novel about a country girl’s American dream.

34. Kim by Rudyard Kipling (1901)

In Kipling’s classic boy’s own spy story, an orphan in British India must make a choice between east and west.

35. The Call of the Wild by Jack London (1903)

Jack London’s vivid adventures of a pet dog that goes back to nature reveal an extraordinary style and consummate storytelling.

36. The Golden Bowl by Henry James (1904)

American literature contains nothing else quite like Henry James’s amazing, labyrinthine and claustrophobic novel.

37. Hadrian the Seventh by Frederick Rolfe (1904)

This entertaining if contrived story of a hack writer and priest who becomes pope sheds vivid light on its eccentric author – described by DH Lawrence as a “man-demon”.

38. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908)

The evergreen tale from the riverbank and a powerful contribution to the mythology of Edwardian England.

39. The History of Mr Polly by HG Wells (1910)

The choice is great, but Wells’s ironic portrait of a man very like himself is the novel that stands out.

40. Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm (1911)

The passage of time has conferred a dark power upon Beerbohm’s ostensibly light and witty Edwardian satire.

41. The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford (1915)

Ford’s masterpiece is a searing study of moral dissolution behind the facade of an English gentleman – and its stylistic influence lingers to this day.

42. The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan (1915)

John Buchan’s espionage thriller, with its sparse, contemporary prose, is hard to put down.

43. The Rainbow by DH Lawrence (1915)

The Rainbow is perhaps DH Lawrence’s finest work, showing him for the radical, protean, thoroughly modern writer he was.

44. Of Human Bondage by W Somerset Maugham (1915)

Somerset Maugham’s semi-autobiographical novel shows the author’s savage honesty and gift for storytelling at their best.

45. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (1920)

The story of a blighted New York marriage stands as a fierce indictment of a society estranged from culture.

46. Ulysses by James Joyce (1922)

This portrait of a day in the lives of three Dubliners remains a towering work, in its word play surpassing even Shakespeare.

47. Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis (1922)

What it lacks in structure and guile, this enthralling take on 20s America makes up for in vivid satire and characterisation.

48. A Passage to India by EM Forster (1924)

EM Forster’s most successful work is eerily prescient on the subject of empire.

49. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos (1925)

A guilty pleasure it may be, but it is impossible to overlook the enduring influence of a tale that helped to define the jazz age.

50. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (1925)

Woolf’s great novel makes a day of party preparations the canvas for themes of lost love, life choices and mental illness.

51. The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (1925)

Fitzgerald’s jazz age masterpiece has become a tantalising metaphor for the eternal mystery of art.

52. Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner (1926)

A young woman escapes convention by becoming a witch in this original satire about England after the first world war.

53. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (1926)

Hemingway’s first and best novel makes an escape to 1920s Spain to explore courage, cowardice and manly authenticity.

54. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (1929)

Dashiell Hammett’s crime thriller and its hard-boiled hero Sam Spade influenced everyone from Chandler to Le Carré.

55. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (1930)

The influence of William Faulkner’s immersive tale of raw Mississippi rural life can be felt to this day.

56. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932)

Aldous Huxley’s vision of a future human race controlled by global capitalism is every bit as prescient as Orwell’s more famous dystopia.

57. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (1932)

The book for which Gibbons is best remembered was a satire of late-Victorian pastoral fiction but went on to influence many subsequent generations.

58. Nineteen Nineteen by John Dos Passos (1932)

The middle volume of John Dos Passos’s USA trilogy is revolutionary in its intent, techniques and lasting impact.

59. Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller (1934)

The US novelist’s debut revelled in a Paris underworld of seedy sex and changed the course of the novel – though not without a fight with the censors.

60. Scoop by Evelyn Waugh (1938)

Evelyn Waugh’s Fleet Street satire remains sharp, pertinent and memorable.

61. Murphy by Samuel Beckett (1938)

Samuel Beckett’s first published novel is an absurdist masterpiece, a showcase for his uniquely comic voice.

62. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (1939)

Raymond Chandler’s hardboiled debut brings to life the seedy LA underworld – and Philip Marlowe, the archetypal fictional detective.

63. Party Going by Henry Green (1939)

Set on the eve of war, this neglected modernist masterpiece centres on a group of bright young revellers delayed by fog.

64. At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O’Brien (1939)

Labyrinthine and multilayered, Flann O’Brien’s humorous debut is both a reflection on, and an exemplar of, the Irish novel.

65. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (1939)

One of the greatest of great American novels, this study of a family torn apart by poverty and desperation in the Great Depression shocked US society.

66. Joy in the Morning by PG Wodehouse (1946)

PG Wodehouse’s elegiac Jeeves novel, written during his disastrous years in wartime Germany, remains his masterpiece.

67. All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren (1946)

A compelling story of personal and political corruption, set in the 1930s in the American south.

68. Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry (1947)

Malcolm Lowry’s masterpiece about the last hours of an alcoholic ex-diplomat in Mexico is set to the drumbeat of coming conflict.

69. The Heat of the Day by Elizabeth Bowen (1948)

Elizabeth Bowen’s 1948 novel perfectly captures the atmosphere of London during the blitz while providing brilliant insights into the human heart.

70. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (1949)

George Orwell’s dystopian classic cost its author dear but is arguably the best-known novel in English of the 20th century.

71. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene (1951)

Graham Greene’s moving tale of adultery and its aftermath ties together several vital strands in his work.

72. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger (1951)

JD Salinger’s study of teenage rebellion remains one of the most controversial and best-loved American novels of the 20th century.

73. The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow (1953)

In the long-running hunt to identify the great American novel, Saul Bellow’s picaresque third book frequently hits the mark.

74. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (1954)

Dismissed at first as “rubbish & dull”, Golding’s brilliantly observed dystopian desert island tale has since become a classic.

75. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (1955)

Nabokov’s tragicomic tour de force crosses the boundaries of good taste with glee.

76. On the Road by Jack Kerouac (1957)

The creative history of Kerouac’s beat-generation classic, fuelled by pea soup and benzedrine, has become as famous as the novel itself.

77. Voss by Patrick White (1957)

A love story set against the disappearance of an explorer in the outback, Voss paved the way for a generation of Australian writers to shrug off the colonial past.

78. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960)

Her second novel finally arrived this summer, but Harper Lee’s first did enough alone to secure her lasting fame, and remains a truly popular classic.

79. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (1960)

Short and bittersweet, Muriel Spark’s tale of the downfall of a Scottish schoolmistress is a masterpiece of narrative fiction.

80. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961)

This acerbic anti-war novel was slow to fire the public imagination, but is rightly regarded as a groundbreaking critique of military madness.

81. The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing (1962)

Hailed as one of the key texts of the women’s movement of the 1960s, this study of a divorced single mother’s search for personal and political identity remains a defiant, ambitious tour de force.

82. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (1962)

Anthony Burgess’s dystopian classic still continues to startle and provoke, refusing to be outshone by Stanley Kubrick’s brilliant film adaptation.

83. A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood (1964)

Christopher Isherwood’s story of a gay Englishman struggling with bereavement in LA is a work of compressed brilliance.

84. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (1966)

Truman Capote’s non-fiction novel, a true story of bloody murder in rural Kansas, opens a window on the dark underbelly of postwar America.

85. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (1966)

Sylvia Plath’s painfully graphic roman à clef, in which a woman struggles with her identity in the face of social pressure, is a key text of Anglo-American feminism.

86. Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth (1969)

This wickedly funny novel about a young Jewish American’s obsession with masturbation caused outrage on publication, but remains his most dazzling work.

87. Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor (1971)

Elizabeth Taylor’s exquisitely drawn character study of eccentricity in old age is a sharp and witty portrait of genteel postwar English life facing the changes taking shape in the 60s.

88. Rabbit Redux by John Updike (1971)

Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, Updike’s lovably mediocre alter ego, is one of America’s great literary protoganists, up there with Huck Finn and Jay Gatsby.

89. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison (1977)

The novel with which the Nobel prize-winning author established her name is a kaleidoscopic evocation of the African-American experience in the 20th century.

90. A Bend in the River by VS Naipaul (1979)

VS Naipaul’s hellish vision of an African nation’s path to independence saw him accused of racism, but remains his masterpiece.

91. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie (1981)

The personal and the historical merge in Salman Rushdie’s dazzling, game-changing Indian English novel of a young man born at the very moment of Indian independence.

92. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson (1981)

Marilynne Robinson’s tale of orphaned sisters and their oddball aunt in a remote Idaho town is admired by everyone from Barack Obama to Bret Easton Ellis.

93. Money: A Suicide Note by Martin Amis (1984)

Martin Amis’s era-defining ode to excess unleashed one of literature’s greatest modern monsters in self-destructive antihero John Self.

94. An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro (1986)

Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel about a retired artist in postwar Japan, reflecting on his career during the country’s dark years, is a tour de force of unreliable narration.

95. The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald (1988)

Fitzgerald’s story, set in Russia just before the Bolshevik revolution, is her masterpiece: a brilliant miniature whose peculiar magic almost defies analysis.

96. Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler (1988)

Anne Tyler’s portrayal of a middle-aged, mid-American marriage displays her narrative clarity, comic timing and ear for American speech to perfection.

97. Amongst Women by John McGahern (1990)

This modern Irish masterpiece is both a study of the faultlines of Irish patriarchy and an elegy for a lost world.

98. Underworld by Don DeLillo (1997)

A writer of “frightening perception”, Don DeLillo guides the reader in an epic journey through America’s history and popular culture.

99. Disgrace by JM Coetzee (1999)

In his Booker-winning masterpiece, Coetzee’s intensely human vision infuses a fictional world that both invites and confounds political interpretation.

100. True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey (2000)

Peter Carey rounds off our list of literary milestones with a Booker prize-winning tour-de-force examining the life and times of Australia’s infamous antihero, Ned Kelly.

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