Retrospection 13

Reading, Literature & History of Literature, Authors & Books, Horror, Science Fiction, Classics, & more...

I am a compulsive reader, and have been so since I was 3 years old. I told about that in “Learning Languages - How I do”. I further described the valuable ability to learn from reading in “Acquiring Knowledge: Experience and Reading”.

With reading being such an important part of my life, it is natural that I have written articles about literature, and I'm sure there will be more of them in the future.

Poe, a writer that has followed me over the years, is best known for his horror stories, but he wrote so much more. I wrote about him and his place in my life in "Poe: A Personal View ".

Another classic is Alexandre Dumas, père. Initially a famous playwright, he later wrote prose that possibly became even more successful. Just think of “The Three Musketeers”, “The Count of Monte Cristo” and other timeless classics. His importance for the development of the historical novel as a form is enormous. He is one of the most successful writers in history. I wrote about Dumas in "In a Black Velvet Mask", where I bring up the historical background to his novel "The Man in the Iron Mask".

For most people nowadays, Frankenstein is a fictitious character in a number of movies. They are not even aware of the novel, which is the original story - a story that is so much more than what is conveyed by the movies.

If judging by views, “Frankenstein, Religion & Creativity“ is my most read literary article. It is not only about literature in a limited sense, it is also a serious philosophical and moral discussion - derived from Mary Shelley's great masterpiece, the novel about Frankenstein.

“When Moscow was Invaded - Two Empires: The French & The Swedish“ is about history, but also about literature - namely the author Zacharias Topelius, a northern correspondence to Alexandre Dumas, père. The Swedish Empire, mentioned in the title, is not so well-known outside Europe, but it was the dominant power in Protestant Europe 1611 and 1721.

Aleisteir Crowley & Egypt: The Stele of Revealing & The Book of the Law is about “The Book of Law” by the notorious Aleisteir Crowley, self-styled as “666, the Great Beast”. (It is beyond the topic here, but if you want to read more about the number and its origin, read also The Number 666 & The Essence of the Beast.)

With its connection to Egypt, it also inspired me to Egyptomania & Horror Literature, which primarily is about mummy stories, which have become a remaining part of modern horror in literature and film. (If you want to read about real mummies and how they were made, read Egyptian Mummies & Mummification.)

Byron & Shelley: Egyptomania & Shelley's Funeral also connects to Egyptomania, but, in addition to that, it is about some peculiar details around the death of the poet Shelley (whose wife, Mary, wrote Frankenstein) as well.

When I look at this now, it occurs to me that Lord Byron would deserve an article in himself. He said about himself that “I am such a strange mélange of good and evil that it would be difficult to describe me.” No doubt, he was a dubious, amoral character, but his influence was monumental. Then, of course, there is his end; as a volunteer in Greece, fighting the Ottoman rule there, he died. The Greeks gave him the honorific “megalos kai kalos“, although his contribution to the war in essence was a failure.

Obviously, horror is a popular genre at Read.cash, so why not get acquainted with one of the most influential and interesting writers of horror (beside Poe): Howard Phillips Lovecraft. Read Lovecraft was More than Horror.

Vampires are another ingredient in popular horror. They also have a long history, but the prototype for all modern vampires in literature and movies must be Bram Stoker's Dracula. Admittedly, the vampires of contemporary works are more complex than Dracula, and by that more interesting, but I dare say that they all evolved from him.

The historical character who is said to have inspired Bram Stoker, is Vlad Tepes (1431–1476). I don't think one should exaggerate that comparison, but it is likely that it was from Vlad Tepes Bram Stoker got the name of his Vampire.

Read about Bram Stoker, Vlad Tepes, and how Dracula got his name in The Ultimate Vampire.

I'm sure of that most of you have heard about “The Phantom of the Opera”. For a contemporary audience, the best known version is the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber. However, the musical is based on a novel from 1910: “Le Fantôme de l'Opéra“ by Gaston Leroux. In Palais Garnier, the Phantom & a Detective with a Bullet-shaped Head, you can read more about “The Phantom”, Gaston Leroux, and the fantastic building in which the novel takes place, Palais Garnier.

Good science fiction is thought-provoking. I think that holds for works by Frank Herbert, who wrote the (in my opinion) best science fiction novel of all times, Dune. Read more in How I Discovered Science Fiction: A Green Brain & Dune.

The Kreutzer Sonata: How Art Inspires to Art, which Inspires to Art... is about how different forms of art inspire one another. We have Ludwig van Beethoven, Leo Tolstoy and René-Xavier Prinet; music, literature, and painting.

Finally two articles only touching literature:

Magic Mirror on the Wall, which is about mirrors. There are many occurrences of mirrors in literature though, so I think the article can be read as part of this topic.

The Magic of Sesame: Password, Health & Etymology is also a little off topic, but the classical ”Arabian Nights” plays a role here, without a doubt it has a place in world literature.

My series “Retrospection” is primarily created for new readers of mine, as a manual into my production at this platform so far - but it can be read by anyone who wants to explore my articles topic by topic, rather than doing so in chronological order. In addition to that, my retrospections contain new comments and from time to time short personal stories connected to the relevant topic or topics.

Copyright © 2021 Meleonymica/Mictorrani. All Rights Reserved.

You find all my writings on Read.Cash, sorted by topic, here.

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