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Curiosities of Literature: A Feast for Book Lovers by [John Sutherland, Mark Rowson]

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John Sutherland

Curiosities of Literature: A Feast for Book Lovers Kindle Edition

by John Sutherland (Author), Mark Rowson (Illustrator) Format: Kindle Edition

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“A thoroughly engaging compendium of literary arcadia.” —Nicholas Basbanes, author of A Gentle Madness

When did cigarettes start making an appearance in English literature? Which author’s heart was purportedly eaten by a cat? One of our best-known and best-loved literary critics turns his attention to the more bizarre areas of literature in this miscellany of fact and trivia. Which author had the heaviest brain? What was the original title of 1984? Who made the first bouillon soup? What do twelve percent of all winners of the Booker Prize have in common? What didn’t happen on Thomas Carlyle’s famous wedding night? And, while we’re at it, who wrote the first Western, and is there any link between asthma and literary genius? Sutherland’s irreverent literary masterpiece illuminates every topic imaginable from author advances to Civil War literature to Victorian sex to odd things eaten by literary characters (think Patrick Bateman’s girlfriend in American Psycho). Other fascinating insights include the fact that the number one title among American Civil War soldiers was Les Miserables. This is the ideal anthology of fascinating information and trivia for all book lovers.

“A lively read for anyone who wants to learn more about their favorite classics, and a lively cheat sheet for those who want to impress their friends in the lit crowd.” —Publishers Weekly

Print length

306 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Skyhorse Publishing
Publication date

January 1, 2011
File size

9830 KB
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Author and literature professor Sutherland collects a sundry list of literary fact and trivia into a chaotic assortment of narratives. Organized under a stream-of-consciousness list of themes ("Literary Baked Meats," "Better Than Sex, Some Say," "Mammon and the Book Trade"), Sutherland has set few boundaries for himself regarding subject matter: irritable bowel syndrome, the wedding night, and Rose of Sharon's absurdly generous gift in the conclusion of The Grapes of Wrath all come into play. Though he might be self-indulgent, Sutherland delves into the minutiae with grace and good British wit, bringing humor and appeal to even the most (seemingly) dull subjects. Average readers don't need to worry about comparative illiteracy; Sutherland is so thorough that prior knowledge isn't necessary. A lively read for anyone who wants to learn more about their favorite classics, and a lively cheat sheet for those who want to impress their friends in the lit crowd.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

“A thoroughly engaging compendium of literary arcadia. . . . Highly recommended. (Nicholas Basbanes, author of A Gentle Madness)” --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

John Sutherland (born 1938) is an English professor, journalist, and author of over seventeen books. Currently a Professor of Modern English Literature at University College London, he specializes in Victorian fiction, 20th century literature, and the history of publishing. He lives in England. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From The Washington Post

From The Washington Post's Book World/washingtonpost.com Reviewed by Dennis Drabelle What are some of the biggest blunders in literary history? John Sutherland, a professor of modern English literature at University College London, knows: There is Shakespeare's gaffe of endowing Bohemia with a coastline in "The Winter's Tale" (a play also notable for its famous stage direction "Exit pursued by a bear"). In "The Antiquary," Sir Walter Scott had the sun rise in the east. Sutherland's favorite example occurs in the speech improvised by Orson Welles for his character, Harry Lime, in the film of Graham Greene's script for "The Third Man." In Lime's cynical attempt to justify warfare and brutality, he contrasts the glories of the blood-drenched Italian Renaissance with the alleged vacuity of Switzerland, whose only contribution to the world after "500 years of democracy and peace" was the cuckoo clock. Lime, and Wells, was wrong, says Sutherland; "The cuckoo clock was invented in the mid-eighteenth century in southern Germany." As its title suggests, this book is a grab-bag of facts, figures, factoids and trivia. The first female detective in literature, for example, was probably Amelia Butterworth, who made her debut in Anna Katharine Green's "That Affair Next Door" (1897). But "Curiosities" also serves up some criticism. Take the squib on Anthony Trollope's grumpy death: Already suffering from angina, the novelist threw open a hotel window and railed at a German brass band, which was annoying him mightily; a few days later he was gone, and in Sutherland's phrase it was "death by tuba and hurdy-gurdy." In an aside, Sutherland repeats with approval G.K. Chesterton's epithet for Trollope: "the lesser Thackeray." Perhaps it is time for those of us who've devoured the Barsetshire and Palliser series to take a fresh look at William Makepeace.
Copyright 2009, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004ULMJ7C
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Skyhorse Publishing; Illustrated edition (January 1, 2011)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 1, 2011
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 9830 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 306 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #704,876 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #92 in Literary Criticism Reference
- #193 in Puns & Word Play Humor
- #357 in Books & Reading Literary Criticism

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38 ratings

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5 star		56%
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3 star		11%
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Top reviews from the United States

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Ralph E. Vaughan

Oddities of books and writers, and the bibliomaniacs who read them.

Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2019

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The book is indeed a feast for those afflicted with the gentle madness, though the fare is at times difficult to digest. Astute readers will derive great personal enjoyment from the far-ranging literary potpourri, not to mention enough obscure material to inflict hours of abuse and torture on those unable to escape in time. This five-star book gets a star lopped off due to the inclusion of its index -- without links it becomes simultaneously annoying, wasteful and pointless --and for relying far too much on his collaborator, a Mr Google.

7 people found this helpful

Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2020

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I gobbled this down in one Sunday. Loved it. Impossible to summarize, just a wonderful mix of literary trivia about books, writers, even readers. Funny, gossipy, and entertaining.

3 people found this helpful

If you love Victorian and 20th Century literature

Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2010

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you will certainly enjoy this book. Sutherland, who is an English professor at University College London, has made a career of writing about oddities and conundrums in Victorian literature. This book is different in that it provides light-hearted, short articles about a wide range of literary topics such as Proust's asthma, Thomas Carlyle's wedding night, and the odd circumstances of Thomas Hardy's burial. He also provides entertaining lists, such as the most difficult literary works to read (Finnegans Wake is mentioned), books with canine first-person narrators, famous misquotes, youngest and oldest novelists, and books, according to a 2007 survey, least likely to be finished by readers. (War and Peace is included.) Sutherland wears his erudition lightly and is very funny.

Unlike the other reviewer who pronounced Sutherland pompous and arrogant, I found this book is so witty and enjoyable that I actually read part of it at the beach.

16 people found this helpful

Treasures for Trivia Aficionados

Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2019

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John Sutherland's compilation of obscure or false beliefs relating, mostly, to authors, is a treasure trove for Trivia Aficionados. Great bedtime reading. Lulls one to lullabies. Inspires dreams. Reader awakens refreshed and corrected, if in need of same.

One person found this helpful

She thoroughly enjoyed it.

Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2018

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My daughter-in-law requested this book as a gift. She thoroughly enjoyed it.

2 people found this helpful

Not up to what I hoped for

Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2019

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It was not as amusing as I expected it to be. I'm glad I only paid $1.99 for a Kindle edition!

Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2013

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My husband is a huge reading, writing and literature fan. He consumes books the way some people do potato chips. So imagine how pleased I was that after all these years I found something new that he really enjoyed. So much so that he is actually considering giving a copy to one of his friends. That's virtually unprecedented and very cool!

5 people found this helpful

Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2015

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A pleasant, light read at bedtime

Top reviews from other countries

Eileen Shaw

Curiosities and Quirks

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 15, 2014

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This is a fascinating wander through some of the stories of a variety of literary lions. The illustrations by Martin Rowson, give this book extra oomph and are a delight. What’s the link between the bad weather in Switzerland in 1816 and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein? What can we know about what happened on Dorothea Brook’s honeymoon? These and a host of other pieces of gossip and speculation are a feature of this book.
What’s behind the choice of P H Newby’s decent but underwhelming novel for the very first Booker prize. Could it be something to do with one of the judges, Rebecca West, who was heard to remark, “If I read the sentence ‘he entered her’ once more I shall buy a doormat with “Welcome” on it for English fiction.
How many people have heard of Cynthia Plaster Caster, who formed a collection of plaster penises and breasts belonging to various rock stars. Who knows what for – but nevertheless, according to Ms Plaster Caster, everyone asks the same question – and gets the answer – Jimi Hendrix.
The suggestion is made that the real author of the Odyssey was Nausicaa, “a high-spirited and religious minded Sicilian girl “who saves her father’s throne from usurpation, herself from a distasteful marriage and her two younger brothers from butchery by boldly making things happen instead of sitting still and hoping for the best.” All according to none other than Robert Graves.
Equally interesting is the novel titles that were changed. First Impressions became Pride and Prejudice, Hearts Insurgent was changed to Jude The Obscure, Catch 18, became Catch 22, The Sisters became The Rainbow and Tote The Weary Load was thankfully re-christened as Gone With The Wind. These and many more snippets of interest are available in this useful and informative book.

2 people found this helpful

postwork

will recognise the references and even better if you took subsid

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 10, 2015

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As ever John Sutherland writes with wit and erudition; this book entirely fulfils its title. Anyone who has studied English Lit. will recognise the references and even better if you took subsid. French or Latin. I really enjoyed revisiting student days. The references to American writing suggested a number of books which I might look up - and some which Sutherland warns against: the longest, heaviest least, worthy of mention. The chapter on prize winning books which were wrongly chosen confirms my view that juries are very different from real readers.

One person found this helpful

Drew

I'm almost at the end of this book and like Sutherland's History of Literature

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 9, 2015

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I'm almost at the end of this book and like Sutherland's History of Literature, I don't want it to end. You need to have read a few books to get some of the references, but boy oh boy, it is a entertaining gallop. If Mr Sutherland wrote the phone book, I would read it.

Note: if you make it back to UCL Mr Sutherland, I'll buy you a pint in the Jeremy Bentham any day.
Drew de Soto

One person found this helpful

Mr. J. Duffy

Eng. lit.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 14, 2012

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A very diverse compilation of anecdotal facts and figures pertaining to the world of writers throughout the ages. Interesting, and often amusing, it provides an entertaining, and at times shocking, insight into the world of the professional scribe.. A book offering light relief to otherwise serious readers.....

One person found this helpful

G. A. Robinson

Entertaining!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 20, 2013

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Well worth reading- an insight into the books. Entertaining, even if you have not read the books - encourages one to read them!

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