LITERARY

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews last night’s TV: Gyles gives us Austen literary tour to write home about

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In Jane Austen’s Footsteps With Gyles Brandreth  Rating: This Is My House  Rating: Life wasn’t so different a couple of hundred years ago. Sunseekers rushed to the beach on the first warm day in spring — and because bathing costumes hadn’t been invented, they all went skinny-dipping. There were riots on the streets of Bristol, … Read more

People reveal their favourite literary criticism of all time in hilarious Twitter thread

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‘Pride & Prejudice – just a bunch of people going to each other’s houses’: People reveal their favourite damning critiques of classic literature Chloe Ellen from Glasgow, racked up 33,000 retweets on thread of book reviews Posting on Twitter, shared a hilarious one star critique of Pride and Prejudice Others quickly contributed the amusing literary … Read more

In an age when being gay was illegal, four literary men set up house in Dorset

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History  The Crichel Boys by Simon Fenwick (Constable £25, 368 pp)  Holed up in a freezing Army camp in the far north of Scotland in 1941, the shivering and lonely young music critic Desmond Shawe-Taylor dreamed up the idea of living down South with like-minded friends after the war. He envisaged a pretty house with … Read more

Queen Letizia of Spain joins her husband King Felipe for a private literary prize-giving ceremony 

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Queen in cream! Letizia of Spain looks pristine in a neutral frock as she joins her husband King Felipe VI for a private literary prize-giving ceremony Queen Letizia of Spain looked effortlessly elegant in a cream dress today Royal, 48, joined her husband King Felipe VI, 52, in Albeniz Palace in Barcelona They presented the poet Joan Margarit … Read more

Authors quit JK Rowling’s literary agency for transgender stance

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Four authors have resigned from JK Rowling‘s literary agency after accusing it of failing to issue a public statement in support of transgender rights and equality. Fox Fisher, Drew Davies and Ugla Stefanía Kristjönudóttir Jónsdóttir issued a joint statement to announce their resignation from The Blair Partnership.  A fourth author is also understood to have … Read more

Hay on WiFi! Literary festival goes virtual and will be free to view online

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Hay on WiFi! Literary festival goes virtual and will be free to view online thanks to £350,000 in donations Hay Festival forced to go online amid pandemic but still features famous lineup  Some 80 live broadcasts and events to take place which are all free to view The festival was once described by Bill Clinton … Read more