Before the author reached the height of his fame, he escaped to seaside idylls in southern Italy and Spain to write, swim and bask under the sun with his great love.
Tag: Books and Literature
Half of England Is Owned by Less Than 1% of Its Population, Researcher Says
A new book identifies aristocrats, investors and companies that own vast portions of the country, amid growing complaints about land scarcity and economic inequality.
Nonfiction: New Directions for American Foreign Policy
Bernard-Henri Lévy’s “The Empire and the Five Kings” and Ted Galen Carpenter’s “Gullible Superpower” offer conflicting advice on where we should go from here.
Russia Dispatch: Turgenev Dissed Russia but Is Still Lionized as Literary Star by Touchy Kremlin
The Russian government celebrates the writer Ivan Turgenev even though it scorns many of his negative views of his homeland and his embrace of Western, liberal values.
Times Insider: Lifting the Veil on the Académie Française
For a story about the deadlock within an age-old French institution, our Paris bureau chief was obligated to adopt their approach of moving slowly.
The Guardians of the French Language Are Deadlocked, Just Like Their Country
The “Immortals” of the Académie Française have failed to fill four seats, a paralysis that reflects France’s own struggle to adapt to the 21st century.
Charles Dickens Tried to Banish His Wife to an Asylum, Letters Show
Newly published correspondence gives Catherine Dickens’s account of a great Victorian scandal.
Sweden Investigates Its Ambassador to China After Report of Secret Talks to Free Publisher
The daughter of Gui Minhai, a Swedish bookseller detained in China, said the ambassador arranged a meeting with men who first offered to help, then cajoled and pressured her.
George Orwell Gets an Apology for a Rejection Letter (but Not for His Marmalade Recipe)
A British cultural exchange body said it had been wrong to turn down the writer’s effort 73 years ago but stood by the criticism of his marmalade: “Bad recipe!”
Our Tokyo Bureau Chief on Where She Finds ‘Bolts of Insight’ (Hint: It’s Outside the Office)
The Reader Center talks to Motoko Rich about Japanese culture, her stress antidote and children’s novels.