Today in Bookish and Literary History, December 8

1915 In Flanders Fields by John McCrae - Canada

It is a war poem in the form of a rondeau, written during the First World War by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae.

1954 Bad Seed by Maxwell Anderson - US

Presents a dramatization of March's novel featuring Rhoda Penmark, who uses her strange powers and talent for evil to force others to give her what she wants.

1965 Cactus Flower by Abe Burrows - US

A philandering dentist keeps his many affairs at bay by claiming to be married with children. When the ruse threatens to catch up with him, he drafts his prickly nurse to pose as his "wife".

1852 The Journalists by Gustav Freytag - Germany

Laugh out loud with this witty and incisive satire of the German press in the mid-19th century. Follow the misadventures of a young journalist as he navigates the cutthroat world of newspaper publishing, facing down scheming editors, corrupt polit.

1943 Voice of the Turtle by John Van Druten - UK

Controversial in its time, The Voice of the Turtle explores the sexual struggles of Sally Middleton, a young woman attempting to reconcile her childhood teachings on the importance of chastity with her newfound affection for Bill Page.