Today in Bookish and Literary History, January 4

1868 The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins is first serialized - UK

One of the earliest examples of the detective novel, this taut and intricate mystery remains a classic work of Victorian literature.

1907 Don Juan in Hell by George Bernard Shaw - Ireland

It consists of a dramatic reading in which three characters from Man and Superman appear in archetypal guises: Don Juan, the libertine turned moralist; Doña Ana, the eternal female; and the Commander, a hypocrite transformed into a statue.

1921 Diff'rent by Eugene O'Neill - US

The story concerns a woman who rejects her fiancée over a single act of infidelity and later becomes engaged to another man who turns out to have poor character. The first man commits suicide, and she regrets her choice.

2012 All is Song by Samantha Harvey - UK ⭐⭐⭐ (My Review)

Set against the backdrop of tabloid frenzies and an escalating national crisis, All Is Song is a novel about filial and moral duty, and about the choice of questioning above conforming. It is a work of remarkable perception, intensity and resonance from one of Britain's most promising young writers.

2019 The War of the Poor by Éric Vuillard - FR

From the award-winning author of The Order of the Day, a powerful account of the German Peasants’ War (1524–25) that shows striking parallels to class conflicts of our time.

• International Booker Prize Finalist
• The Spectator (UK): Best Book of the Year

2019 Serotonin by Michel Houellebecq - FR

Michel Houellebecq’s Serotonin is a caustic, frightening, hilarious, raunchy, offensive, and politically incorrect novel about the decline of Europe, Western civilization, and humanity in general.

2022 The Maid by Nita Prose - CAN

Both a Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different--and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.

• Nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Debut Novel
• Winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery & Thriller
• Nominated for the Anthony Award for Best First Novel
• Nominated for the Anthony Award for Best Hardcover Novel
• Finalist for the Audie Award for Mystery
• Nominated for the Barry Award for Best First Novel
• Shortlisted for the Edgar Award for Best Novel

2022 Phenotypes by Paulo Scott - Brazil

Paulo Scott here probes the old wounds of race in Brazil, and in particular the loss of a black identity independent from the history of slavery. Exploratory rather than didactic, a story of crime, street-life and regret as much as a satirical novel of ideas, Phenotypes is a seething masterpiece of rage and reconciliation.

2022 The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan - US

An “intense” (Oprah Daily), “captivating” (Today) page-turner that is also a transgressive novel of ideas about the perils of “perfect” upper-middle class parenting; the violence enacted upon women by both the state and, at times, one another; the systems that separate families; and the boundlessness of love, The School for Good Mothers introduces, in Frida, an everywoman for the ages. Using dark wit to explore the pains and joys of the deepest ties that bind us, Chan has written a modern literary classic.

• Longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel
• Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence
• Shortlisted for The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize
• Selected as One of Barack Obama’s Favorite Books of the Year!

2022 Fiona and Jane by Jean Chen Ho - Taiwan

A witty, warm, and irreverent book that traces the lives of two young Taiwanese American women as they navigate friendship, sexuality, identity, and heartbreak over two decades.

2022 Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez - US

Set against the backdrop of New York City in the months surrounding the most devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico’s history, Xochitl Gonzalez’s Olga Dies Dreaming is a story that examines political corruption, familial strife, and the very notion of the American dream―all while asking what it really means to weather a storm.

• Winner Of The Brooklyn Public Library Prize
• International Latino Book Award Finalist

2024 The Coral Bones by E. J. Swift - UK

Three women: divided by time, connected by the ocean. Past, present and future collide in E. J. Swift’s The Coral Bones, a powerful elegy to a disappearing world – and a vision of a more hopeful future.

2025 Imagining More and Other Stories by Panayotis Cacoyannis - Cyprus

Melancholy, bitingly satirical, occasionally tragic and frequently romantic, IMAGINING MORE and Other Stories brings together a kaleidoscope of flawed, searching characters, among them actors, writers, troubled artists, striving to make sense of themselves, their relationships, and their place in the world.