Today in Bookish and Literary History, January 29

1595 Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare - UK

The greatest love story in English, William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a play of starcrossed lovers who take a valiant stand against social convention, with tragic consequences.

1728 The Beggar's Opera by John Gays - UK

The tale of Peachum, thief-taker and informer, conspiring to send the dashing and promiscuous highwayman Macheath to the gallows, became the theatrical sensation of the eighteenth century. In The Beggar’s Opera, John Gay turned conventions of Italian opera riotously upside-down, instead using traditional popular ballads and street tunes, while also indulging in political satire at the expense of the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole. Gay’s highly original depiction of the thieves, informers, prostitutes and highwaymen thronging the slums and prisons of the corrupt London underworld proved brilliantly successful in exposing the dark side of a corrupt and jaded society.

1845 The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe - US

"The Raven" A narrative poem by Edgar Allan Poe. Published originally in January 1845, the poem has a musical quality with stylized language and a supernatural atmosphere. It speaks of a mysterious talking raven's visit to a distraught lover, depicting the man's slow fall into madness. The lover is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. Sitting on a bust of "Pallas", the raven seems to have a purpose of further instigating his distress with its constant repetition of the word "Nevermore". This poem makes good use of a number of folk and classical references.

1943 Patriots by Sidney Kingsley - US

1947 All My Sons by Arthur Miller - US

Winner of the Drama Critics' Award for Best New Play in 1947, All My Sons established Arthur Miller as a leading voice in the American theater. All My Sons introduced themes that thread through Miller's work as a whole: the relationships between fathers and sons and the conflict between business and personal ethics. This edition features an introduction by Christopher Bigsby.

1957 The Potting Shed by Graham Greene - UK

The psychological drama centres on a secret held by the Callifer family for nearly thirty years.

2015 The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah - US ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (My Review)

A #1 New York Times bestseller, Wall Street Journal Best Book of the Year, and soon to be a major motion picture, this unforgettable novel of love and strength in the face of war has enthralled a generation.

2018 An American Marriage by Tayari Jones - US

Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn’t commit. Though fiercely independent, Celestial finds herself bereft and unmoored, taking comfort in Andre, her childhood friend, and best man at their wedding. As Roy’s time in prison passes, she is unable to hold on to the love that has been her center. After five years, Roy’s conviction is suddenly overturned, and he returns to Atlanta ready to resume their life together.

• WINNER OF THE 2019 NAACP IMAGE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING LITERARY WORK—FICTION
• LONGLISTED FOR THE 2018 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION

2019 We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin - US

This electrifying, hallucinatory novel is at once a keen satire of surviving racism in America and a profoundly moving family story. At its center is a father who just wants his son to thrive in a broken world. Maurice Carlos Ruffin’s work evokes the clear vision of Ralph Ellison, the dizzying menace of Franz Kafka, and the crackling prose of Vladimir Nabokov. We Cast a Shadow fearlessly shines a light on the violence we inherit, and on the desperate things we do for the ones we love.

• LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE
• LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/OPEN BOOK AWARD
• LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/FAULKNER AWARD

2022 Have You Eaten Yet? Stories from Chinese Restaurants Around the World by Cheuk Kwan

An eye-opening and soul-nourishing journey through Chinese food around the world.

2026 Vivian Dies Again by Caroline Hulse - UK

Time heals all wounds. Except blunt force trauma.

2026 May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry - UK

May We Feed the King dances between the lives of a historical subject who risks the future of his kingdom and a woman who turns to the past to hide from her present. Laced with desire and longing, it is a playful, stirring meditation on history and storytelling: on what makes a King 'Great', and a life meaningful.