Tag Archives: Virginia Woolf

“Street Haunting: A London Adventure” by Virginia Woolf

Posted on June 11, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

I just love this 1927 essay by Virginia Woolf, “Street Haunting: A London Adventure.” I am a fan in general of Woolf’s writing, though I don’t love it equally. I could study To the Lighthouse or Orlando for years and A Room … Continue reading →

Posted in Creative Writing | Tagged A Room of One's Own, essay writing, essays, Jacob's Room, Mrs. Dalloway, Orlando, Street Haunting, To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf | 3 Comments

8 Questions about the Problem of Susan Narnia Debate, or How to Read Well

Posted on May 1, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

Kat Coffin’s brief article last week on “The Problem of Susan” is the hottest post of 2019. “How do you Solve a Problem like Susan Pevensie?” has been discussed in the blog comments and in various forums, sometimes with a … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reflections, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged A Preface to Paradise Lost, An Experiment in Criticism, Gender Theory, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Mere Christianity, Michael Ward, Narnia, Reading, sexism, That Hideous Strength, The Last Battle, The Personal Heresy, The Problem of Susan, The Screwtape Letters, The Silver Chair, Till We Have Faces, Virginia Woolf | 56 Comments

Fools of April, with Best Wishes to Netflix, Taylor Swift, and Friends of Narnia

Posted on April 2, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

Yes, well, it was just a joke. Monday’s “EXCLUSIVE PILGRIM IN NARNIA RELEASE” was a total farce. I am not an academic consultant to the Netflix miniseries (though I hope someone is). As far as I know, pop sensation Taylor … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, L.M. Montgomery, News & Links | Tagged Anne of Green Gables, Anne With an E, April Fools, C.S. Lewis, film adaptation, L.M. Montgomery, Narnia, Netflix, Nicole Kidman, Prince Caspian, Taylor Swift, Virginia Woolf, Voyage of the Dawn Treader | 44 Comments

A Room of His Own: A Literary-Cultural Study of Victorian Clubland by Barbara J. Black (Goodreads Review)

Posted on November 15, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

A Room of His Own: A Literary-Cultural Study of Victorian Clubland by Barbara J. Black My rating: 4 of 5 stars There is a lot about the Victorian age that I am either missing or that has been warped in … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged A Room of His Own, A Room of One's Own, Clubland, London, Sherlock Holmes, The Bloomsbury Set, the Detection Club, The Inklings, the Mutual Admiration Society, the Paris Expats, Victorian Era, Virginia Woolf | 87 Comments

Will They Want Me Even Though I’m A Boy? Heading to the L.M. Montgomery Institute Conference (L.M. Montgomery Series)

Posted on June 21, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

Though Matthew and Marilla would have been considered me a fine specimen of boyish orphan for Mrs. Spencer to bring home from the orphanage, they, like my farming fathers before me, would have been disappointed. And a little puzzled, if experience … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian literature, L.M. Montgomery, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged 4H, academics, Anne of Green Gables, astronomy, farming, L.M. Montgomery, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Prince Edward Island, research, UPEI, Virginia Woolf | 53 Comments

In an Age of Literary Groups, L.M. Montgomery was Alone (L.M. Montgomery Series)

Posted on June 7, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

I first saw the trend with the Oxford Inklings. Out of an informal Nordic literary society in the late 20s where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien first met, the Inklings began gathering in the early 30s. Although C.S. Lewis wasn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Agatha Christie, Anne of Green Gables, Bloomsbury Set, D.H. Lawrence, Detection Club, Dorothy L. Sayers, E.M. Forster, g k chesterton, Hemingway and Gellhorn, L.M. Montgomery, Midnight in Paris, Paris Expats, Rilla of Ingleside, Smart Set, T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf | 51 Comments

A Weekend of Reading to Change Your Literary Life

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

If you are like me, you have spent much of your adult life as a reader catching up on a severe lack of education. It is common that I am out with friends and when the topic of books comes … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Arthur C. Clarke, Charles Williams, Charlotte Brontë, Goethe, H.P. Lovecraft, Isaac Asimov, J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, Kurt Vonnegut, L.M. Montgomery, Margaret Atwood, Reading, Shakespeare, Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, Virginia Woolf, William Morris | 39 Comments

The Women That Changed C.S. Lewis’ Life

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

If your experience of C.S. Lewis is only Mere Christianity, Time magazine covers, or a struggle with Susan Pevensie in Narnia, no doubt your most striking image of Lewis will be that of the Oxford Don in shabby tweed surrounded by old books … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged A Grief Observed, Abigail Santamaria, C.S. Lewis, Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Crystal Hurd, Elizabeth Anscombe, feminism, Flora Lewis, International Women's Day, Joy Davidman, Mary Neylan, Mere Christianity, Narnia, Perelandra, Ruth Pitter, Surprised by Joy, Till We Have Faces, Virginia Woolf | 20 Comments

New Approaches to Academic Writing: An Unusual Marking Note for a Good Student

Posted on December 8, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

I am at that time of year when the marking pile on my desk is higher than my laptop screen. Like a fool, each year, I go into the marking expecting great things. So far, I have never had a … Continue reading →

Posted in On Writing, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged academic, Alice Walker, autoethnography, B.R. Myers, Christopher Hitchens, Corey Olsen, Dorothy L. Sayers, Flannery O'Connor, George Orwell, Harold Bloom, John Updike, literary criticism, Margaret Atwood, Marilynne Robinson, research, Roxane Gay, Slavoj Žižek, Stanley Fish, Teaching, Terry Eagleton, theology, Ursula K. Le Guin, Virginia Woolf, writing | 15 Comments

Harold Bloom’s Canon: The Essential List

Posted on July 13, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

On Monday I introduced Harold Bloom‘s 1994 bestseller, The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages. I decided to create a “canonical list” in today’s blog for those who are inclined to try to soak in this great radition. Taking … Continue reading →