Some Thursday Readings – July 30, 2026

 

Did Charles Dickens’s Bleak House Inspire Murder on the Orient Express? – Olivia Rutigliano at CrimeReads.

 

Such a thing – poem by Sonja Benskin Mesher.

 

“The Heart of the Night,” poem by Dante Gabriel Rossetti – Sally Thomas at Poems Ancient and Modern.

 

Cave Story – poem by Maureen Doallas at Writing Without Paper.

 

“The Rubaiyat of a Persian Kitten,” poem by Oliver Herford – Joseph Bottum at Poems Ancient and Modern.

 

The Bard Bites Back – Joseph Pearce at The Imaginative Conservative.

 

I Am the Place That Was Ruled by Three Empires – Emily Jaycox at Missouri Historical Society.

 

Illustration: The cover of the first serial installment of Bleak House, 1852.

 

Some Thursday Readings – July 23, 2026

 

The Spider Taketh Hold with Her Hands, and is in Kings’ Palaces – Kilby Austin at Rabbit Room Poetry.

 

“Idyll,” poem by Siegfried Sassoon and “There Is a Garden in her Face,” poem by Thomas Campion – – Sally Thomas at Poems Ancient and Modern.

 

Thirteen Ways of Looking at My Mother’s Bible – poem by Megan Willome. 

 

“When I consider how my light is spent,” sonnet by John Milton – Anthony Esolen at Word & Song.

 

Talking about ‘The Nameless Isle’ – Andrew Roycroft at New Grub Street. 

 

A Picture That Paints a Thousand Words – Joseph Pearce at The Imaginative Conservative.

 

Dumpling Pond: Legend, Folklore, and Local Memory in Greenwich, Connecticut – Lisa Figlioli at Journal of the American Revolution. 

 

The Bell and the Blackbird – poem by David Whyte.

 

George Cruikshank’s Summer in London – Spitalfields Life.

 

Eighteen Months, a Dark Teesside short story by Glenn McGoldrick, is free on Amazon today. I have a short review here. 

 

Illustration: At the Royal Academy (1835) by George Cruikshank.

When It's a Thrill to be No. 2

During this past week, the Emerging Civil War web site has been posting its countdown of the 10 most read articles on its site in 2025. The articles are typically written by historians, national park officials, and other experts in the field of Civil War history.

 

Which I am decidedly not. 

 

But.

 

The site welcomes articles by guests, and you don’t need to be an expert or historian to submit one. The articles, however, are all peer-reviewed. 

 

In January, I submitted an article explaining how a family story told through at least generations about my ancestor’s involvement turned out to about as far from the truth as you might imagine. I’d been researching the Civil War and an ancestor’s role in it, for my novel Brookhaven, when I stumbled over what he really did and what actually happened. (The story turned out to be far better, and I stuck with it for the novel.)

 

My article passed the peer review committee and was duly published in January. And it turns out to have been the second-most read article on the site for 2025. 

 

You can read the article, “Research for a Novel Upended a Family Legend,” at the site.

Some Thursday Readings

“Christmas (1),” poem by George Herbert – Malcolm Guite. 

“O Christmas Tree!” (German folk song) and “Christmas,” poem by Henry Vaughan – Anthony Esolen at Word & Song.

 

“My Ghostly Father,” poem by Charles d’Orleans and “Recipe for a Salad Dressing,” poem by Sydney Smith – Sally Thomas at Poems Ancient and Modern.

 

Bluster – poem by Gerald Allen Barrett.

 

2025’s Top 10 – Poems for Persons of Interest.

 

“The Darkling Thrush,” poem by Thomas Hardy – Malcolm Guite.

 

Ring it in (a poem for a new year) – Seth Lewis. 

 

Fairer Country, Higher Ground, or Home – Rachel Hicks at Front Porch Republic reviews Home Songs: Poems by Sarah Reardon.

 

A non-fictional feast: The best of military history from 2025 – Patrick Caddick-Adams at The Critic Magazine.

 

Photograph: A page of the family records in the Young Family Bible.

 

Some Thursday Readings

One of the main characters of my new novel Brookhaven has been a major admirer of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow since he was a child. It’s unusual, because the character is born and raised in Mississippi, and abolitionist Mr. Longfellow was not a popular poet. And Longfellow’s poems, in fact, play a not insignificant role throughout the entire book. 

We recently rewatched the Angel Films movie “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” which tells the story of Longfellow and his family during the Civil War, and how he came to write the poem that became the Christmas carol. The movie takes only minor liberties with the real story. Some years back, Meg Groeling at Emerging Civil War told that story, and it’s every bit as fascinating as the movie.

 

The Other Christmas Truce – Joanna Guldin at Military.com.

 

The Cross and the Machine – Paul Kingsnorth at The Free Press.

 

York Buildings Stairs and the Watergate – A London Inheritance.

 

The Bard at Christmas – Jaspreet Singh Boparai at The Critic Magazine.

 

Boat Prayer – Karla Van Vliet at Every Day Poems.

 

“In the Bleak Midwinter,” poem by Christina Rossetti – Sally Thomas at Poems Ancient and Modern.

 

The First Noel – poem by Seth Lewis. 

 

Hell by the Acre: A Narrative History of the Stones River Campaign, November 1862-January1863 by Daniel Masters – review at Civil War Books and Authors.

 

Photograph: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow about 1860.

Some Thursday Readings

The kindest of ghosts: A new history of childhood reading is a treasure – Simon Evans at The Critic Magazine. 

Jeffrey Archer: My 10 Favourite Agatha Christie Books – at CrimeReads.

 

University Cancels Panel Because Author is a ‘Zionist’ – Joe Nocera at The Free Press.

 

John Thomas Smith’s Rural Cottages – Spitalfields Life.

 

J.D. Salinger and the Wounds of War – Via Soho at CrimeReads.

 

Discovering a Classic: The Mass of Brother Michel – Joseph Pearce at The Imaginative Conservative.

 

September Sketches – Brian Miller at A South Roane Agrarian.

 

When Did You Stop Writing? – Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach.

 

An Artist in the Ghost Army – Mikall Venso at Missouri History Society.

 

Of Course It Still Matters! Why Story Literature Today – Joel Miller at Miller’s Book Review talks with Henry Oliver.

 

Photograph: Agatha Christie.

Redcar Collector, a short story by Glenn McGoldrick, is free on Amazon Kindle today.

 

Some Thursday Readings - Sept. 12, 2024

Handbags & Handcuffs: The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Female Detective by Sara Lodge – Claire Harman at Literary Review. 

“Poor Eddy”: A New Life of Edgar Allan Poe – Mark Jarman at The Hudson Review.

 

On the Tarmac – poem by Tania Runyan at Every Day Poems.

 

Shakespeare and Classical Education – Joseph Pearce at The Imaginative Conservative. 

 

“The Traveler” and “Sunrise” – poems by Shindy Cai at Society of Classical Poets.

 

Author George Saunders on His Novel Lincoln in the Bardo, on Lincoln After the Death of His Son – New York Times Book Review podcast via The Reconstruction Era blog.

 

If your protagonist is bored, you can bet you reader will be to – Nathan Bransford. 

 

End – prose poem / reflection by David Whyte.

 

Photograph: Edgar Allan Poe about 1837.

Some Thursday Readings

Murders for September – Jeremy Black at The Critic Magazine. 

On the name ‘Hamlet’ – Adam Roberts at Adam’s Notebook.

 

Podcast: The Inland Campaign for Vicksburg – Tim Smith and Chris Mackowski.

 

Poet Laura: Poems for Liminal Times – Michelle Rinaldi Ortega at Tweetspeak Poetry.

 

Alexandre de Moraes is no hero – Elijah Grant at The Critic Magazine.

 

Why Thrillers Matter – Mike Maden at CrimeReads.

 

New Titanic photos show major decay to legendary wreck – Amarachi Orie at CNN.

 

Allan Pinkerton’s Civil War Legacy: Justified or Overblown? – Michael Stroud at The Historians Magazine.

 

Who is the best British novelist? – Henry Oliver at The Common Reader.

 

“A History,” poem by Tom Hood – Joseph Bottum at Poems Ancient and Modern.

 

Photograph: The Titanic leaving Queenstown, Ireland, one of the last photographs taken of the ship.

Some Thursday Readings - Aug. 22, 2024

Our Children Need Stories: The Power of Fiction in Forming the Heart – Betsy Howard at Desiring God. 

The Dynamism of Growth: William Kent Krueger on Milestones and Making the Familiar Fresh Again – John Valeri at CrimeReads. 

 

Manual Training for All – Connie Goddard at Front Porch Republic.

 

“Why So Pale and Wan, Fond Lover?” - poem by Sir John Suckling – Sally Thomas at Poems Ancient and Modern.

 

5 Personal Rules for Reading Disagreeable Books – Joel Miller at Miller’s Book Review.

 

Another Flower of Scotland: Father Allan MacDonald – Joseph Pearce at The Imaginative Conservative.

 

What Lasts and (Mostly) Doesn’t Last – Lincoln Michel at Counter Craft.

 

Online Dating Failed. Why? – Samuel D. James at Digital Liturgies.

 

Photograph: Father Allan MacDonald, poet, scholar, translator, crusader. 

Some Thursday Readings

No, Taylor Swift is not Mary Shelley – Henry Oliver at The Common Reader.  

Left in the Rain – poem by Renee Emerson at Story Warren.

 

Remember when Atlanta’s eastside was a battlefield? – Thomas Wheatley at Axios.

 

No Mystery: The Enduring Appeal of Inspector Maigret – Adam Hill at Miller’s Book Review.

 

Ranked: Average Working Hours by Country – Marcus Lu at Visual Capitalist.

 

Story Only God Could Write: One Church Transforms Lives of 77 Kids Without Families – Billy Hallowell at Faithwire.

 

The Wise Men – poem by G.K. Chesterton at Rabbit Room Poetry. 

Painting: Mary Shelley, oil on canvas (1840) by Richard Rothwell (1800-1868). 

Some Thursday Readings

The new edition of An Unexpected Journal is now online, and its 15 essays focus on modernity. Writers include Annie Nardone, Seth Myers, Jasmin Biggs, and many others. 

Murders for June – Jeremy Black at The Critic Magazine.

 

Poet Laura: The Tapestry of Poetry – Michelle Rinaldi Ortega at Tweetspeak Poetry.

 

“Bed in Summer,” poem by Robert Louis Stevenson – Joseph Bottum at Poems Ancient and Modern.

 

Pentecost and AI: Being Human in a World of Disabling Algorithms – Charles Cotherman at Front Porch Republic.

 

Not Taken – poem by David Whyte.

 

D-Day & the Battle for Normandy: A History & a Reflection – Mark Malvasi at The Imaginative Conservative.

 

“To a Cicada” and “Fiona” – poems by Matin Rizley at Society of Classical Poets. 

 

Photograph: The first edition of A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson.