Blandings is "a guide and companion to the books, stories, plays and musicals of P. G. Wodehouse, probably the finest craftsman of the English language in the 20th Century." It has lists of his works (and advice on collecting them), a
miscellany (old English counties, money and words, JPs, younger sons, sport, public schools and much more), a
gazetteer (with notes on real places and maps), and other amenities, but what really put a jaunty spring in my step was the detailed notes for the works. If you go, say, to the
Something Fresh page and click on the
Notes & Quotes tab, you will find, well, Notes and Quotes. The first thing your bright, expectant orb will encounter: "Arundell Street - no longer exists but it was close to Leicester Square and held both the Hotels Mathis and Previtali (also gone). See
West End for a sketch map showing its location." It's a blooming marvel! (Via
Wordorigins.org; Wodehouse
previously on MetaFilter.)
posted by languagehat
on Jan 21, 2009 -
32 comments
Other Women's Voices: "Below are links that will take you to passages from over 125 women writers. The entries are on women who produced a substantial amount of work before 1700, some or all of which has been translated into modern English. Each entry will tell you about the print sources from which the translated passages are taken; it will also tell you of useful secondary sources and Internet sites, when those are available." An amazing resource. (Via
wood s lot.)
posted by languagehat
on Jul 26, 2007 -
20 comments
Victor Serge is one of the missing links in 20th-century history; in at the beginning of the Soviet Union, he saw before almost anyone what a nightmare it was going to be, wrote some prescient books, may have invented the word "totalitarian," knew everybody who was anybody, and was forgotten. Christopher Hitchens
tries to remind us (quote and acknowledgment inside).
posted by languagehat
on Nov 18, 2003 -
6 comments
