• A black and white photograph of Hermann Gross holding a metalworking tool, with an in-progress sculpture before him.

A Cannibal Poet In King James’ Court

By Brett Andrew Jones It wasn’t every day that accusations of cannibalism flew around the early Jacobean court. That’s (one reason) why I found the revised version of Mucedorus so interesting. It hardly compares well to what we consider the…

The Importance of Place

By Jennifer Burek Pierce Place is central to John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars and to the community of readers who love his work.  In both the novel and the movie versions of this story, visually distinctive places anchor…

Souvenirs of the Victorian Global Bookshelf

by Alexander Bubb It began with a case of mistaken identity. In 2016 I was growing deeply interested in The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, a collection of short, pithy, epigrammatic poems translated from Persian by the Victorian man of letters…

Marvel’s Scarlet Witch: From Page to Screen

by Miriam Kent Wanda Maximoff, known as the Scarlet Witch, is one of Marvel’s most enduring characters. Her history has spanned multiple decades and media formats. Disney+’s WandaVision recently receiving praise for its characterisation, aesthetics and settings. WandaVision inserted Scarlet…

Mercedes 300SL Gullwing (1955) photo by Kevin Decherf via Wikimedia Commons

Stars in Cars: A Look at Italian Vehicular Stardom

by Alberto Zambenedetti Sophia Loren relaxing by the side of the road, next to her broken-down Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing. Vittorio Gassman speeding through a deserted Rome in a beat-up Lancia Aurelia B24 convertible. Rossano Brazzi taking down the top…