#Doctor Johann Georg Faustus

[thenightling]

The Occult vs. seemingly useless books

Tonight, someone in a group I run on Facebook, told me a story of how in the 1970s they found a paperback book on "How to be a fortune teller." and to their disappointment it was a guide book on how to be a con artist. For example, it said that teenagers and older people both can be told "I see you have had trouble in love." and there is the old "You lost a loved one. They are standing beside you right now." among other things such as spotting "tells." This person threw out the book in their disappointment. But in reality there IS a use for a book like this in the realm of occultists and paranormal investigations. This sort of book teaches you what the con artists do ans by extension it tells you how to spot their tricks and what they are doing to pull their tricks. There is rarely a truly useless book. When I was studying parapsychology the course provided six text books, one of which was a book on I Ching which I hated. The author put too much of their own opinions and biases into the book and by the time I was done reading it, I really did not like that person but it gave me a lot of insight into how that person, and people like them, might think. In a more dark side of things, there is a medieval grimoire called "The Trifold Coercion of Hell" or "The Black Raven" by Doktor Johann Georg Faustus. Faustus (Latinized name) is the historic figure, and supposed sorcerer, that the character of legend of Faust is supposedly to have been based on. Both Christopher Marlowe and Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe both wrote versions of the Faust legend. Personally I prefer Goethe's version because it's a two parter and in part 2, Faust's soul is actually saved. Now in the case of The Black Raven, this grimoire may be the first reference to the demon Mephistopheles, who has become a fixture of the Faust legend and is often mistaken as an alternate name of Satan himself. (They are not actually the same character). And, as you might expect, the grimoire is full of stuff that many would consider black magick. According to Wikipedia there are records of Johann Faustus being banned from Ingolstadt University for being a "N-gr-mancer" (black magick user. I censored the old word for black because social media mistakes it as a racial slur.) and he was also banished for allegedly being a s-d-mite (old not-polite word for LGBTQAI+). Now, if you look at his old Grimoire carefully (available online translated into English in PDF format) many of the spells actually teach you how to bind and ward against various demons. You just have to learn to read between the lines. The bulk of it is a book of protections against the infernal as opposed to actually invoking them. Each invocation spell is layered with means of warding and defense that can be implemented on its own. Similar is true for The Key of Solomon and especially The Lesser Key of Solomon. One of my favorite things in the old Black Raven grimoire is there is a spell for making a cloak or coat levitate like a magick carpet. This is similar to a scene in Goethe's Faust Part 1 when Mephisto and Faust leave by means of a similar conveyance. But that's not why I love it. What I love is the warning that comes with the spell. It warns to make sure the window is open "Lest there be disaster." The implication is clear. Faust tried the spell and slammed right into the closed window like a cartoon coyote ("Suuuper Genius!") So anyway, my point is this. In the realm of the occult there is rarely (if ever) a truly useless book. Even if what you found is a manual on conning people you can reverse its purpose to learn how to spot the con artists.

[nitpickrider]

One of these things is not like the others Batroc doesn't even want to kill Cap, particularly. He just gets paid to distract him every so often so he can spend it on good food and old wine. He's not nearly on the level of Faustus or @#$%^& ZEMO

[shredsandpatches]

I'm a special collections/manuscript librarian in my day job, and the main collection I work with features microfilm reproductions of about half of the manuscript libraries in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. And it turns out (I didn't actually know this until I started reading Anthony Grafton's Magus) that those collections include a very important Faustian document: the correspondence of one Abbot Johannes Trithemius, another scholarly magician who in the letter shown above had just heard about a certain fellow calling himself Georg Sabellicus or Faustus junior, who was traveling around making extravagant claims (Trithemius is quoting his business card), doing horoscopes, and persuading nobles to use arsenic as hair remover. Trithemius considered himself a real magician, of course, and here he is basically complaining that Faustus Georg is giving the profession a bad name.

Grafton's chapter on Trithemius suggests that he was a pretty weird guy himself, and that his own portrayal of his abilities was pretty similar to what Faustus Georg was claiming, so no wonder he kinda took it personally. One of the anecdotes that becomes part of the legendary Faust narrative, appearing in the Spiers Faustbuch and indeed in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus--the episode in which he summons the spirit of Alexander the Great for Emperor Charles V--actually has an analogue that's attached to Trithemius, although it's a different emperor and in that story he wants to see the ghost of his wife.

The letter above is an autograph manuscript, btw--it's in Trithemius' own hand. Very Italian-style script: it's a fairly international series of letters, although Grafton suggests that portions of it are basically just made up and were never actually sent to their purported recipients. Obviously the picture is not from our microfilm!

[blackbutlercharacterpoll2023]

The following is the lineup for the polls by date, made using a random number generator. New characters introduced in chapter 199 will automatically be added to the end of the roster.

April 19th - April 26th

Chlaus

Rian Stoker

Lord Ackroyd's son

FOL Orphanage staff

Timber

Claude Faustus

Tanaka

Conny

Emily

Baldroy / Bard / Baldo

Finnian / Finny

Sharpe Hanks

Mabel

Burnett

April 20th - April 27th

Soma's elephant

Beast

Sophie Smith

Theodore

Finny's hat

Funtom Corporation's unicorn suit

Karl Woodley

Oscar

Chris Heathfield

Sieglinde Sullivan

Fred Abberline

Stella Rose

Charles Phipps

the orphan that called Sebastian an old guy

April 21st - April 28th

Nick

Joanne Harcourt

Purple House dorm master

Agni / Arshad Satyendra Iyer

Yana Toboso

Grete Hilbard

the Mad Dog of Venice

Abbie

Johnny

Mina

Rachel Phantomhive

Charles Phipps's chicken

Haku

Sascha

April 22nd - April 29th

Jumbo

Mrs. Mayell

Goethe

the Rowdy Count

Georg von Siemens

Margaret Connor

Al

Cedric Brandel

Mathilda Simmons

Wendy

Sam / Old Man Sam

Grelle Sutcliff

Ellery Nixon

Eric Slingby

April 23rd - April 30th

Edward Midford

Luka Macken

Queen Victoria

Lord Ackroyd

Layla

the other children in the lab Finny was kept in

Betty

Reaper trainees

Green House dorm master

Vincent Phantomhive

Drossel Keinz

Kelvin

Lawrence Bluewer's sisters

Charles Grey

April 24th - May 1st

Margaret Turner

Akashi

Snake

Edgar Redmond

Derrick Arden

Ronald Knox

Aurora Society member

Bloodbath Johnny

Wilde

Soma Asman Kadar

Claude's birds

Sebastian's silverware

Chef Rickman

Susannah Connor

April 25th - May 2nd

Susan

Artie

Damian

John Brown

Saneatsu Nekoma

Peter

Lawrence Anderson / Pops

Chef Wollest

Chris Heathfield's maids

demon Crow

Nina's assistants

Ludger

Prince Albert puppet

Miranda

April 26th - May 3rd

Blavat Sky

Vicar Rathbone

Julius Pitt

walking stick shopkeeper

Grimsby Keane

Ciel's horse

Edward V

Jay the Undertaker

Gregory Violet

Canterbury

Jeremy Rathbone

Doctor

the cat from the live action movie

Henry Barrymore

April 27th - May 4th

Lawrence Bluewer

Prince Albert

Higham

the Panzer

the train kidnapper

Donne

Heinrich

Chef Lach

Dagger

Doll / Freckles

Sam's grandson

Bitter Rabbit

Japanese man with a katana

"Ciel" Phantomhive / Our Ciel / O!Ciel

April 28th - May 5th

Mey-Rin

Undertaker's mourning lockets

Webster

Purple House prefect from Vincent's year

Patrick the Grey Wizard

Diedrich

Johann Agares

Bronte

Carter

Othello

the cultists

Baldroy Jr.

John Brown's horse

Sphere Music Hall staff

April 29th - May 6th

Jackknife Haywood

Nina Hopkins

William's death scythe

Angela Blanc

Wolfram Gelzer

McDowell

Ronald's lawnmower

Arthur Randall

Aleister Chamber / Viscount of Druitt

Keats

Annie

Terry

Hao

Maria

April 30th - May 7th

Irene Diaz

Polaris

beggar boy that Soma gives a necklace to, mother, and baby brother

kenpo master

Red House dorm master

Ran-Mao

Shiori Genpou

Cedric K. Ros

Lau

Clayton

William T. Spears

Patrick Phelps

Japanese woman with a lunchbox

Oliver

May 1st - May 8th

Arthur Conan Doyle

the bear

Grelle's chainsaw

Trancy / Former Head Trancy

Richard

Aristocrat of Evil with the scarred face

the archeologist

Joker

Jan

the cats Sebastian rescues from the rain

Hilde Dickhaut

Rin

Cloudia Phantomhive

"Deer"

May 2nd - May 9th

King's Bear prostitutes

McMillan

"Her"

Undertaker's death scythe

Daniel

Ginny

Sieglinde Sullivan's father

Charles Bennett Sato

demon Ciel

Ada

Arnold Trancy

Ciel Phantomhive bizarre doll / Real Ciel / R!Ciel

Arihito Genpou

Thomas Wallis

May 3rd - May 10th

Chef Tarpin

Queen Victoria (Season 1)

Lau's ladies

Fennian

Harold West Jeb

Nicholas

Professor Sullivan / village crone

Anne Drewanz

CGI horses / driver

Margaret Connor's father

Ciel Phantomhive child / R!Ciel child

Jane

Paula

Wordsworth

May 4th - May 11th

Maurice Cole

Alexis Leon Midford

bizarre dolls

the turnspit dog

the "werewolves"

O!Ciel's land renters

priest

Pluto

Sebastian the dog

Red House prefect from Vincent's year

the Sebastian Roomba

bizarre doll horses

Baldroy's cow

Undertaker

May 5th - May 12th

Hanae Wakatsuki

the iceberg

Alan Humphries

Ash Landers

Thompson

Snake's unnamed snakes

Milly

Munemitsu Aoki

Alois Trancy / Jim Macken

Elizabeth Midford / Lizzy

Aurora Society purified water seller

Drossel's dolls

the timetable guy

Herman Greenhill

May 6th - May 13th

Azzurro Vanel

William's pigeons

Joanna

Reaper managers

Dove

Countess Trancy and her baby

German countryman

Scotland Yard officers

Haku's henchman

Lorraine McDowell

demon "pet" (the xenomorph)

Hannah Annafellows

Angelina Dalles / Madam Red / Aunt An

Pitt

May 7th - May 14th

Vincent Phantomhive's staff

Paul Jones

Francis Midford

Sebastian Michaelis

Cheslock

Phantomhive family ring

James

Edward Abberline

Baron Ridley

Sebastian's owl

[legend-collection]

Faust

Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540).

The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. The Faust legend has been the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical works that have reinterpreted it through the ages. "Faust" and the adjective "Faustian" imply sacrificing spiritual values for power, knowledge, or material gain.

Faust With Mephistopheles by Mary Evans

The Faust of early books—as well as the ballads, dramas, movies, and puppet-plays which grew out of them—is irrevocably damned because he prefers human knowledge over divine knowledge: "he laid the Holy Scriptures behind the door and under the bench, refused to be called doctor of theology, but preferred to be styled doctor of medicine". Plays and comic puppet theatre loosely based on this legend were popular throughout Germany in the 16th century, often reducing Faust and Mephistopheles to figures of vulgar fun. The story was popularised in England by Christopher Marlowe, who gave it a classic treatment in his play The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus ( 1592). In Goethe's reworking of the story over two hundred years later, Faust becomes a dissatisfied intellectual who yearns for "more than earthly meat and drink" in his life.

Faust is unsatisfied with his life as a scholar and becomes depressed. After an attempt to take his own life, he calls on the Devil for further knowledge and magic powers with which to indulge all the pleasure and knowledge of the world. In response, the Devil's representative, Mephistopheles, appears. He makes a bargain with Faust: Mephistopheles will serve Faust with his magic powers for a set number of years, but at the end of the term, the Devil will claim Faust's soul, and Faust will be eternally enslaved.

During the term of the bargain, Faust makes use of Mephistopheles in various ways. In Goethe's drama, and many subsequent versions of the story, Mephistopheles helps Faust seduce a beautiful and innocent young woman, usually named Gretchen, whose life is ultimately destroyed when she gives birth to Faust's illegitimate son. Realizing this unholy act, she drowns the child and is held for murder. However, Gretchen's innocence saves her in the end, and she enters Heaven after execution. In Goethe's rendition, Faust is saved by God via his constant striving—in combination with Gretchen's pleadings with God in the form of the eternal feminine. However, in the early tales, Faust is irrevocably corrupted and believes his sins cannot be forgiven; when the term ends, the Devil carries him off to Hell.

[hannahstarshade]

The Stars Move Still

The latest Bittersweet release, as well as the recent Finn art stream, have got me thinking once again. Last time my Faust post turned into a Finn post. This time I’m really going to talk about Faust, I promise. Let’s go. 

I did the thing where I look up the origin and meanings of character names to find any sort of insight. Finneas and its other spellings brought results such as “oracle” and “serpent’s mouth.” Faust recalls how Finn would wax poetic, and remembers him as a metaphorical all-seeing lighthouse. This all tracks. Faust, on the other hand, means “auspicious,” “lucky,” and “fortunate one.” This on its own fits the character as we know him. He lives an opulent lifestyle and has been able to pursue his career as a streamer. What struck me, and what I didn’t know beforehand, is that Faust is the titular character of a 500 year old legend. This particular legend was based on Johann Georg Faust, an alchemist, astrologer, and magician who lived during the German renaissance of the 15th and 16th century. The first published story of Faust—Doctor Faustus— was an Elizabethan tragedy. Although there have been several versions of the story, the important beats remain. Faust is a mortal man that realizes the limits in his abilities. He strikes a deal with the devil for unlimited power and knowledge in exchange for his soul. 

We can see traces of this story and it’s many iterations in Bittersweet. In the context of the story thus far, we can conclude that Faust may be Finn Prime’s fellow steward. During the Chapter 3 Interlude, Finn describes his former partner as ambitious, creative, and hopeful. We see this in Faust as he pushes and fights to do better and seek more opportunities for himself. One thing that slipped during the art stream is that a cape color for Finn’s outfit was nixed because it was too similar to the “fellow steward.” That ombre of colors looked nearly identical to the one Faust wears now. (This may mean nothing, but I found that interesting.) Together they watched over the Dreamers. Over time, Faust longed for more, despite Finn reminding him that it was forbidden to meddle. Left only to watch over the Dreamers and never interact was not the life he wanted. He made a deal with the devil, and traded his magical abilities and his knowledge of the cosmos for a chance to experience life outside of the dreamscape. He was given a comfortable life of wealth and fame. Instead of using this to effect the world around him, Faust indulges in his own desires whenever he pleases. He receives constant adoration from fans, yet is burdened by familial death and loneliness. 

Another hint to this connection is Faust’s tarot reading during livestream. “I still can’t put my finger on it, but sometimes it’s not so much about the why but rather how you approach a situation. I have to accept that I am still finding my way. And in pulling the moon upright, I feel like I could certainly choose to chase my tail seeking answers and basking in the strife of trying to understand those things that are beyond me. Or I can see it, acknowledge it, and take control of the things that I can. Sometimes the cards will tell you what was, what is, or what will be. But I am a firm believer that nothing is written in stone, and all signs are simply that: signs. What we make of our story is ours, and ours alone. At least I certainly hope so.” Throughout the years, the story of Faust has had several endings. In some versions, Faust is whisked away to hell as holy entities look on in disappointment. In others, Faust is granted some semblance of salvation. The legend’s tone ranges from tragic to hopeful. Faust’s story has not reached an ending yet, and is therefore uncertain. 

If all of this is relevant, it then begs the question: who is the devil? Maybe Auron represents Mephistopheles in this Faustian tale. The distain between the two is apparent from their first interaction. In Chapter 3 Part 10, Derek alludes to things being all too convenient. While this is referring to the Bittersweet Listener and their experience with Alphonse and Seth, this could be applied to other aspects of the story as well. Things seem to have lined up perfectly in Faust’s favor. He unintentionally points it out when referring to Auron’s status. “CEO, no degree. Didn’t have to go out and prove yourself. You had it all handed to you.” For all that Auron prides himself in being unmoved, this is the line that makes him lose his cool. “And you should thank me for it!” he shouts. This might be the frustration of having to listen to someone complain about what they have been given over and over again. Auron took on several responsibilities while his brother has the option to do whatever he wants. Soon after, Auron askes  “Are you not comfortable? Do you not have everything you need?” 

Like the Faust of the legends, he is granted all he desires, but is doomed to be dissatisfied.

Characters and scripts written by YuuriVoice Artwork created by Jackie Eleanor Name resources (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) Faust resources (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

[graveyard-of-buried-hope]

A brief history of few famous Dealings with the Devil.

There have been insanely talented men throughout the human history, who have artistically achieved what no human was supposed to have done. From here starts the legend of the Devil. The first known such story dates back to an immemorable time. Most notable among these stories is the folklore of the legend of the German Professor Johann Georg Faust, or more popularly, just Faust. He, supposedly, sold his soul to the Devil, Mephistopheles in exchange of eternal knowledge. Following this legend, a number of devilishly talented people were marked by the then human race to have done witchcraft to attain such skills. The last such legend died with Robert Johnson on 16th August, 1938. It is said,Johnson met the Devil at the infamous Devil's crossroad, and he sold his soul to gain mastery over guitar. Here is a brief history of few of the deals done with the Devil.

Johann Georg Faust:

Faust was supposedly, an incredibly ambitious German Alchemist, Magician and Astrologer of the German Renaissance period. Dr.Faust became the subject of Folk literature way after his death. Some stories, linking him with the devil were published as chapbooks, the concept of which was compiled together in the play "The Tragic History of the Life and death of Doctor Faustus" by Christopher Marlowe. These traditional chapbooks on Faust survived the Early Modern period and the subject gained renewed interest after the publication of the closet drama "Faust" by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1808), and the famous composer Franz Liszt's "Faust symphony"(1857). The Legend of the Faust laid the foundation of the concept of a pact with the devil. Thus, it's also known as "Faustian bargain" or "Mephistophelian bargain" (Mephistopheles being the devil Faust made the pact with).

Sæmundur Sigfússon:

Sæmundur Sigfússon, more famously, Sæmundr Fróđi also holds a famous position in the history of the deals made with the devil. This Icelandic priest and scholar was credited in Icelandic folklore with having made pacts with the devil and managing by various tricks to get the better of the deal thrice. For example, in one of the various stories Sæmundur made a pact with the devil that the devil should bring him home to Iceland from Europe on the back of a seal. Sæmundur escaped a diabolical end when, on arrival to the shores, he hit the seal on the head with the Bible, killing it. He presumably stepped ashore safely.

Another account of the story is that when Sæmundr left the Black School, he sewed a leg of mutton into his cloak, and he followed the rushing group of other pupils out of the doors. When Sæmundr was near the exit, the Devil reached up to grab his cloak but only grabbed the mutton leg that was sewn into his cloak. Sæmundr then dropped the cloak and ran away, shouting: "He grabbed, but I slipped away!"

Nicolò Paganini

Nicolò Paganini was an Italian violist, violinist, guitarist, and composer known for his complex pieces and uncanny musicianship. The virtuoso began performing publicly at the age of 12. Soon after 4 years, he was overwhelmed and quitted stage performance. At age 22, he returned on stage, performing complex arrangements of his own devising. Several of the compositions were so demanding that Paginini was the only person alive who could properly play them. Even today, he stands as a nightmare of hundreds of violinists across the world.

As word of his talent spread, the rumor that his abilities were the result of an unholy pact became popular. Some even said they saw Satan on stage with Paganini, assisting the violinist during his concerts. Such claims were so widespread, that Paganini was denied final rites and a proper burial upon his death. It took 36 years after his passing before his body was finally laid to rest in a cemetery in Parma.

Many other people with unbelievable talent were rumoured to have made pacts with the devil. Some other notable mentions are, St. Theophilus of Adana, Robert Johnson, Giuseppe Tartini, Urbain Grandier, Brigadier General Jonathan Moulton and many other. Though they make up interesting stories, some people still believe their powers were demonic. But, like most, I believe they were nothing but insanely talented people. What are your views?

[johanneswinstonwileyatmse]

My links:

...

For my writing influences experience these-

...

Books and Series:

Inkheart Trilogy by Cornelia Funke

Monster Blood Tattoo by DM Cornish

The Secrets of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott

Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (Novelization) by Matthew Stover

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Jumper by Stephen Gould

Lorien Legacies by Pittacus Lore

Animorphs by KA Applegate

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Dark Is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper

Animorphs: The Hork Bajiir Chronicles by K.A. Applegate

Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

....

Comics, Graphic Novels, and Manga:

Marvel 1602, Written by Neil Gaiman

Sandman #19 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', Written by Neil Gaiman

Batman #52 'Gotham Is…', Written by Scott Snyder

Kingdom Come, Written by Mark Waid

Noragami by Adachitoka

Marvel Warzones!: Civil War, Written by Charles Soule

Superman: Red Son, Written by Mark Millar

Jupiter's Legacy, Written by Mark Millar

Batman: Cacoophany, Written by Kevin Smith

Batman: The Widening Gyre, Written by Kevin Smith

...

Short Stories:

The Silver Key by H.P. Lovecraft

Through The Gates Of The Silver Key by H.P. Lovecraft and E. Hoffman Price

...

The "Classics":

The Invisible Man by HG Wells

The Time Machine by HG Wells

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The Curious Case Of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

...

Poetry:

Paradise Lost by John Milton

Ozzymandias by Percy Blysshe Shelley

...

Television and Movies:

The Twilight Zone S1 E21 ("Mirror Image"), Written by Rod Serling

The Twilight Zone S1 E28 ("A Nice Place To Visit"), Written by Charles Beaumont

Doctor Who Series 9 Episode 11 ("Heaven Sent"), Written by Steven Moffat

Batman: The Animated Series S1 E26 ("Perchance to Dream"), Written by Joe R. Lansdale

Hannibal S2 E13 ("Mizumono"), Written by Steve Lightfoot and Bryan Fuller

9, Screenplay by Pamela Pettler

Big Fish, Screenplay by John August

At The Mouth Of Madness, Written by Michael De Luca

The Count of Monte Cristo (2002), Screenplay by Jay Wolpert

Dead Poets Society, Written by Tom Schuman

What Dreams May Come, Screenplay by Ron Bass

Only Lovers Left Alive, Written by Jim Jarmusch

Push, Written by David Bourla

Spirited Away, Written by Hayao Miyazaki

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Written by Joel and Ethan Coen

A Trip To The Moon, Written by Georges Méliès

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956) Written by Daniel Mainwaring

Seven Samurai, Screenplay by Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, and Hideo Oguni

The Neverending Story, Screenplay by Wolfgang Petersen and Herman Weigel

12 Monkeys, Screenplay by David and Janet Peoples

...

Plays:

The Tragedy of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe

Coriolanus by William Shakespeare

Fauste by Johannes Wolfgang Von Goethe

Hadestown by Anais Mitchell

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Video Games:

Alan Wake, Written by Sam Lake, Mikko Rautalahti, and Petri Järvilehto

Alan Wake: American Nightmare, Written by Sam Lake and Mikko Rautalahti

Quantum Break, Written by Sam Lake, Mikko Rautalahti, Tyler Burton Smith, and Cam Rogers

Control, Written by Sam Lake and Josh Stubbs

Bioshock, Written by Ken Levine

Bioshock 2, Written by Ken Levine

Bioshock Infinite, Written by Ken Levine

Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Written by Darby McDevitt

American McGee's Alice: The Madness Returns, Written by RJ Berg

...

Still Arts:

'Relativity' by M.C. Escher

Woodcut from Title Page To 'The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus' by Christopher Marlowe (Ca. 1616)

Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh

The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali

The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali

The Creation of Man by Michaelangelo

...

Songs:

Slide Into The Void by The Stupendium Ft. CamiCat

The House Always Wins by The Stupendium

Defend Atlantis by Flobots

The Poet and The Muse by Old Gods of Asgard

Time by Pink Floyd

Up The Wolves by The Mountain Goats

From God's Perspective by Bo Burnham

Sh*thole by Charlie Clouser

Venice Rooftops by Jesper Kid

Angel Devil On My Shoulder by @freeced

Viktor's Lament by @freeced

...

Albums:

American Idiot (Album) by Green Day

21st Century Breakdown by Green Day

True Lives Of The Fabulous Kill Joys by My Chemical Romance

Fauste (Opera) by Charles Gounod

Appeal to Reason by Rise Against

The Sufferer and The Witness by Rise Against

Endgame by Rise Against

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General Musicians/Poets Who Constantly Inspire My Writing:

The Stupendium

Pink Floyd

Rise Against

The Mountain Goats

Flobots

@freeced

Robert Burns

John Milton

Johannes Wolfgang Von Goethe

...

Nonfiction and Philosophy:

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

The Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell

The Metaphysics by Aristotle

Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton

[jesusdegehenna]

EL ALMA FÁUSTICA/© Order Sinistra Vivendi New Zealand

"Que el peligro es el principal camino a la felicidad Y la resolución del honor es el objetivo más bello ¿Qué gloria hay en un bien común Que cuelga para cada plebeyo para lograr? Que como yo mejor que vuela fuera de mi alcance".

Doctor Fausto

¿Qué "espíritu" es el que impulsa a la minoría única y buscadora, a los pocos que se apartan conscientemente de la masa de la humanidad con sus dogmas y su conformidad, a arriesgarlo todo en la búsqueda del "conocimiento prohibido"?

Estos son los inventores, los aventureros, los genios excéntricos, los adversarios de la ortodoxia y el dogma, los herejes de cada época, responsables de logros y descubrimientos de época; impulsados por su demonio interior para ir más allá de la norma.

Ni la persecución, ni el vilipendio, ni la amenaza de la condenación divina, ni la hoguera, ni la tortura física han podido disuadirlos. han sido capaces de disuadirlos de sus tareas autoimpuestas. A estas almas (griego=psyche) podemos llamarlas realmente fáusticas, ya que el gran Marlowe encarnó este inquieto, deseo insaciable en su leyenda de Fausto, el erudito/mago.

LA LEYENDA DE FAUSTO

El doctor Johannes Faustus vivió a principios del siglo XVI, en su lugar de nacimiento, Weimer, Alemania. Doctor en Divinidad, rechazó la teología en favor de la medicina, las matemáticas, la astrología y las Artes Negras. Artes. El profesor R.S. Knox, en su introducción a la edición de 1924 de la obra de Marlowe (escrita en 1588), escribe sobre Fausto "se niega a permanecer dentro de los límites prescritos para los mortales", impaciente por el conocimiento mortal y decidido a buscar más allá con la ayuda de Satanás[1].

De este modo, entró en un pacto con Satanás en la búsqueda de su insaciable ansia de conocimiento. Fausto se esforzó por "ganar la deidad"; como dice Marlowe "Un mago sólido es un dios poderoso"[2].

"Una lucha apasionada por llegar más allá del alcance de los mortales ordinarios... la meta que Fausto se esfuerza por alcanzar es una divinidad".

La leyenda, tal y como la describe Marlowe, tiene un "significado similar al de mitos tan antiguos como el de Eva comiendo la manzana y el de Prometeo desafiando a los dioses". La leyenda de Fausto se convierte para nosotros en un símbolo de de la espléndida lucha de la humanidad por alcanzar las estrellas, la tragedia de la aspiración infinita"[3].

La "aspiración infinita" define, en efecto, precisamente lo que es fáustico. El tema sería retomado por Goethe y Spengler, y la filosofía de Nietzsche de alcanzar el superhombre no es sino fáustica[4].

EL AMANECER DEL ALMA FÁUSTICA

Hay un incipiente faustianismo en la leyenda de Adán y Eva al comer el fruto prohibido del árbol del conocimiento[5].

También es fáustica la antigua leyenda popular de Odín, dios de los nórdicos, que fue honrado por haber colgado del Árbol del Mundo durante nueve noches de sufrimiento, en sacrificio propio, para obtener la sabiduría de las runas. Qué diferente es esto de la leyenda de Yeshua muriendo una muerte lamentable en sacrificio a un dios tirano.

"Sé que colgué en este árbol ventoso todas las noches nueve herido por la lanza y entregado a Odhinn; a mí mismo, en ese árbol que nadie sabe de qué raíces se levanta. No me dieron pan ni cuerno para beber, Miré hacia abajo, tomé las runas las tomé gritando, me retiré de allí"[6].

LA CIVILIZACIÓN FÁUSTICA

Tal es el mito fáustico. ¿Y el futuro? O bien los dogmas, las moralidades, las religiones y las ideologías actualmente dominantes conseguirán arrastrar a la humanidad de vuelta al fango primitivo de la existencia indiferenciada con su igualitarismo y su colectivismo, o bien los herejes fáusticos de hoy en día en ámbitos como las artes, las ciencias y la filosofía, triunfarán sobre todo y anunciarán una nueva civilización fáustica.

Bajo la dispensación fáustica ninguna religión, dogma, moral, nada, encadenará la mente. El alma fáustica se elevará sin trabas. Los programas de exploración espacial de hoy parecerán los primeros pasos infantiles pasos infantiles hacia el infinito. Lo que ahora vemos como el comienzo de la ciencia de la ingeniería genética, obstaculizada como está por la moralización religiosa y moralismo liberal-humanista, acelerará las medidas eugenésicas que pondrán a la humanidad en el camino de la la divinidad, para que el hombre pueda jugar entre las estrellas; su destino se encuentra... en la siguiente etapa de la evolución... Homo Galactica.

REFERENCIAS 1. Professor R.S. Knox, Introduction to Doctor Faustus. 1924 edition. 2. Marlowe, Faustus, Scene I. 3. Professor R.S. Knox, Introduction to Doctor Faustus. 1924 edition. 4. Oswald Spengler, The Decline of the West. George Allein & Unwin, 1971; Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Penguin, 1975. 5. Genesis, chapters 2-3. 6. Havamal: The Poetic Edda.

[bluebeardsbride-archive]

Hannibal: A Reading List

will be continuously updated as I find (or realized I’ve forgotten) more readings; enjoy!

Novels

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

The Eye of the Beholder by Marc Behm

The Wendigo by Algernon Blackwood

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Мастер и Маргарита (The Master and the Margarita) by Mikhail Buglakov

Carmilla by Sheridan le Fanu

Things as They Are; or, The Adventures of Caleb Williams by William Godwin

This Sweet Sickness by Patricia Highsmith

Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith

Là-bas (The Damned) by Joris-Karl Huysmans

À rebours (Against Nature) by Joris-Karl Huysmans

Der Tod in Venedig (Death in Venice) by Thomas Mann

The Marquis de Sade by Rachilde

Frankenstein: or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Das Parfum (Perfume: The Story of a Murderer) by Patrick Süskind

Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Gut Symmetries by Jeanette Winterson

Мёртвые души (Dead Souls) by Nikolai Gogol

채식주의자 (The Vegetarian) by Han Kang

Short Stories

The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter (specifically ‘The Bloody Chamber’ ‘The Erl-King’ and ‘The Lady of the House of Love’)

Gli amori difficili (Difficult Loves) by Italo Calvino

Under the Jaguar Sun by Italo Calvino

‘Вий’ (‘Viy’) by Nikolai Gogol

‘Delicate Edible Birds’ by Lauren Groff

‘The Bloody Countess’ by Alejandra Pizarnik

‘Apollo in Picardi’ by Walter Pater

Epics and Classics

The Bible (specifically The Song of Solomon, The Book of Revelation, and The Book of Genesis)

The Oresteia by Aeschylus

Divina Commedia (The Divine Comedy) by Dante Aligheri

La Vita Nuova (The New Love) by Dante Aligheri

The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio

Metamorphoses by Ovid

The Symposium by Plato

Poetry

Power Politics by Margaret Atwood

Les Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of Evil) by Charles Baudelaire

The Complete Poems of William Blake

The Beauty of the Husband by Anne Carson

Glass, Irony, and God by Anne Carson

Mouth of Hell by María Negroni

In The Pines by Alice Notley

Nonfiction

The Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol J. Adams

L'Erotisme (Eroticism: Death and Sexuality) by Georges Bataille

La littérature et le Mal (Literature and Evil) by Georges Bataille

Les larmes d'Éros (The Tears of Eros) by Georges Bataille

Holy Feast and Holy Fast by Caroline Walker Bynum

Eros the Bittersweet by Anne Carson

‘L’amour du loup’ (‘The Love of the Wolf’) by Hélène Cixous

‘Das Unheimlich’ by Sigmund Freud

Identification Papers: Readings on Psychoanalysis, Sexuality, and Culture by Diana Fuss

La violence et le sacré (Violence and the Sacred) by René Girard

Dark Museum by María Negroni

The Art of Cruelty by Maggie Nelson

The Red Parts: Autobiography of a Trial by Maggie Nelson

‘On Love and Death’ by Patrick Süskind

The Routledge Companion to Literature and Food

Theatre

Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Penthesilea by Heinrich von Kleist

The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe

Othello by William Shakespeare

Richard III by William Shakespeare

Salomé by Oscar Wilde

[thenightling]

I honestly don't comprehend the repetitive "Another Peter Pan movie?" or “Another Sherlock Holmes movie?” or “Another Dracula movie?”  It’s public domain.   Public domain stories means anyone can adapt them without having to pay for the rights to tell the story or use the characters in the story.  That means it’s a cost-effective source material for film makers.

Not only that but we don’t say “Not another production of Les Miserables” every time the stage musical is performed with a new cast.  Or “Not another King Lear!” even though Shakespeare’s was technically a remake / re-write with a changed ending.     Goethe’s Faust was essentially the stage equivalent of reboot of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, which in turn was based on the German legend of Faust, which was loosely based on the real Johann Georg Faustus.  

[melodiouswhite]

Who's Dr. Faustus and WHERE can I meet him (medium of origin name). Please and thank you!

Well, most people know him from the plays by Marlowe and Goethe, but he was actually a historical character named Johann Georg Faust, who was a wandering doctor and stage magician in South Germany from the 15th to 16th century. He was accused of some really nasty things.

My version of him is innocent of said nasty things and a genuine magician and immortal alchemist.

[rllibrary]

Goals

A note on list:

Arranged in chronological order, from the ancient Greeks to 2018. They are basically grouped by nationality, era, and in some cases, theme or genre- the way they were grouped in the college courses that I had the pleasure to read some of them for. You can also find a scrambled version of the same list at goodreads.com/larmer, if you view the shelf called "english-majors-library" and set it to "infinite scroll" to view it all on one page.

A note on ISBN:

Below each title, I have included the ISBN (the number that begins with 978). Of course, that means that all you have to do is copy and paste that code into a search bar on whatever site you buy your books from (amazon.com, bookdepository.com, etc.), to find the edition that the list refers to.

Why did I do something as crazy as include the ISBN for each book? For one thing, some of these editions include introductions and essays that have helped me think about them more deeply, or think about them in new ways, which has allowed me to enjoy them more.

Perhaps more importantly, some of these ISBN's simply refer to the edition with the coolest cover. To me, there is something special about the look of a shelf where most of the books match, for example, a row of Penguin Classics. Or at least, when the spines of books by the same author match. When I was a kid, I read series. Now I feel that the best books ever written form their own series. It seems right that they should fit together physically, as well. The ISBN's are there just in case you feel the same way.

*

*

Ancient Greeks

*

Homer (Greek, c. 800 BCE)

- The Iliad (c. 760-10 BCE)

/ Fagles translation, Penguin Classics, 9780140445923

- The Odyssey (c. 750-00 BCE)

/ Fagles translation, Penguin Classics, 9780143039952

*

Hesiod (Greek, c. 700 BCE)

- Works and Days (c. 700 BCE)

/ Stallings translation, Penguin Classics, 9780141197524

*

Aeschylus (Greek, 525-426 BCE)

- Prometheus Bound and Other Plays

/ Vellacott translation, Penguin Classics, 9780140441123

*

Sophocles (Greek, c. 497-406 BCE)

- The Three Theban Plays:

Antigone (c. 441 BCE)

Oedipus the King [aka Oedipus Tyrannus, Oedipus Rex] (c. 429 BCE)

Oedipus at Colonus (406 BCE)

/ Fagles translation, Penguin Classics, 9780140444254

*

Plato (Greek, c. 428-348 BCE)

- The Republic (370 BCE)

/ Bloom translation, 9780465094080, or Rowe translation, Penguin Classics, 9780141442433

*

Aristotle (Greek, 384-322 BCE)

- Nicomachean Ethics (340 BCE)

/ Beresford translation, Penguin Classics, 9780140455472

- Poetics (335 BCE)

/ Heath translation, Penguin Classics, 9780140446364, or Hutton translation, Norton Critical Editions, 9780393938869

*

*

Ancient Romans

*

Horace (Roman, 65-8 BCE)

- The Epistles

Epistularum liber primus [First Book of Letters] (20 BCE)

Epistularum liber secundus [Second Book of Letters] (14 BCE)

(Contains Ars Poetica [The Art of Poetry])

/ Ferry translation, 9780374528522

*

Virgil (Roman, 70-19 BCE)

- The Aeneid (29-19 BCE)

/ Fagles translation, Penguin Classics, 9780143106296

*

Ovid (Roman, 43 BCE- 18 CE)

- Metamorphoses (8 CE)

/ Raeburn translation, Penguin Classics, 9780140447897

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*

Ancient Eastern Classics

*

Lao Tzu (Laozi) (Chinese, born 6th to 5th century BCE, died 531 BCE)

- Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) (6th century BCE)

/ Lau translation, Penguin Classics, 9780140441314, or Mitchell translation, Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 9780061142666

*

Anonymous (Indian)

- The Upanishads (800-400 BCE)

/ Mascaró translation, Penguin Classics, 9780140441635

*

Anonymous (Indian)

- Bhagavad Gita (part of the Mahabharata) (5th-2nd century BCE)

/ Mascaró translation, Penguin Classics, 9780140449181, or Mitchell translation, Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 9780609810347

*

Buddhist Scriptures (3rd century BCE)

/ Lopez edit, Penguin Classics, 9780140447583

*

Roots of Yoga

/ Mallinson and Singleton translation, Penguin Classics, 9780241253045

*

Joseph Campbell, Myths of Light: Eastern Metaphors of the Eternal / 9781608681099

*

*

World Literature: The Middle Ages

*

One Thousand and One Nights

(Arabic compilation of Middle Eastern and South Asian stories and folk tales. Earliest known fragment dated to 9th century, first reference to title appears in 12th century)

- The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights

/ Burton translation, Modern Library Classics, 9780812972146

*

Snorri Sturluson (Icelandic, 1179-1241)

- The Prose Edda (1220)

/ Byock Translation, Penguin Classics, 9780140447552

*

Chrétien de Troyes (French, 1135?-1185?)

- Arthurian Romances

/ Kibler and Carroll translation, Penguin Classics, 9780140445213

*

Wolfram von Eschenbach (German, c. 1160/80 – c. 1220)

- Parzival

/ Hatto translation, Penguin Classics, 9780140443615

*

*

Major English Authors I: Medieval to Renaissance

*

[Note: I did not enjoy Beowulf or the Canterbury Tales, so I omitted them from this list]

*

Thomas Malory (English, c. 1415-1471)

- Le Morte d'Arthur (completed 1469-70, published 1485)

/ Norton Critical Edition, 9780393974645

*

Christopher Marlowe (English, 1564-93)

- Doctor Faustus (c. 1589, or c. 1593)

/ Norton Critical Edition, 9780393977547

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The Bible: Authorized King James Version (1611) 

/ Oxford World’s Classics, 9780199535941

See also:

- The Shadow of a Great Rock: A Literary Appreciation of the King James Bible, by Harold Bloom

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John Milton (English, 1608-74)

- Paradise Lost (1667)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780140424393

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*

Shakespeare

*

William Shakespeare (English, 1564-1616)

Comedy:

- A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595-6)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141396668

- The Merchant of Venice (1596-7)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141396545

Tragedy:

- Romeo and Juliet (1595-6)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141396477

- Julius Caesar (1599)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141396538

- Hamlet (1600-1)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141396507

- Othello (1604)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141396514

- King Lear (1605)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141396460

- Macbeth (1606)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141396316

- Antony and Cleopatra (1606-7)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141396293

Romance:

- The Tempest (1611)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141396309

See also:

- Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, by Harold Bloom

/ Fourth Estate, 9780007292844

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World Literature: The "Aristocratic Age"

*

Dante (Italian, 1265-1321)

- The Divine Comedy: Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso (1308-20)

/ Kirkpatrick translation, Penguin Classics, 9780141197494

*

Miguel de Cervantes (Spanish, 1547-1616)

- Don Quixote (1605- Part 1, 1615- Part 2)

/ Grossman translation, Vintage Classics, 9780099469698

*

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (German, 1749-1832)

- The Sufferings of Young Werther (1774)

/ Corngold translation, Norton Critical Editions, 9780393935561

- Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship (1796)

/ ? [Notable for being the first Bildungsroman. Still waiting for a good translation.]

- Faust, Parts I (1808) and II (1832)

/ Arndt translation, Norton Critical Editions, 9780393972825

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Major English Authors II: Neoclassical to Romantic

*

Paradise Lost (above) is probably the best and most influential work of the Neoclassical period, and Milton's Satan becomes both Blake's messiah and a foundation for the Byronic hero.

*

William Blake (English, 1757-1827)

- Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1789-94)

/ Oxford Paperbacks, 9780192810892

- The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790-93)

/ Oxford Paperbacks, 9780192811677

*

George Gordon, Lord Byron (English, 1788-1824)

- Lord Byron: The Major Works

(See "Prometheus," Manfred, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Mazeppa, Don Juan) 

/ Oxford World’s Classics, 9780199537334

See also:

- Byron: Child of Passion, Fool of Fame by Benita Eisler

/ Vintage, 9780679740858

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Percy Bysshe Shelley (English, 1792-1822)

- "Ozymandias" (1818)

- Prometheus Unbound (1820)

- Adonaïs (1821)

- A Defence of Poetry (1821)

*

See also: Keats, Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Wordsworth's Preface to Lyrical Ballads

*

Mary Shelley (English, 1797-1851)

- Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus (1818)

/ Norton Critical Edition, 9780393927931

*

*

Jane Austen

*

Jane Austen (English, 1775-1817)

- Northanger Abbey (completed 1803, published 1818)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141439792

- Pride and Prejudice (1813)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141439518

- Emma (1815)

/ Penguin Classics, 978-0141439587

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Novel: Victorian

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Charles Dickens (English, 1812-1870)

- David Copperfield (1849-50)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780140439441

*

Emily Brontë (English, 1818-48)

- Wuthering Heights (1847)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141439556

*

George Eliot (English, 1819-80)

- The Mill on the Floss (1860)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141439624

- Middlemarch (1871-72)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141439549

- Daniel Deronda (1876)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780140434279

*

Thomas Hardy (English, 1840-1928)

- The Return of the Native (1878)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780140435184

- The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141439785

- Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1891) / Penguin Classics, 9780141439594 *

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Victorian Poetry

*

Alfred, Lord Tennyson (English, 1809-92)

- "The Lotos-Eaters" (1833)

- "Ulysses" (1833)

- "In Memoriam A.H.H." (1849) 

*

Robert Browning (English, 1812-89)

- Selected Poems

/ Penguin Classics, 9780140437263

*

Thomas Hardy, Selected Poems

/ Penguin Classics, 9780140436990

*

W.B. Yeats (Irish, 1865-1939)

- "Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven" (1899)

See also (though mostly from the Modern era):

- The Collected Poems

/ Finneran edit, Scribner, 9780684807317

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*

Late Victorian-Edwardian Era/ Gothic and Grotesque/ Horror, Gender, and Sexuality/ Freud and Fiction

*

E. T. A. Hoffmann (Prussian, 1776-1822)

- The Golden Pot and Other Tales

/ Robertson translation, Oxford World’s Classics, 9780199552474

"The Sandman" (1816)

See also: 

Sigmund Freud, "The Uncanny"

- The Uncanny

/ Penguin Classics, 9780142437476

*

Edgar Allan Poe (American, 1809-1849)

- The Portable Edgar Allan Poe

/ Penguin Classics, 9780143039914

“Berenice”

“Ligeia”

“The Fall of the House of Usher”

“The Oval Portrait”

“The Black Cat”

“The Imp of the Perverse”

“William Wilson”

*

See also:

- Jonathan Haidt, "The Divided Self" in The Happiness Hypothesis

*

Sheridan Le Fanu (Irish, 1814-73)

- In a Glass Darkly

/ Oxford World’s Classics, 9780199537983

"Green Tea"

"Carmilla"

*

Bram Stoker (Irish, 1847-1912)

- Dracula (1897)

/ Norton Critical Editions, 9780393970128

*

Robert Louis Stevenson (Scottish, 1850-94)

- Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886)

/ Norton Critical Editions, 9780393974652

*

Oscar Wilde (Irish, 1854-1900)

- The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890)

/ Norton Critical Editions, 9780393696875

*

Sigmund Freud (Austrian, 1856-1939)

- The Psychology of Love

/ Penguin Classics, 9780142437469

"Fragment of an Analysis of Hysteria (Dora)"

Three Essays on Sexual Theory

On the Sexual Theories of Children

"Contributions to the Psychology of Erotic Life"

‘A Child is being Beaten’

On Female Sexuality

[Note: I realize that Freud's theories are no longer considered accurate, but I enjoy his imagination. If you want to read about the psychology of love/sex from an evidence-based perspective, check out The Evolution of Desire, by David Buss]

- The Uncanny

/ Penguin Classics, 9780142437476

Screen Memories

The Creative Writer and Daydreaming

Family Romances

Leonardo da Vinci and a Memory of his Childhood

The Uncanny

*

Arthur Machen (Welsh, 1863-1947)

- "The Great God Pan" (1894)

(“Maybe the best [horror story] in the English language.” - Stephen King)

/ Late Victorian Gothic Tales, Oxford World’s Classics, 9780199538874

- Vernon Lee, "Dionea," also in the above collection

*

Algernon Blackwood (English, 1869-1951)

- Ancient Sorceries and Other Weird Stories

/ Penguin Classics, 9780142180150

“The Insanity of Jones”

“The Glamour of the Snow”

“The Man Whom the Trees Loved”

“Ancient Sorceries”

*

Daphne du Maurier (English, 1907-89)

- Rebecca (1937)

/ Virago Modern Classics, 9781844080380

- The Birds and Other Stories (1952)

/ Virago Modern Classics, 9781844080878

"The Birds"

*

Robert Bloch (American, 1917-94)

- Psycho (1959)

*

See also: Alfred Hitchcock's adaptations of the above, and more:

- Rebecca (1940)

- Rope (1948)

- Rear Window (1954)

- Vertigo (1958)

- Psycho (1959)

- The Birds (1963)

- Marnie (1964)

See also: 

- François Truffaut, Hitchcock

- Donald Spoto, The Art of Alfred Hitchcock  

More films with similar themes:

- Repulsion (Roman Polanski, 1965)

- The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)

- Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986)

- The Twilight Zone (Original Series, 1959)

"Perchance to Dream" (Season 1, Episode 9)

"The Hitch-Hiker" (Season 1, Episode 16)

"Nightmare as a Child" (Season 1, Episode 29)

"A Stop at Willoughby" (Season 1, Episode 30)

"Long Distance Call" (Season 2, Episode 22)

"What's in the Box" (Season 5, Episode 24)

*

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American Literature: 19th Century, Pre-Civil War

*

Washington Irving (American, 1783-1859)

- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories

/ Penguin Classics, 9780143107538

*

James Fenimore Cooper (American, 1789-1851)

- The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757 (1826)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780140390247

*

Ralph Waldo Emerson (American, 1803-82)

- The Portable Emerson

/ Penguin Classics, 9780143107460

"The American Scholar" (1832)

"Self-Reliance" (1841)

"Compensation" (1841)

"The Over-Soul" (1841)

"Circles" (1841)

"The Poet" (1844)

"Experience" (1844)

*

Henry David Thoreau (American, 1817-62)

- The Portable Thoreau

/ Penguin Classics, 9780143106500

"Civil Disobedience" (1849)

Walden (1854)

*

Frederick Douglass (American, 1818-95)

- The Portable Frederick Douglass

/ Penguin Classics, 9780143106814

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845)

*

Edgar Allan Poe (American, 1809-1849)

- The Portable Edgar Allan Poe

/ Penguin Classics, 9780143039914

*

Nathaniel Hawthorne (American, 1804-1864)

- Selected Tales and Sketches (1830-1850)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780140390575

Selections of the selections:

"My Kinsman, Major Molineux" (1832)

"Young Goodman Brown" (1835)

"Wakefield" (1835)

"The Minister's Black Veil" (1836)

"Rappaccini's Daughter" (1844)

A selection that is not included in the above volume:

"Feathertop" (1852)

- The Scarlet Letter (1850)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780143107668

- The Marble Faun (1860)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780140390773

*

Herman Melville (American, 1819-91)

- Moby-Dick; or, The Whale (1851)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780142437247

*

*

American Literature: 19th Century, Civil War and After

*

Walt Whitman (American, 1819-92)

- Leaves of Grass and Other Writings

/ Norton Critical Editions, 9780393974966

*

Emily Dickinson (American, 1830-96)

- The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson

/ Little, Brown & Company, 9780316184137

*

Mark Twain (American, 1835-1910)

- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780143107330

- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780143107323

- Tales, Speeches, Essays, and Sketches

/ Penguin Classics, 9780140434170

*

Ambrose Bierce (American, 1842-circa 1914)

- Tales of Soldiers and Civilians: And Other Stories

/ Penguin Classics, 9780140437560

*

Henry James (American, mostly writing in Britain, 1843-1916)

See Novel: Modern British, below.

*

Kate Chopin (American, 1850-1904)

- The Awakening [1899] and Selected Stories

/ Penguin Classics, 9780142437322

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*

Novel: Modern British

*

Terry Eagleton, "What is a Novel?" in The English Novel: An Introduction

*

Peter Childs, “Words, Words, Words: Modern, Modernism, Modernity”

*

Thomas Hardy (English, 1840-1928)

- Jude the Obscure (1895)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780140435382

*

Henry James (American, mostly writing in Britain, 1843-1916)

Novels:

- What Maisie Knew (1897)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141441375

- The Ambassadors (1903)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141441320

Novellas:

- Daisy Miller (1878)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141441344

- The Turn of the Screw (1898)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141389752

See also:

James' short stories:

"The Jolly Corner" (also collected in the above volume)

"The Real Right Thing"

/ Collected in The New Penguin Book of American Short Stories: from Washington Irving to Lydia Davis, Edited by Kasia Boddy, Penguin Classics, 9780141194424

*

Joseph Conrad (Polish-British, 1857-1924)

- Heart of Darkness (1899)

/ Norton Critical Edition, 9780393264869

- Lord Jim (1900)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141441610

- Nostromo (1904)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141441634

*

E. M. Forster (English, 1879-1970)

- Howards End (1910)

/ Penguin Classics,  9780141182131

- A Passage to India (1924)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141441160

*

James Joyce (Irish, 1882-1941)

- A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916)

/ In The Portable James Joyce, which also includes the short story collection, Dubliners (1914), 9780140150308

- Ulysses (1922)

/ Penguin Modern Classics, 9780141182803

- Finnegans Wake (1939)

/ Penguin Modern Classics, 9780141183114

See also:

- Re Joyce, by Anthony Burgess (author of A Clockwork Orange)

- James Joyce’s Ulysses: A Study, by Stuart Gilbert

- A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake, by Joseph Campbell (author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces, The Power of Myth, etc.)

- Joyce’s Book of the Dark: Finnegans Wake, by John Bishop

*

D. H. Lawrence (English, 1885-1930)

- Sons and Lovers (1913)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141441443

- Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141441498

*

Essays/Prefaces/Letters: Contexts for Course Novels

Henry James, “The Art of Fiction” (1884)

http://virgil.org/dswo/courses/novel/james-fiction.pdf

*

Thomas Hardy, Preface to the First Edition [of Jude the Obscure] (1895)

*

Joseph Conrad, Preface to "The Nigger of the Narcissus” (1897)

*

Thomas Hardy, Postscript [to Preface] (1912)

*

Ford Madox Ford, “On Impressionism” (1913)

*

D.H. Lawrence, Letter to Edward Garnett (1912)

*

Virginia Woolf, “Modern Fiction” (1919)

---, "Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Brown" (1923)

*

See also: Modernist Poetry:

W. B. Yeats (Irish, 1865-1939)

- The Collected Poems

/ Finneran edit, Scribner, 9780684807317

"The Second Coming" (1919)

*

T. S. Eliot (American born British citizen, 1888-1965)

- The Waste Land and Other Poems

/ Penguin Classics, 9780142437315

"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (1915)

"The Waste Land" (1922)

*

*

World Literature: 19th Century

*

[Note: I have skipped Balzac, Baudelaire, Flaubert, Stendhal, and the Brothers Grimm. Furthermore, 19th Century Russian Literature gets its own section, as well as American and British.]

*

E. T. A. Hoffmann (Prussian, 1776-1822)

- The Golden Pot and Other Tales

/ Robertson translation, Oxford World’s Classics, 9780199552474

*

Victor Hugo (French, 1802-85)

- Notre-Dame de Paris (1831)

/ Sturrock translation, Penguin Classics, 9780140443530

*

Arthur Rimbaud (French, 1854-91]

- Selected Poems and Letters

/ Harding and Sturrock translation, Penguin Classics, 9780140448023

See also: Bruce Duffy, Disaster Was My God: A Novel of the Outlaw Life of Arthur Rimbaud

*

Guy de Maupassant (French, 1850-93)

- A Parisian Affair and Other Stories (1880-90)

/ Miles translation, Penguin Classics, 9780140448122

*

Henrik Ibsen (Norwegian, 1828-1906)

- A Doll's House and Other Plays

/ Dawkin and Skuggevik translation, Penguin Classics, 9780141194561

*

Friedrich Nietzsche (German, 1844-1900)

- The Birth of Tragedy (1872)

/ Whiteside translation, Penguin Classics, 9780140433395

- The Gay Science (1882)

/ Hill Translation (as The Joyful Science), Penguin Classics, 9780141195391

- Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883)

/ Hollingdale translation, Penguin Classics, 9780140441185

- Beyond Good and Evil (1886)

/ Hollingdale translation, Penguin Classics, 9780140449235

- On the Genealogy of Morals (1887)

/ Scarpitti translation, Penguin Classics, 9780141195377

- The Will to Power (Posthumously Collected Manuscripts)

/ Hill and Scarpitti translation, Penguin Classics, 9780141195353

*

*

Russian Literature: 19th Century

*

Fyodor Dostoevsky (Russian, 1821-81)

- Notes from Underground (1864)

/ Pevear and Volokhonsky translation, Vintage International, 9780679734529

- Crime and Punishment (1866)

/ Pevear and Volokhonsky translation, Vintage International, 9780679734505

- The Brothers Karamazov (1880)

/ Pevear and Volokhonsky translation, FSG, 9780374528379

*

Leo Tolstoy (Russian, 1828-1910)

Fiction

- War and Peace (1869)

/ Pevear and Volokhonsky translation, Vintage, 9781400079988

- Anna Karenina (1877)

/ Pevear and Volokhonsky translation, Penguin Classics, 9780140449174

Nonfiction

- What is Art? (1897)

/ Pevear and Volokhonsky translation, Penguin Classics, 9780140446425

- Last Steps: The Late Writings of Leo Tolstoy

/ Parini edit, Penguin Classics, 9780141191195

*

Anton Chekhov (Russian, 1860-1904)

- Selected Stories (1883-1903)

/ Pevear and Volokhonsky translation, Modern Library, 9780553381009

*

*

World Literature: 20th Century 

*

[Note: 20th Century Japanese Literature gets its own section, as well as American and British]

*

Boris Pasternak (Russian, 1890-1960)

- Doctor Zhivago (1957)

/ Pevear and Volokhonsky translation, Vintage International, 9780307390950

*

Mikhail Bulgakov (Russian, 1891-1940)

- The Master and Margarita (written 1928-40, published 1967)

/ Pevear and Volokhonsky translation, Penguin Classics Deluxe,

9780143108276

*

Thomas Mann (German, 1875-1955)

- The Magic Mountain (1924)

/ Woods translation, Vintage International, 9780679772873

- Doctor Faustus (1947)

/ Woods translation, Vintage International, 9780375701160

*

Hermann Hesse (German-born Swiss, 1877-1962)

- Narcissus and Goldmund (1930)

/ Molinaro translation, Picador, 9780312421670

- The Glass Bead Game (1943)

/ Winston and Winston translation, Picador, 9780312278496

*

Franz Kafka (Austro-Hungarian, now Czech Republic, 1883-1924)

- The Trial (written 1914-5, published 1925)

/ Muir and Muir translation, Schocken, 9780805210408

- The Castle (written 1922, published 1926)

/ Muir and Muir translation, Schocken, 9780805210392

- The Complete Short Stories (1908-24)

/ Muir and Muir translation, Schocken, 9780805210552

*

Gabriel García Márquez (Colombian, 1927-2014)

- Love in the Time of Cholera (1985)

/ Grossman translation, Penguin Modern Classics, 9780141189208

*

*

History of Literary Criticism and Theory

*

See above courses for Plato's Republic, Aristotle's Poetics, Horace's Ars Poetica, Wordsworth's Preface to the Lyrical Ballads, Wilde's Preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the essays, prefaces, and letters that comprise the contexts for the Modern British Novel course.

*

Northrop Frye (Canadian, 1912-91)

- "The Archetypes of Literature" (1951)

- Anatomy of Criticism (1957)

/ Princeton University Press, 9780691069999

*

Harold Bloom (American, 1930- )

- The Anxiety of Influence: A Theory of Poetry (1973)

/ Oxford University Press, 9780195112214

(Further reading by Harold Bloom listed at the end of this section)

*

- I will not list the readings for the entire History of Literary Criticism and Theory. The works listed above are the essentials that still hold up today.

I have omitted what Harold Bloom dismisses as the "School of Resentment" in his book, The Western Canon.

Bloom points out the problem with reading a text in terms of whatever ideology one wishes to impose on it (Feminist, Marxist, Lacanian, New Historicist, Deconstructionist, Semiotician, etc.), rather than simply reading in order to "confront greatness." For example, if we read Hamlet through a feminist or Marxist lens, we may end up with insights about feminism or Marxism, but not necessarily about Hamlet (source: the book, The Western Canon, as well as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Bloom).

Bloom suspects that people do not simply value classics due to social conditioning. To read more about how human behavior and values come from human nature, and not from social conditioning, here is the definitive book on the subject:

- Steven Pinker, The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature

/ Penguin, 9780142003343

See also:

- Steven Pinker, "Toward a Consilient Study of Literature"

*

- John Tooby and Leda Cosmides, "Does Beauty Build Adapted Minds? Toward an Evolutionary Theory of Aesthetics"

*

- Joseph Carroll, Literary Darwinism

/ Routledge, 9780415970143

*

- Jonathan Gottschall, The Storytelling Animal 

/ Mariner, 9780544002340

*

- Stephen R. C. Hicks, Explaining Postmodernism

/ Ockham's Razor, 9780983258407

*

Louise M. Rosenblatt's Transactional Theory has been most informative to my understanding of what reading consists of.

Louise M. Rosenblatt (American, 1904-2005)

- Literature as Exploration (1938)

/ [Out of print?]

- The Reader, The Text, The Poem: The Transactional Theory of the Literary Work (1978, 1994)

/ Southern Illinois University Press, 9780809318056

*

This brief article by Saul Bellow has also been enlightening for me:

"The Search for Symbols, a Writer Warns, Misses All the Fun and Fact of the Story"

https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/05/25/reviews/bellow-symbol.html

*

Harold Bloom, continued:

- The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages (1994)

/ Little, Brown & Company, 9781573225144

- Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human (1998)

/ Fourth Estate, 9780007292844

- Novelists and Novels: A Collection of Critical Essays (2007)

/ Chelsea House, 9780791097274

- The Shadow of a Great Rock: A Literary Appreciation of the King James Bible (2011)

/ Yale University Press, 9780300187946

- The Anatomy of Influence: Literature as a Way of Life (2011)

/ Yale University Press, 9780300181449

*

*

Composition

*

Steven Pinker, The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century

/ Penguin, 9780143127796

*

*

Creative Writing

*

John Gardner, The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers / Vintage, 9780679734031

*

Joseph Campbell, The Hero With A Thousand Faces

/ Yogi Impressions, 9789382742616

*

Alice LaPlante, The Making of a Story: A Norton Guide to Creative Writing

/ W. W. Norton and Company, 9780393337082

*

Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux, The Poet's Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry

/ W. W. Norton and Company, 9780393316544

*

*

American Short Story, 20th Century

*

Sherwood Anderson (American, 1876-1941)

- Winesburg, Ohio (1919)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780140186550

*

Ernest Hemingway (American, 1899-1961)

- The Short Stories: The First Forty-Nine Stories with a Brief Preface by the Author

/ Scribner, 9780684803340

*

John Cheever (American, 1912-82)

- Collected Stories

/ Vintage Classics, 9780099748304

*

Bernard Malamud (American, 1914-86)

- The Complete Stories (written 1940-84, collected 1997)

/ FSG Classics, 9780374525750

*

Saul Bellow (Canadian-American, 1915-2005)

- Collected Stories (2001)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780143107255

*

Carson McCullers (American, 1917-67)

- The Ballad of the Sad Café (1951 novella along with previously published short stories)

/ Penguin Modern Classics, 9780141183695

*

J. D. Salinger (American, 1919-2010)

- Nine Stories (1953)

/ Little, Brown and Company, 9780316767729

- Franny and Zooey (1961)

/ Back Bay Books, 9780316769020

- Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (1963)

/ Back Bay Books, 9780316766944

*

James Baldwin (American, 1924-87)

- “Sonny’s Blues” (1957)

Collected in several anthologies. I have not read them all, but I would probably recommend:

- American Short Story Masterpieces, edited by Raymond Carver and Tom Jenks

/ 9780440204237

*

Flannery O'Connor (American, 1925-64)

- The Complete Stories (1971)

/ FSG Classics, 9780374515362

*

Philip Roth (American, 1933-2018)

- Goodbye, Columbus (1959)

/ Vintage, 9780679748267

*

Joyce Carol Oates (American, 1938- )

- "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" (1966)

Collected in several anthologies. I have not read them all, but I would probably recommend:

- American Short Story Masterpieces, edited by Raymond Carver and Tom Jenks

/ 9780440204237

*

Raymond Carver (American, 1938-88)

- Where I’m Calling From: Selected Stories (1988)

/ Harvill Press, 9781860460395

*

Tobias Wolff (American, 1945- )

- In the Garden of the North American Martyrs: Stories (1981)

/ Ecco, 9780062393845

*

Louise Erdrich (Native American, 1954- )

- Love Medicine (1984)

/ Harper Perennial, 9780061787423

*

Stephanie Vaughn (American, ?- )

- Sweet Talk: Stories (1990)

/ Other Press, 9781590515167

"Dog Heaven"

(Also collected in the Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories, edited by Tobias Wolff, 9780679745136]

*

*

American Novel, 20th Century to Present

*

F. Scott Fitzgerald (American, 1896-1940)

- The Great Gatsby (1925)

/ Scribner, 9780743273565

- Tender is the Night (1934)

/ Scribner, 9780684801544

*

William Faulkner (American, 1897-1962)

- The Sound and the Fury (1929)

/ Norton Critical Editions, 9780393912692

*

Nathanael West (American, 1903-40)

- Miss Lonelyhearts (1933)

- The Day of the Locust (1939)

/ Both of these novels are collected in Vintage Classics, 9780099573166

*

Zora Neale Hurston (American, 1891-1960)

- Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937)

/ Virago, 9780860685241

*

Betty Smith (American, 1896-1972)

- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1943)

/ Harper Perennial, 9780060736262

*

John Steinbeck (American, 1902-68)

- Of Mice and Men (1937)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780140186420

- The Grapes of Wrath (1939)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780143039433

- East of Eden (1952)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780140186390

*

Ralph Ellison (American, 1913-94)

- Invisible Man (1952)

/ Vintage, 9780679732761

*

Vladimir Nabokov (Russian-American, 1899-1977)

- Lolita (1955)

/ Penguin Modern Classics, The Annotated Lolita, 9780141185040

- Pale Fire (1962)

/ Penguin Modern Classics, 9780141185262

See also:

Nabokov’s Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery, by Brian Boyd

/ Princeton University Press, 9780691089577

*

Saul Bellow (Canadian-American, 1915-2005)

Novels (selected):

- The Adventures of Augie March (1953)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780143039570

- Seize the Day (1956)

Penguin Classics, 9780142437612

- Henderson the Rain King (1959)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780143105480

- Herzog (1964)

/ Penguin Classics Deluxe, 9780143107675

- Mr. Sammler’s Planet (1970)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780142437834

- Humboldt’s Gift (1975)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780143105473

- Ravelstein (2000)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780143107576

Non-fiction:

- It All Adds Up: From the Dim Past to the Uncertain Future (1994)

/ Penguin Classics, 978-0143106685

"Facts That Put Fancy to Flight" (1962)

The above article is available on the New York Times archive here:

"A Novelist-Critic Discusses the Role of Reality in the Creation of Fiction"

http://movies2.nytimes.com/books/97/05/25/reviews/bellow-reality.html

- There is Simply Too Much to Think About: Collected Nonfiction, edited by Benjamin Taylor

/ Penguin, 978-0143108047

"Deep Readers of the World, Beware!"

The above article is available on the New York Times archive here: 

"The Search for Symbols, a Writer Warns, Misses All the Fun and Fact of the Story"

https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/05/25/reviews/bellow-symbol.html

See also:

- The Life of Saul Bellow: To Fame and Fortune, 1915-1964, by Zachary Leader

/ Vintage, 9780307388933

- The Life of Saul Bellow: Love and Strife, 1965-2005, by Zachary Leader

/ Vintage, 9780099598152

*

Carson McCullers (American, 1917-67)

- The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1940)

/ Penguin Modern Classics, 9780141185224

*

J. D. Salinger (American, 1919-2010)

- The Catcher in the Rye (1951)

/ Back Bay Books, 9780316769174

See also:

Salinger, by David Shields and Shane Salerno

/ Simon & Schuster, 9781471130380

*

Kurt Vonnegut (American, 1922-2007)

- Cat’s Cradle (1963)

/ Dial Press, 9780385333481

- Slaughterhouse-Five (1969)

/ Dial Press, 9780385333849

*

William Gaddis (American, 1922-98)

- The Recognitions (1955)

/ [Out of print?]

- JR (1975)

/ [Out of print?]

See also: 

- Nobody Grew but the Business: On the Life and Work of William Gaddis, by Joseph Tabbi

/ Northwestern University Press, 9780810131422

*

Joseph Heller (American, 1923-99)

- Catch-22 (1961)

/ 50th Anniversary Edition, Simon & Schuster, 9781451626650

*

Richard Yates (American, 1926-92)

- Revolutionary Road (1961)

/ Vintage Classics, 9780099518624

*

Toni Morrison (American, 1931-2019)

- The Bluest Eye (1970)

/ Vintage International, 9780307278449

- Song of Solomon (1977)

/ Vintage International, 9781400033423

*

John Updike (American, 1932-2009)

- Rabbit, Run (1960)

/ Penguin Modern Classics, 9780141187839

- Rabbit Redux (1971)

/ Penguin Modern Classics, 9780141188546

- Rabbit is Rich (1981)

/ Penguin Modern Classics, 9780141188553

- Rabbit at Rest (1990)

/ Penguin Modern Classics, 9780141188447

*

Philip Roth (American, 1933-2018)

- Portnoy’s Complaint (1969)

/ Vintage International, 9780679756453

- The Human Stain (2000)

/ Vintage International, 9780375726347

*

Cormac McCarthy (American, 1933- )

- Blood Meridian (1985)

/ Vintage International, 9780679728757

- The Road (2006)

/ Vintage International, 9780307387899

*

Ken Kesey (American, 1935-2001)

- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1962)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141181226

- Sometimes a Great Notion (1964)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780143039860

*

Don DeLillo (American, 1936- )

- White Noise (1985)

/ Penguin, 9780140077025

- Libra (1988)

/ Penguin, 9780140156041

- Mao II (1992)

/ Penguin, 9780140152746

- Underworld (1998)

/ Scribner, 9780684848150

*

Thomas Pynchon (American, 1937- )

- V. (1963)

/ Harper Perennial, 9780060930219

- Gravity’s Rainbow (1973)

/ Vintage Classics, 9780099511755

- Mason & Dixon (1997)

/ Picador, 9780312423209

See also: 

- A Gravity’s Rainbow Companion: Sources and Contexts for Pynchon’s Novel, 2nd Edition, by Steven Weisenburger

/ University of Georgia Press, 9780820328072

Note:

Pynchon dedicated G’s R to Richard Fariña - see below:

*

Richard Fariña (American, 1937-66)

- Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me (1966)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780140189308

*

John Kennedy Toole (American, 1937-69)

- A Confederacy of Dunces (completed 1964, published 1980)

/ Grove Press, 9780802130204

*

Leslie Marmon Silko (Laguna Pueblo, 1948- )

- Ceremony (1977)

/ Penguin Classics Deluxe, 9780143104919

*

Louise Erdrich (Native American, 1954- )

- The Plague of Doves (2008)

/ Harper Perennial, 9780060515133

- The Round House (2012)

/ Harper Perennial, 9780062065254

*

David Foster Wallace (American, 1962-2008)

- Infinite Jest (1996)

/ Back Bay Books, 9780316066525

- The Pale King (unfinished, published 2011)

/ Back Bay Books, 9780316074223

See also:

- Elegant Complexity: A Study of David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest, by Greg Carlisle

/ SSMG Press, 978-0976146537

- Every Love Story is a Ghost Story: A Life of David Foster Wallace, by D. T. Max

/ Penguin, 9780147509727

*

Peter Hedges (American, 1962- )

- What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1991)

/ Simon & Schuster, 9780671038540

*

Jennifer Egan (American, 1962- )

- A Visit from the Goon Squad (2010)

/ Anchor Books, 9780307477477

- Manhattan Beach (2017)

/ Scribner, 9781476716749

*

*

American Poetry, 20th Century

*

Robert Frost (American, 1874-1963)

- The Collected Poems

/ Vintage Classics, 9780099583097

*

Robinson Jeffers (American, 1887-1962)

- The Selected Poetry

/ Stanford University Press, 9780804741088

*

John Berryman (American, 1914-72)

- The Dream Songs (1969)

/ FSG Classics, 9780374534554

- Collected Poems, 1937-1971

/ Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 9780374522810

*

The Penguin Anthology of Twentieth-Century American Poetry, edited by Rita Dove

/ Penguin, 9780143121480

Gwendolyn Brooks, "We Real Cool," "The Bean Eaters"

Stephen Dobyns, "How to Like it"

*

*

Contemporary British Fiction

*

Graham Greene (English, 1904-91)

- Complete Short Stories 

/ Penguin Classics, 9780143039105

"The Destructors" (1954)

*

Samuel Beckett (Irish, 1906-89)

- More Pricks than Kicks (1934)

/ Grove Press, 9780802151377

"Dante and the Lobster"

- Three Novels

/ Grove Press, 9780802144478

1. Molloy (1951)

2. Malone Dies (1951)

3. The Unnameable (1953)

*

Malcolm Lowry (English, 1909-57)

- Under the Volcano (1947)

/ Harper Perennial, 9780061120152

*

Flann O'Brien (Brian O'Nolan) (Irish, 1911-66)

- The Third Policeman (completed in 1940, published in 1967)

/ Dalkey Archive Press, 9781564782144

*

Iris Murdoch (Anglo-Irish, 1919-99)

- Under the Net (1954)

/ Vintage Classics, 9780099429074

- The Bell (1958)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141186696

- The Black Prince (1973)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780142180112

- The Sea, The Sea (1978)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141186160

*

Alan Sillitoe (English, 1928-2010)

- The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1959)

/ Vintage International, 9780307389640

"The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner"

*

Angela Carter (English, 1940-92)

- The Magic Toyshop (1967)

/ Virago, 9780860681908

- The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman (1972)

/ Penguin Modern Classics, 9780141192390

- Burning Your Boats: Collected Stories (1962-93)

/ Vintage Classics, 9780099592914

“The Bloody Chamber”

“The Courtship of Mr Lyon”

“The Tiger’s Bride”

“The Erl-King”

“The Snow Child”

“The Lady of the House of Love”

“The Werewolf”

“The Company of Wolves”

“Wolf Alice”

"A Souvenir of Japan"

*

J. G. Ballard (English, 1930-2009)

- The Unlimited Dream Company (1979)

- Super-Cannes (2000)

*

Salman Rushdie (British Indian, 1947- )

- The Satanic Verses (1988)

*

Ian McEwan (English, 1948- )

- In Between the Sheets (Short story collection) (1978)

/ Vintage, 9780099754718

- Atonement (novel) (2001)

/ Vintage, 9780099429791

*

Iain Banks (Scottish, 1954-2013)

- The Wasp Factory (1984)

/ Prentice Hall, 9780684853154

*

Hanif Kureishi (British, 1954- )

- The Buddha of Suburbia (1990)

/ Penguin, 9780140131680

*

Kazuo Ishiguro (British, 1954- )

- An Artist of the Floating World (1986)

/ Faber & Faber, 9780571209132

- Never Let Me Go (2005)

/ Faber & Faber, 9780571272136

- The Buried Giant (2015)

/ Faber & Faber, 9780571315062

*

Jeanette Winterson (English, 1959- )

- Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985)

*

Films:

- Star Trek: The Original Series

"Arena" (Season 1, Episode 18)

"Turnabout Intruder" (Season 3, Episode 24)

*

*

Canadian Literature: 20th Century

*

Robertson Davies (Canadian, 1913-95)

- The Deptford Trilogy

1. Fifth Business (1970)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141186153

2. The Manticore (1972)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780143039136

3. World of Wonders (1975)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780143039143

*

Alice Munro (Canadian, 1931- )

- A Wilderness Station: Selected Stories, 1968-1994

/ Vintage International, 9781101970362

- Family Furnishings: Selected Stories, 1995-2014

/ Vintage International, 9781101872352

*

*

Theater, 20th Century

*

Eugene O'Neill (American, 1888-1953)

- The Iceman Cometh (written 1939, first performed 1946)

/ Introduction by Harold Bloom, Yale University Press, 9780300117431

- Long Day’s Journey Into Night (written 1941, first performed 1956)

/ Introduction by Harold Bloom, Yale University Press, 9780300093056

*

Jean-Paul Sartre (French, 1905-80)

- No Exit and Three Other Plays (1944-48)

/ Gilbert translation, Vintage International, 9780679725169

No Exit

*

Samuel Beckett (Irish, 1906-89)

- Waiting for Godot (1959)

/ Grove Press, 9780802144423

- Happy Days (1961)

/ Grove Press, 9780802144409

*

Tennessee Williams (American, 1911-83)

- The Glass Menagerie (1944)

/ Penguin Modern Classics, 9780141190266

- A Streetcar Named Desire (1947)

/ Penguin Modern Classics, 9780141190273

- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955)

/ Penguin Modern Classics, 9780141190280

*

Arthur Miller (American, 1915-2005)

- Death of a Salesman (1949)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141180977

- The Crucible (1953)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780142437339

*

Edward Albee (American, 1928-2016)

- Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962)

/ Vintage Classics, 9780099285694

*

Sam Shepard (American, 1943- )

Sam Shepard: Seven Plays (Buried Child, Curse of the Starving Class, The

Tooth of Crime, La Turista, Tongues, Savage Love, True West) (1984)

/ Dial Press, 9780553346114

Shepard is also an actor- Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff (1983 adaptation of Tom Wolfe’s book of the same title), and Robert Rayburn aka “Papa Ray” in the 2015 Netflix series, Bloodline

*

Films:

- A Streetcar Named Desire (Elia Kazan, 1951)

- Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Mike Nichols, 1966)

- Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984) (Screenplay by Sam Shepard)

- Death of a Salesman (Volker Schlöndorff, 1985)

- The Crucible (Nicholas Hytner, 1996)

- Happy Days (Patricia Rozema, 2001)

*

*

Science Fiction/ Dystopian/ Philosophical

H. G. Wells (English, 1866-1946)

- The Time Machine (1895)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141439976

*

Aldous Huxley (English, 1894-1963)

- Brave New World (1932)

/ Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 9780060776091

- Island (1962)

/ Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 9780061561795

*

George Orwell (English, 1903-50)

- Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780241416419

*

John Wyndham (English, 1903-69)

- The Chrysalids (1955)

/ Penguin Modern Classics, 9780141181479

*

Albert Camus (French, 1913-60)

- The Stranger (1942)

/ Ward translation, Vintage International, 9780679720201

*

Osamu Dazai (Japanese, 1909-48)

- No Longer Human (1948)

/ Keene translation, New Directions, 9780811204811

*

William Golding (English, 1911-93)

- Lord of the Flies (1954)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780399533372

*

Anthony Burgess (English, 1917-93)

- A Clockwork Orange (1962)

/ Norton Critical Edition, 9780393928099

*

Yukio Mishima (Japanese, 1925-1970)

- The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea (1963)

/ Nathan translation, Vintage Classics, 9780099284796

*

Frank Herbert (American, 1920-86)

- The Great Dune Trilogy

/ Orion Pub. Co., 9780575070707

- Dune (1965)

- Dune Messiah (1969)

- Children of Dune (1976)

*

Arkady and Boris Strugatsky (Russian, 1925-91 and 1933-2012, respectively)

- Roadside Picnic (1971)

/ Bormashenko translation, Chicago Review Press, 9781613743416

*

Robert M. Pirsig (American, 1928-2017)

- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values (1974)

/ 40th Anniversery Edition, Vintage, 9780099598169

*

Alan Moore (English, 1953- )

- Watchmen (1987)

/ DC, 9781401245252

*

More philosophical novels (Listed in other sections above):

- Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale (1851)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780142437247

*

- Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment (1866)

/ Pevear and Volokhonsky translation, Vintage International, 9780679734505

*

- Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov (1880)

/ Pevear and Volokhonsky translation, FSG, 9780374528379

*

- Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina (1877)

/ Pevear and Volokhonsky translation, Penguin Classics, 9780140449174

*

- George Eliot, Middlemarch (1871-72)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780141439549

*

- Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890)

/ Norton Critical Editions, 9780393696875

*

- Thomas Mann, The Magic Mountain (1924)

/ Woods translation, Vintage International, 9780679772873

*

- Hermann Hesse, Narcissus and Goldmund (1930)

/ Molinaro translation, Picador, 9780312421670

*

- Hermann Hesse, The Glass Bead Game (1943)

/ Winston and Winston translation, Vintage Classics, 9780099283621

*

- Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita (written 1928-40, published 1967)

/ Pevear and Volokhonsky translation, Penguin Classics Deluxe, 9780143108276

*

- J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye (1951)

/ Back Bay Books, 9780316769174

*

- Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (1952)

/ Vintage, 978-0679732761

*

- Kurt Vonnegut, Cat’s Cradle (1963)

/ Dial Press, 9780385333481

*

- Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five (1969)

/ Dial Press, 9780385333849

*

- Saul Bellow, Herzog (1964)

/ Penguin Classics Deluxe, 9780143107675

*

- Iris Murdoch, The Black Prince (1973)

/ Penguin Classics, 9780142180112

*

- Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian (1985)

/ Vintage International, 9780679728757

*

- David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest (1996)

/ Back Bay Books, 9780316066525

*

Films:

- The Time Machine (George Pal, 1960)

- A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971)

- Logan's Run (Michael Anderson, 1976)

- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Philip Kaufman, 1978)

- Stalker (Screenplay loosely adapted from Roadside Picnic by the authors, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979)

- Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982)

- The Matrix (Wachowskis, 1999)

- The Twilight Zone (Original Series, 1959)

"The Obsolete Man" (Season 2, Episode 29)

"It's a Good Life" (Season 3, Episode 8)

"Number Twelve Looks Just Like You" (Season 5, Episode 17)

*

*

Japanese Literature: 20th Century to Present

*

Natsume Sōseki (1867-1916)

- Botchan (1906)

/ Cohn translation, Penguin Classics, 9780141391885

- Sanshirō (1908)

/ Rubin translation with introduction by Haruki Murakami, Penguin Classics, 9780140455625

- Kokoro (1914)

/ McKinney translation, Penguin Classics, 9780143106036

*

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927)

- Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories (1914-27)

/ Jay Rubin translation with introduction by Haruki Murakami, Penguin Classics, 9780140449709

*

Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1886-1965)

- Seven Japanese Tales (1910-59)

/ Vintage International, 9780679761075

- Naomi (1924)

/ Vintage International, 9780375724749

- Quicksand (1928-30)

/ Vintage Classics, 9780099485612

- Some Prefer Nettles (1929)

/ Vintage Classics, 9780099283379

- The Makioka Sisters (1943-48)

/ Vintage Classics, 9780749397104

*

Yasunari Kawabata (1899-1972)

- Snow Country (1935-37, 1947)

/ Vintage International, 9780679761044

- The Master of Go (1951)

/ Vintage, 9780679761068

- The Sound of the Mountain (1954)

/ Seidensticker translation, Vintage International, 9780679762645

- House of the Sleeping Beauties and Other Stories

/ Vintage International, 9780525434139

- Beauty and Sadness (1964)

/ Vintage, 9780679761051

- Palm-of-the-Hand Stories (1923-64)

/ FSG Classics, 9780374530495

*

Osamu Dazai (1909-48)

- No Longer Human (1948)

/ Keene translation, New Directions, 9780811204811

*

Yasushi Inoue (1907-91)

- Life of a Counterfeiter (1965)

/ Emmerich translation, Pushkin Press, 9781782270027

*

Kōbō Abe (1924-93)

- The Woman in the Dunes (1962)

/ Saunders translation, Vintage International, 9780679733782

- The Face of Another (1964)

/ Saunders translation, Vintage International, 9780375726538

- The Ruined Map (1967)

/ Saunders translation, Vintage International, 9780375726521

- The Box Man (1973)

/ Saunders translation, Vintage International, 9780375726514

*

Yukio Mishima (1925-70)

- Death in Midsummer: And Other Stories (1953)

/ New Directions, 9780811201179

- The Temple of the Golden Pavilion (1956)

/ Morris translation, Vintage Classics, 9780099285670

- After the Banquet (1960)

/ Keene translation, 9780099282785

- The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea (1963)

/ Nathan translation, Vintage Classics, 9780099284796

- The Sea of Fertility tetralogy (written 1965-70):

1. Spring Snow (1965)

/ Gallagher translation, Vintage International, 9780679722410

2. Runaway Horses (1969)

/ Gallagher translation, Vintage International, 9780679722403

3. The Temple of Dawn (1970)

/ Saunders and Segawa Seigle translation, Vintage International, 9780679722427

4. The Decay of the Angel (1971)

/ Seidensticker translation, Vintage International, 9780679722434

See also:

Persona: A Biography of Yukio Mishima, by Naoki Inose

/ Stone Bridge Press, 9781611720082

*

Kenzaburō Ōe (1935- )

- A Personal Matter (1965)

/ Nathan translation, Grove Press, 9780802150615

- The Silent Cry (1967)

/ Bester translation, Serpent's Tail Classics, 9781781255650

*

Haruki Murakami (1949- )

Novels:

- Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (1985)

/ Birnbaum translation, Vintage, 9780099448785

- Norwegian Wood (1987)

/ Rubin translation, Vintage, 9780099448822

- The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (1994-5)

/ Rubin translation, Vintage International, 9780099448792

- Kafka on the Shore (2002)

/ Gabriel translation, Vintage International, 9780099458326

- After Dark (2004)

/ Rubin translation, Vintage, 9780099506249

- 1Q84 (2009-10)

/ Rubin and Gabriel translation, Vintage, 9780099578079

- Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage (2013)

/ Gabriel translation, Vintage, 9780099590378

Short story collections:

- The Elephant Vanishes (17 stories, 1980-91)

/ Vintage, 9780099448754

- Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman (24 stories, 1980-2005)

/ Vintage, Gabriel and Rubin translation, 9780099488668

- Birthday Stories (2002) (an anthology of stories featuring birthdays, by various authors including Raymond Carver, David Foster Wallace, and Murakami himself)

/ Vintage, 9780099481553

- Men Without Women (7 stories, 2013-14)

/ Gabriel and Goossen translation, Vintage, 9781101974520

See also: 

Haruki Murakami: A Long, Long Interview, by Mieko Kawakami

/ [coming soon]

*

Ryū Murakami (1952- )

- Almost Transparent Blue (1976)

/ out of print?

- Coin Locker Babies (1980)

/ Pushkin Press, 9781908968470

- 69 (1987)

/ Pushkin Press, 9781908968463

- Audition (1997)

/ Bloomsbury, 9781408800720

*

Banana Yoshimoto (1964- )

- Kitchen (1988)

/ Backus translation, Faber & Faber, 9780571342723

- Goodbye Tsugumi (1989)

/ Emmerich translation, Faber & Faber, 9780571212842

- Asleep (1989)

/ Emmerich translation, Faber & Faber, 9780571205370

- Lizard (1993)

/ Sherif translation, Simon & Schuster, 9780671532765

- Amrita (1994)

/ Faber & Faber, 9780571193745

- Moshi-Moshi (2010)

/ Asa Yoneda translation, Counterpoint, 9781640090156

*

Hiromi Kawakami (1958- )

- Strange Weather in Tokyo (2001)

/ Powell translation, Counterpoint, 9781640090163

- The Ten Loves of Nishino (2003)

/ Powell translation, Granta, 9781846276972

*

Yōko Ogawa (1962- )

- The Diving Pool: Three Novellas (1990) 

/ Vintage, 9780099521358

- Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales (1998) 

/ Vintage, 9780099553939

- The Housekeeper and the Professor (2008)

/ Vintage, 9780099521341

*

Mieko Kawakami (1976- )

- Ms. Ice Sandwich (2018)

/ Pushkin Press, 9781782273301

*

Sayaka Murata (1979- )

- Convenience Store Woman (2018)

/ Granta, 9781846276842

*

Yukiko Motoya (1979- )

- The Lonesome Bodybuilder (2018) 

/ Asa Yoneda translation, Soft Skull Press, 9781593766788

*

- The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories (2018)

/ Edited by Jay Rubin, Penguin Classics, 9780241311905

*

*

Possible contexts for some of the works listed above:

*

*

Murasaki Shikibu (Lady Murasaki) (c. 973 or 978-1014 or 1031)

- The Tale of Genji (<1021)

/ Waley translation, Tuttle, 9784805310816

See also:

- The Tale of Genji: A Reader’s Guide, by William J. Puette

/ Tuttle, 9784805310847

*

Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645)

- The Book of Five Rings (1645)

/ Bennett translation, Tuttle, [paperback coming soon]

*

Yamamoto Tsunetomo (1659-1719)

- Hagakure (1716)

/ Bennett translation, Tuttle, 9784805311981

*

Nitobe Inazō (1862-1933)

- Bushido: The Soul of Japan (1900)

/ Bennett translation, Tuttle, [paperback coming soon]

*

Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904)

- Japanese Ghost Stories

/ Penguin Classics, 9780241381274

*

D. T. Suzuki (1870-1966)

- An Introduction to Zen Buddhism (1934)

/ Grove Press, 9780802130556

*

Eugene Herrigel (1884-1955)

- Zen in the Art of Archery (1948)

/ Vintage, 9780375705090

*

Shunryū Suzuki (1904-71)

- Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind (1970)

/ Shambhala, 9781590308493

*

Boye Lafayette De Mente

- Etiquette Guide to Japan: Know the Rules that Make the Difference!

/ Tuttle, 9784805313619

- Japan: A Guide to Traditions, Customs and Etiquette: Kata as the Key to Understanding the Japanese

/ Tuttle, 9784805314425

*

Roger J. Davies

- The Japanese Mind: Understanding Contemporary Japanese Culture

/ Tuttle, 9780804832953

- Japanese Culture: The Religious and Philosophical Foundations

/ Tuttle, 9784805311639

[blackbutlercharacterpoll2023]

After the cut is the final list of characters that will be in the poll, aside from any new characters that are introduced in chapter 199.

Abbie

Ada

Agni / Arshad Satyendra Iyer

Akashi

Al

Alan Humphries

Aleister Chamber / Viscount of Druitt

Alexis Leon Midford

Alois Trancy / Jim Macken

Angela Blanc

Angelina Dalles / Madam Red / Aunt An

Anne Drewanz

Annie

the archeologist (Season 2 character)

Arihito Genpou

Aristocrat of Evil with the scarred face

Arnold Trancy

Artie

Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Randall

Ash Landers

Aurora Society member (first one O!Ciel and Seb meet)

Aurora Society purified water seller

Azzurro Vanel

Baldroy / Bard / Baldo

Baldroy Jr.

Baldroy's cow

the bear

Beast

beggar boy that Soma gives a necklace to, mother, and baby brother

Betty

Bitter Rabbit

bizarre dolls

bizarre doll horses

Blavat Sky

Bloodbath Johnny

Bronte

Burnett

Canterbury

Carter

the cat from the live action movie

the cats Sebastian rescues from the rain

Cedric Brandel

Cedric K. Ros

CGI horses / driver

Charles Bennett Sato

Charles Grey

Charles Phipps

Charles Phipps's chicken

Chef Lach

Chef Rickman

Chef Tarpin

Chef Wollest

Cheslock

Chlaus

Chris Heathfield

Chris Heathfield's Chris Heathfield's maids

Ciel Phantomhive bizarre doll / Real Ciel / R!Ciel

Ciel Phantomhive child / R!Ciel child

"Ciel" Phantomhive / Our Ciel / O!Ciel

Ciel's horse

Claude Faustus

Claude's birds

Cloudia Phantomhive

Clayton

Conny

Countess Trancy and her baby

the cultists

Dagger

Damian

Daniel

"Deer"

demon Ciel

demon Crow

demon "pet" (the xenomorph)

Derrick Arden

Diedrich

Doctor

Doll / Freckles

Donne

Dove

Drossel Keinz

Drossel's dolls

Edgar Redmond

Edward Abberline

Edward Midford

Edward V

Elizabeth Midford / Lizzy

Ellery Nixon

Emily

Eric Slingby

Fennian

Finnian / Finny

Finny's hat

FOL Orphanage staff

Francis Midford

Fred Abberline

Funtom Corporation's unicorn suit

Georg von Siemens

German countryman

Ginny

Goethe

Green House dorm master

Gregory Violet

Grelle Sutcliff

Grelle's chainsaw

Grete Hilbard

Grimsby Keane

Haku

Haku's henchman

Hanae Wakatsuki

Hannah Annafellows

Hao

Harold West Jeb

Heinrich

Henry Barrymore

"Her"

Herman Greenhill

Higham

Hilde Dickhaut

the iceberg

Irene Diaz

Jackknife Haywood

James

Jan

Jane

Japanese man with a katana

Japanese woman with a lunchbox

Jay the Undertaker

Jeremy Rathbone

Joanna

Joanne Harcourt

Johann Agares

John Brown

John Brown's horse

Johnny

Joker

Julius Pitt

Jumbo

Karl Woodley

Keats

Kelvin

kenpo master

King's Bear prostitutes

Lau

Lau's girls

Lawrence Anderson / Pops

Lawrence Bluewer

Lawrence Bluewer's sisters

Layla

Lord Ackroyd

Lord Ackroyd's son

Lorraine McDowell

Ludger

Luka Macken

the Mad Dog of Venice

Mabel

Margaret Connor

Margaret Connor's father

Margaret Turner

Maria

Mathilda Simmons

Maurice Cole

McDowell

McMillan

Mey-Rin

Milly

Mina

Miranda

Mrs. Mayell

Munemitsu Aoki

Nicholas

Nick

Nina Hopkins

Nina's assistants

O!Ciel's land renters

Oliver

the orphan that called Sebastian an old guy

Oscar

Othello

the other children in the lab Finny was kept in

Paul Jones

the Panzer

Patrick Phelps

Patrick the Grey Wizard

Paula

Peter

Phantomhive family ring

Pitt

Pluto

Polaris

priest (from Season 2)

Prince Albert

Prince Albert puppet

Professor Sullivan / village crone

Purple House dorm master

Purple House prefect from Vincent's year

Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria (Season 1)

Rachel Phantomhive

Ran-Mao

Reaper managers

Reaper trainees

Red House dorm master

Red House prefect from Vincent's year

Richard

Ridley

Rian Stoker

Rin

Ronald Knox

Ronald's lawnmower

the Rowdy Count

Sam / Old Man Sam

Sam's grandson

Saneatsu Nekoma

Sascha

Scotland Yard officers

Sebastian Michaelis

the Sebastian Roomba

Sebastian the dog

Sebastian's silverware

Sharpe Hanks

Shiori Genpou

Sieglinde Sullivan

Sieglinde Sullivan's father

Snake

Snake's unnamed snakes

Soma Asman Kadar

Soma's elephant

Sophie Smith

Sphere Music Hall staff

Stella Rose

Susan

Susannah Connor

Tanaka

Terry

Theodore

Thomas Wallis

Thompson

Timber

the timetable guy

the train kidnapper

Trancy / Former Head Trancy

the turnspit dog

Undertaker

Undertaker's death scythe

Undertaker's mourning lockets

Vicar Rathbone

Vincent Phantomhive

Vincent Phantomhive's staff

walking stick shopkeeper

Webster

Wendy

the "werewolves"

Wilde

William T. Spears

William's death scythe

William's pigeons

Wolfram Gelzer

Wordsworth

Yana Toboso

[my-oto-my]

Thoughts on Ikemen Vampire's Faust:

I haven't played Shakespeare's or anyone's route in the JP Ikemen Vampire, but it occurred to me that, after seeing that one of the new characters' names is Faust, what if "Faust" is a nickname for Christopher Marlowe???

Even though the story of Faust and his eponynous Faustian bargain was actually a story based on German Renaissance alchemist, magician, and astrologer Johann Georg Faust (c. 1480-1540) and has been popularized in literature since then, Christopher was a contemporary playwright of Shakespeare's time who not only influenced Shakespeare himself but also wrote the tragic morality play we know today as The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus and can be considered Shakespeare's historical rival.

Another possibility, though less likely given that we've seen a number of direct and contemporary rivals for the suitors pop up in their routes, is Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who wrote the German two-part play of Faust's story.

Really, it could be any of them, but I'm most interested to see if Faust turns out to be Marlowe.

I must admit: I'm buzzing with excitement at seeing who Faust and Charles are even though they must be a couple of years out from English release!

[werdegasts]

Okay, hit me with a dream cast for a classic horror movie! Any horror movie, pre-existing or not, hit me with those casting choices!

skfnshndb ok, mandatory disclaimer though that i’m a fool in a man’s shoes. nevertheless! here are some things sorta resembling dreamcasts

doctor x: but with glenda farrell in lee tracy’s role. IDEALLY ideally still with the romance subplot but i’d so take a version where they power-of-friendship thru it all too. also, if i was recasting the xavier institute doctors, john carradine and oskar homolka in there somewhere

dracula: you know what. we need a round table discussion on who should’ve played lucy’s suitors if they’d stayed in

frankenstein: george e. stone as “'victor moritz”’ (that name choice remains baffling). justification: i really like his scenes with mae clarke in ‘the front page’ (as earl and molly; >> their hgf actors imo!) in ‘the front page’, also he’s great (and almost unrecognisable) in ‘the vampire bat’. maybe, instead of an ersatz-clerval & spare love interest for elizabeth, 'victor’ could be an ernest/william(/justine) composite younger relative chara, probably meeting the latters’ fates.

kathleen burke in a 40s noir-horror. she could & should have played fab leads; 'murders in the zoo’ is more than proof of that!! as for actual dreamcasting, maybe as thea in ‘isle of the dead’ (my favourite of the less-praised rko-lewton movies, at least atm). i think if the ensemble cast were a little better balanced, the horror of thea’s situation should have been a centerpiece. her experience and pherides’ compliment and comment on one another. she’s threatened by the weight of others’ suspicions of her, a hostile micro-society; his standing & standards for himself create a trap of his own making, literalised when he imposes the quarantine in which they’re then forced together. you can see the same thread elsewhere, fulfilled to varying extents. stone and merriam in ‘the ghost ship’, and sims and nell bowen in ‘bedlam’ are prob the strongest examples, but i find thea most interesting because like irina (in cat people, not curse)/jacqueline/clo-clo, she too is classified as threat, mired in death, source or contaminant of ancestral supernatural destruction. and she…survives? (wow, tangent. i should’ve made a diff post for this)

son of frankenstein: of all the almost-happened castings to choose from, i really wonder about peter lorre’s version of wolf von frankenstein. & then if they’d had basil rathbone for gof, instead of inventing ludwig. vaguely related: basil rathbone should’ve played a lead in one of the corman/poe movies - he’s great in the 'the facts in the case of m valdemar’ section of 'tales of terror’

dracula’s daughter: feat. a flashback prologue & bela! probably made a few years earlier. as for dreamcasting; lil dagover, in a world where she stayed in hollywood after 'the woman from monte carlo’ in '32, as marya’s mother/mentor/ ❔ ❔

non-preexisting

here’s my galaxy brain take: universal DOCTOR FAUSTUS adaptation, as a bela lugosi and boris karloff collab (lbr, secretly this dwells in the hearts of all ‘the black cat’ (and ‘the raven’) stans). leaning towards boris as faustus and bela as mephistopheles but the reverse would also SLAP. since time and audience expectations are a flat circle the play already has the exact kind of irrelevant comic relief characters you would expect - so like. wallace ford as wagner. zita johann (hedy lamarr??) is there as helen of troy for all of 5 seconds and she glares at everyone then leaves. ideal

hashtag premake: VAL LEWTON’S CORALINE

i have one whole suggestion for a Modern Remake, naturally feat 0 casting ideas: 'the black room’, but gregor and anton are women. possibly gregor has a whole elizabeth bathory thing going on - if so, both of them eventually die by drowning instead of stabbing. lots about Doubles Fear + performance and violence of beauty + mirror images (true/false/same/different/self/voyeur) + treatment of disability etc