Mad men and women in fiction

From Jane Eyre’s madwoman in the attic to Captain Ahab in Moby Dick and Francie in The Butcher Boy, madness is a recurring and compelling theme in literature


Brought to Book: Linda Spalding on her literary life

‘I had to remould my brain to write “The Follow”. It involved three trips to Borneo and years of reading and studying and thinking hard about human beings and our place in the natural world’



Ten great opening lines in literature

These are some of our favourite opening lines - could you write one of your own? Post it in the comment box below. We might even find a suitable prize for the best or funniest




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