6 October 1892. Alfred, Lord Tennyson, died (aged 83). He was one of the most popular poets of the Victorian era, and was the Poet Laureate for much of Queen Victoria’s reign. He is the 2nd most quoted writer in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. pic.twitter.com/HWs1D8q57t

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 6, 2022

Quoth the raven... Remembering Edgar Allen Poe, who died on this day in 1849. Why his life is shrouded in mystery https://t.co/94BxY2mnbl pic.twitter.com/4QwJwfQgYl

— Biography.com (@biography) October 7, 2017

Edgar Allen Poe died at the age of 40. This sounds young, and indeed it is, but then again, as a consequence of contracting TB, his 13 year old wife and cousin didn’t make it past 24. Nor did his mother or brother. That’s probably enough about death and the marriage of 13 year old cousins for the day.

Unless anyone wants to read this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Eliza_Clemm_Poe

It may be best not to focus on the line “Along with other family members, Virginia Clemm and Edgar Allan Poe lived together off and on for several years before their marriage” and to consider:

"that Virginia died a virgin.^[31] It has been speculated that she and her husband never consummated their marriage, although no evidence is given.^[32] This interpretation often assumes that Virginia is represented by the title character in the poem “Annabel Lee”: a “maiden… by the name of Annabel Lee”.^[31] Poe biographer Joseph Wood Krutch suggests that Poe did not need women “in the way that normal men need them”, but only as a source of inspiration and care,^[33] and that Poe was never interested in women sexually.^[34] Friends of Poe suggested that the couple did not share a bed for at least the first two years of their marriage but that, from the time she turned 16, they had a “normal” married life until the onset of her illness.” ^[35]

I like the line that Virginia “nearly idolized her husband.” ^[38]

Well worth reading. And that’s before we even get to this.

Have any of you read about how Edgar Allen Poe supposedly died? This is BONKERS. pic.twitter.com/VA4tvQfMZT

— Dan Santat 😷 (@dsantat) July 21, 2022

Remembering Radclyffe Hall, who died on this day in 1943, having revolutionized what we now have the luxury of calling LGBT rights https://t.co/epoaRbqtGV pic.twitter.com/7avanJi7hw

— Maria Popova (@brainpicker) October 7, 2019

The currently heated debate on sexual inversion is not a 21st Century motion, but a campaign that began so many decades back. In today's Author Spotlight, we feature Marguerite Antonia Radclyffe Hall, a lesbian author born in 1880 and died on this day 1943. pic.twitter.com/jYIUgpFEty

— IndieAfrica (@indie_africa) October 7, 2021

The best grave was this famous singer, Mabel, who died in 1915. Her female lover, Radclyffe Hall, buried her here then later, Hall's lover, Una, buried her beside Mabel. Sadly, Una died in Italy & her wishes to be buried in the same tomb wasn't fufilled. pic.twitter.com/1feGWHravm

— 🍯 ms honeybat⁷ 🦇 (@afoolofatook) December 18, 2018

7 October 1940. Novelist, poet, critic and TV presenter, Clive James, was born in Kogarah, New South Wales, Australia. His most high profile TV shows were Clive James on Television (ITV), Saturday Night Clive (BBC) and Sunday Night Clive (BBC). pic.twitter.com/a2cht5byxW

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 7, 2022

8 October 1908. The classic children’s book, The Wind In The Willows by Kenneth Grahame, was published in the UK. It focuses on 4 animals: Mole, Rat, Toad, and Badger. They live in a fictional version of Edwardian England. pic.twitter.com/xXpjpzij0H

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 8, 2022

8 October 1970. Soviet author and dissident, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. pic.twitter.com/VnXCxI7j46

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 8, 2022

10 October 1930. English playwright, Harold Pinter, was born in London. He was one of the most influential modern British playwrights and won the Nobel Prize for Literature. His best-known plays include: The Birthday Party, and Betrayal. He also adapted many works for the cinema. pic.twitter.com/nD8qRNQ7IP

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 10, 2022

12 October 1979. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams was published in the UK. It follows the last surviving man, Arthur Dent, after the destruction of the Earth, who is rescued by Ford Prefect, a human-like alien and then hitchhikes on a passing spacecraft. pic.twitter.com/rTioGH9HTT

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 12, 2022

13 October 1958. Michael Bond introduced Paddington Bear to the world, with the release of his book, A Bear Called Paddington. The Paddington books have been translated into 30 languages across 70 titles, and have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. pic.twitter.com/kLNuAkvWdq

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 13, 2022

14 October 1906. Hannah Arendt was born in Linden, Hanover, Germany. She’s best known for her theory of Totalitarianism, which suggested the regimes of Hitler and Stalin were broadly similar and for her study of the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, The Banality of Evil. pic.twitter.com/McaI29izPG

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 14, 2022

14 October 1926. The children’s classic, Winnie-the-Pooh, by A.A. Milne was published. The author named the character Winnie-the-Pooh after a teddy bear that was owned by his son, Christopher Robin Milne, on whom the character Christopher Robin was based. pic.twitter.com/EWkjfOoRcU

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 14, 2022

15 October 70 BC. The poet, Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro), was born near Mantua, Cisalpine Gaul, Roman Republic. He’s ranked as one of Rome’s greatest poets and wrote three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: the Eclogues, the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid. pic.twitter.com/AIbQXrA55a

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 15, 2022

15 October 1881. Novelist, Pelham Grenville (“PG”) Wodehouse, was born in Guildford. He created several enduring fictional characters, the best known being the feather-brained Bertie Wooster, and his sagacious valet, Jeeves. pic.twitter.com/utUbnf8kMW

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 15, 2022

Here I am discussion Volume 1 of The Hitler Years: Triumph: 1933-1939 on the BBC Extra Podcast. https://t.co/iiBp2GtCXF Here I am discussing Volume 2: Disaster, 1940-1945. https://t.co/fWwNWNgF1s.

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 15, 2022

16 October 1847. The classic novel, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, was published by Smith, Elder & Co. of London, under her male pseudonym, Currer Bell. It follows the life of the heroine and explores her relationship with Mr. Rochester, the brooding owner of Thornfield Hall. pic.twitter.com/M0peYkeoyD

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 16, 2022

16 October 1854. Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin, Ireland. He was one of the most popular playwrights during the 1890s, and published his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. His career was wrecked by criminal convictions for gross indecency and homosexuality. pic.twitter.com/hbTmbdFobC

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 16, 2022

17 October 1915. Acclaimed American playwright, Arthur Miller, was born in New York City, USA. Among his most popular plays were: All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, and A View from the Bridge. He was married to Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe from 1956 to 1961. pic.twitter.com/I8Yctym95i

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 17, 2022

19 October 1745. Dublin born writer, Jonathan Swift, died (aged 77). He’s best remembered for the political satire, Gulliver’s Travels. George Orwell named him as one of the writers he most admired, but admitted disagreeing with him on almost every moral and political issue. pic.twitter.com/OsZk15Zkkl

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 19, 2022