Archive for the 'Novel Legends Revealed' Category

Was Moby-Dick’s First Edition Printed Without the Ending?

Learn whether the first edition of Moby-Dick was actually printed without the ending of the novel!

Did Sir Thomas Malory Write Le Morte d’Arthur While in Prison?

Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about novels and novelists and whether they are true or false. Click here to view an archive of the novel urban legends featured so far. NOVEL URBAN LEGEND: Sir Thomas Malory wrote Le Morte d’Arthur while in prison. The very first Novel Legends […]

Did Graham Greene Enter and Then LOSE a “Write Like Graham Greene” Contest?

Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about novels and novelists and whether they are true or false. Click here to view an archive of the novel urban legends featured so far. NOVEL URBAN LEGEND: Graham Greene came in second in a contest to parody Graham Greene’s writing style. Graham […]

Did the CIA Really Help the Author of Doctor Zhivago Win a Nobel Prize?

Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about novels and novelists and whether they are true or false. Click here to view an archive of the novel urban legends featured so far. NOVEL URBAN LEGEND: The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) aided Boris Pasternak’s Nobel Prize chances in 1958 for his […]

Was Charles Dickens Really Paid by the Word?

Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about novels and novelists and whether they are true or false. Click here to view an archive of the novel urban legends featured so far. NOVEL URBAN LEGEND: Charles Dickens was paid by the word. Reader Audrey sent in this one awhile back, […]

Were the Bronte Sisters Raised as Vegans?

Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about novels and novelists and whether they are true or false. Click here to view an archive of the novel urban legends featured so far. NOVEL URBAN LEGEND: The Brontë sisters were forbidden by the their father from eating meat. The three Brontë […]

Did Stephen King’s Wife Fish Carrie Out of the Trash and Compel Her Husband to Finish the Novel?

Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about novels and novelists and whether they are true or false. Click here to view an archive of the novel urban legends featured so far. NOVEL URBAN LEGEND: Stephen King’s wife fished his work on the novel Carrie out of the trash and […]

Was the Taser Really Invented Based on an Invention From a Tom Swift Novel?

Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about novels and novelists and whether they are true or false. Click here to view an archive of the novel urban legends featured so far. NOVEL URBAN LEGEND: The taser was invented based on a device in a Tom Swift novel (the taser […]

Did Robert B. Parker Invent a Character in a Novel Series for Helen Hunt?

Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about novels and novelists and whether they are true or false. Click here to view an archive of the novel urban legends featured so far. NOVEL URBAN LEGEND: Robert B. Parker created a popular series of novels just so an actress could have […]

Was Samuel Richardson’s Pamela Written as a Self-Help Book?

Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about novels and novelists and whether they are true or false. Click here to view an archive of the novel urban legends featured so far. NOVEL URBAN LEGEND: Pamela began originally as basically a self-help book. What we now know as “self-help” books […]