Brendan Byrne

The Iliad and Odyssey were not exactly “written" — they changed shape throughout their long years of being performed for audiences. So is it even possible to really know them today?

The midcentury English author's dark stories have been making a comeback — and are ideal for fireside listening on dark nights.

An in-depth look at the 19th-century classic reveals a cheekier side to insular English clerical politics (yes, there was one).

Most modern readers mistake Willa Cather's 'My Ántonia' for a romantic, frilly novel—but it contains an undercurrent of darkness that would become a central theme of her later novels.

Grab a warm drink and brace yourself for the dark story behind Ireland's dark stories.