Forensic etymology?...

Physicists believed that they have found a way to identify the 'literary fingerprint' of each induvidual author. Published in the 'New Journal of Physics', the Sewdish scientists used books by Thomas Hardy, Herman Melville and D.H. Lawrence to develop a formula that would analyse different writing styles. By finding the frequency with which authors use new words in their writings, and the rate at which this drops off, the researchers were able to find distinct patterns in the works; a pattern which weas consistent for the entire works of each author. The supporters of this theory believe that it might be applied to solve disputes over authorship, and find lost works by famous writers.

On this day...

American author and historian, Washington Irving, died in 1859 at the age of 76. He made his literary debut in 1802, writing letters to the 'Morning Chronicle' under pseudonym Jonathan Oldstyle. Having moved to England in 1815 to help the family business, Irving furthered his budding enthusiasm for writing, and by 1819 he had published his best known work, 'The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon. The collection of short stories were published in seven installments, and included 'Rip Van Winkle' and 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'. Also a historian, Irving wrote numerous biographies of figures such as George Washington, Oliver Goldsmith and Christopher Columbus. He is among the first American authors to gain acclaim in Europe and preceeding other trans-Atlantic successes Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville and Edgar Allan Poe. Irving is the reason behind two slightly more obscure pieces of trivia; he popularised the name 'Gotham' for New York city, as used in the Batman comics, and also introduced the dubious belief that the people of the Middle Ages thought the Earth to be flat.

On this day...

Herman Melville's 'Moby-Dick' was published in New York in 1851. It had been published in Britain one month previous, entitled 'The Whale', yet had contained an incomplete and rearrranged ending, rendering a hostile reception on its American publication. Contemporary critics said of it; 'The idea of a connected and collected story has obviously visited and abandoned its writer again and again in the course of composition.' Maintaining only a fragile readership in his lifetime, Melville's death in 1891 signalled a period in literary obscurity for 'Moby-Dick' and many other of his works; a decline only reversed after the end of World War One. The war saw many people questioning the foundations of their culture and society, leading to the modernist movement; a movement whose ideals Melville had reflected and so the novel found increasing relevance. Its most famous line being 'Call me Ishmael', 'Moby-Dick' was voted in 2008, to be Massachusetts' offical 'epic novel'.