Fiction Story Briefs

Great novels are often connected-to (or based-on) real-life events. It's fun to search-for (and uncover) those connections. This Collection features fictional stories with real-life tie-ins.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Have a listen as Charles Dickens begins to compare the struggles of late 18th century London an...

Dante Alighieri's Inferno, part of his "Divine Comedy," is a place where Virgil accompanies Dante as they see individuals who were characterized by av...

Cover of the highly acclaimed translation of "Beowulf," by Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney.

Having passed through Inferno’s Gate, Dante and Virgil soon see a ship coming toward them.  It is helmed by Phlegyas, a ferryman on the Riv...

It is impossible for Bob Cratchit to stay warm in his office because Scrooge greatly restricts the amount of coal which is used to heat the place.

Excited about Christmas Eve, Bob Cratchit closes the office, at Scrooge & Marley, and joins a group of boys sliding on the ice.

A wonderful illustration from "A Christmas Carol," by George Alfred Williams, brings the plight of Tiny Tim and Bob Cratchit to life.

Jonathan Harker has realized ... he is a prisoner in Count Draculas castle. Why??

Bram Stoker based his novel, "Dracula," on the legend of a real person, Vlad Tepes. In the first chapter of his story, we meet Jonathan Harker, a youn...

Something very strange is going on with Mina Murray's friend, Lucy Westenra. She is sleepwalking, more than usual, and in very strange places.

Bran Castle, a national monument, may have ties to the real Vlad III - also known as "Dracula" - but then again...

This clip, from a 1968 Soviet-era adaptation of Brothers Karamazov (by Fydor Dostoevsky), depicts the scene (from the novel) in which Ivan Karamazov (...

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