“Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came”

On January 23, 2016March 27, 2016 By Bookworm HistoryIn Youtube episodes2 Comments

“There they stood, ranged along the hill-sides, met

To view the last of me, a living frame

For one more picture! in a sheet of flame

I saw them and I knew them all. And yet

Dauntless the slug-horn to my lips I set,

And blew ‘Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came.'”

Stephen King took Childe Roland from Robert Browning who got it from Shakespeare. So where the heck did Shakespeare get it from? In this episode of “Bookworm History” we’ll delve into the stories behind the tale of “Childe Roland” and examine the changes it went through on its way to King’s “The Dark Tower” epic! Click on the title card below to check it out!

The Sinking (and Explosive Dismantling) of the SS Fort Victoria

On January 7, 2016April 10, 2016 By Bookworm HistoryIn BH BlogLeave a comment

While doing work for a story I stumbled upon an article that appeared in the New York Herald-Tribune on October 26, 1930 with the headline “Sunken Fort Victoria, Menace to Navigation, is Blasted Downward Into Floor of Bay”. It’s not what I was looking for, but with a headline like that how could I resist?

Continue reading “The Sinking (and Explosive Dismantling) of the SS Fort Victoria” →

The History of “The Phantom of the Opera” by Gaston Leroux

On January 2, 2016March 18, 2018 By Bookworm HistoryIn Youtube episodesLeave a comment

Greetings, fellow bookworms! I hope you’ve all recovered from whatever New Year’s festivities struck your fancy. I just put the finishing touches on a brand new episode of Bookworm History over on the Youtube channel. In this episode I explore some of the fictions and some of the facts that inspired French author Gaston Leroux to pen his most famous novel “The Phantom of the Opera”!

Click the title card to check it out and, as always, thanks for stopping by!