manuscript

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From Garcia Marquez, a 'Final Effort to Continue Creating'

New novel from late author, based on unfinished manuscript, is coming our way in 2024

(Newser) - Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel Jose de la Concordia Garcia Marquez, better known as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, died in 2014. A 150-page, unfinished novel he left behind will be published next year, a decade after his death following a bout with pneumonia at 87, reports NPR . Per the Guardian , the novel...

Mexico's Stolen 'Treasure' Turns Up in Massachusetts

495-year-old document signed by Hernando Cortes was taken from national archives

(Newser) - The FBI in Boston has recovered a nearly 500-year-old manuscript signed by the man whose expedition caused the fall of the Aztec Empire. The handwritten payment order signed by Spanish Conquistador Hernando Cortés, which had been listed for auction in Massachusetts, is believed to have been stolen from Mexico'...

Looking for Cake Mixer, He Got Medieval Relic Instead

13th-century document bought at Maine estate sale was part of Beauvais Missal in France

(Newser) - A bargain hunter who went to an estate sale in Maine to find a KitchenAid mixer, a bookshelf, or vintage clothing walked away with a 700-year-old treasure. Instead of a kitchen appliance, Will Sideri stumbled upon a framed document hanging on a wall. It had elaborate script in Latin, along...

The Publishing World Has Been Battling a Truly Bizarre Thief

Someone has been working to access manuscripts for years, but not for profit

(Newser) - Reeves Wiedeman has spent years trying to unravel a literary-world mystery, and his lengthy recap of his digging for New York Magazine is confounding at times. As is the mystery. In simplest terms, for the past four years someone has been using somewhat sophisticated measures to try to steal book...

Centuries-Old Manuscript Has a Surprising Author

Queen Elizabeth I's messy handwriting was the big giveaway, historian says

(Newser) - In what the Daily Express is calling a "royal bombshell," a centuries-old manuscript recently unearthed in a UK library turns out to have been penned by someone rather unexpected. The 42-page text, a translation of a book by the Roman historian Tacitus, has taken up residence at London'...

Lost Chapter of World's First Novel Found in Chest

Family has been holding it for nearly 300 years

(Newser) - The chest was opened. And suddenly, a chapter has been added to the oldest known version of what's considered to be the world's first novel . The original manuscript of the Tale of Genji—telling of the political and romantic life of Genji, the son of an ancient Japanese...

Drawings of a Cockatoo Reveal a Medieval Surprise
Drawings of a
Cockatoo Reveal
a Medieval Surprise
new study
Jun 26, 2018 8:49 AM CDT

Drawings of a Cockatoo Reveal a Medieval Surprise

They were found in a 13th-century manuscript tied to Frederick II

(Newser) - The 1496 European altarpiece Madonna della Vittoria contains an image of a non-native cockatoo, but that's no longer such a remarkable fact. Researchers now say they've found images of the bird in a manuscript penned by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II over a seven-year period beginning in 1241,...

Marquis de Sade's Infamous Classic Finds New Controversy
Classic Novel of Sadism
Causes Modern Buyer Pain
LONGFORM
Mar 30, 2018 11:47 AM CDT

Classic Novel of Sadism Causes Modern Buyer Pain

Marquis de Sade's '120 Days of Sodom' at center of Ponzi case in France

(Newser) - Locked away in France's Bastille prison in 1785, the Marquis de Sade wrote a tale so dark and twisted it helps explain why the term "sadism" is derived from his name. The 120 Days of Sodom, which details rape and torture, was thought lost when the French Revolution...

Original Stephen King Manuscripts, Rare Books Lost in 'Devastating Blow'

Gerald Winters says 90% of inventory destroyed at rare-books store after water main burst in Bangor

(Newser) - When Gerald Winters recently decided to reorganize his rare-books store in Bangor, Maine, housing a collection mainly dedicated to Stephen King, he stashed most of his inventory in the basement. He's now suffered what the Bangor Daily News describes as a "devastating blow" to his business: A water...

600-Year-Old Scroll Has Game of Thrones Link

Canterbury Roll is being published online for the first time

(Newser) - A 600-year-old scroll describing the wars that inspired Game of Thrones might not be done making its mark on history. For the first time, the Canterbury Roll—detailing England's history until the Middle Ages—is being published online, making it accessible to the world, reports News.com.au . (The...

Ancient Text by Father of Medicine Unearthed

Scientists say medicinal recipe attributed to Hippocrates revealed in Egyptian monastery

(Newser) - Hippocrates is considered the father of Western medicine, and now researchers in Egypt have found what they say is one of his original texts, reports National Geographic . The discovery came during restoration of the library at the ancient St. Catherine's Monastery in South Sinai, and it took some sleuthing....

Edward Albee Left a Controversial Final Wish

Playwright's will instructs executors to destroy all his unfinished manuscripts

(Newser) - When Franz Kafka died, he left instructions for his friend Max Brod to incinerate any incomplete works—a request Brod ignored, which led to the publishing of The Castle and The Trial, among other writings. Edward Albee also wanted to avoid such posthumous publications, and the New York Times reports...

Beneath a Roman Obelisk, Mussolini Left a Letter to the Future

1,200-word eulogy describes Mussolini as rescuing Italy with his 'superhuman insight'

(Newser) - Like most leaders with any sort of an ego, Benito Mussolini wanted to be remembered. But the Italian fascist wasn't leaving his legacy up to chance, according to researchers who say they've found a Latin text hidden under the Mussolini Obelisk in Rome that eulogizes his feats during...

Researchers Make 'Fantastically Exciting' Koran Discovery

2 sheets written in early Arabic are at least 1.3K years old

(Newser) - Pieces of what could be the oldest Koran known have been rediscovered in a library at the UK's University of Birmingham. Mistakenly bound with a Koran dating to the late seventh century, two sheets of the Muslim holy book had sat in a collection of 3,000 Middle Eastern...

'Yoda' Turns Up in Medieval Manuscript

Lookalike spotted in 14th-century French volume

(Newser) - Readers of online medieval manuscripts—whoever you are—may be intrigued to know about a 14th-century image of a guy who looks much like Yoda, wide-spread ears and all, NPR reports. But is it really him? "I'd love to say that it really was Yoda, or was drawn...

Prof Discovers Ancient 'Mary' Gospel

'Gospel of the Lots of Mary' was used for divination

(Newser) - Some ancient Egyptians apparently used a tiny "gospel," believing it could tell their future—even though its oracles were rather vague. Princeton University professor Marie Luijendijk discovered a 1,500-year-old book called the "Gospel of the Lots of Mary" and figured it would tell Jesus' life story...

Vatican Library to Unveil Millions of Pages Online

And they'll be free to view

(Newser) - Today, viewing one of the Vatican Apostolic Library's 82,000 manuscripts—some almost 2,000 years old—requires a scholarly application and a trip to the Vatican. Until now, allowing just anyone to see the documents "would be like putting a child with a paintbrush in front of...

Kangaroo Drawing Could Rewrite Australia's History

It possibly indicates the Portuguese got there first

(Newser) - A tiny prayer book could upend the conventional wisdom about the European discovery of Australia. New York City's Les Enluminures gallery recently acquired a medieval Portuguese manuscript that appears to contain a drawing of a kangaroo curled into the letter "D." The manuscript, which provides text and...

Tomb May Hold Key to Shakespeare

Sarcophagus may hold manuscripts tying Bard to another writer

(Newser) - A 17th-century tomb might hold the key to the enduring mystery of William Shakespeare's identity, the Daily Telegraph reports, and researchers are hoping to take a peek inside. A scan found that the ornate sarcophagus, built at an English church by Shakespeare contemporary and fellow scribe Fulke Greville, contains three...

Oldest Bible Scanned for Web
 Oldest Bible Scanned for Web 
Jul 6, 2009 6:36 AM CDT

Oldest Bible Scanned for Web

(Newser) - The fragile Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest surviving Christian Bible, has been hidden in scholarly collections for decades, but today the British Library has launched a new site to let online surfers peruse the 1600-year-old document. The ancient text was discovered in the 19th century, and researchers suspect it survived due...

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