Rachel Dyer is a Gothic novel of historical fiction by American writer
John Neal (depicted). Published in 1828 in Maine, it is the first bound
novel about the Salem witch trials. It garnered little critical notice
in its day but influenced works by better-known authors. It is best
remembered for "Unpublished Preface", an American literary nationalist
essay that precedes the story. Following a darkly poetic narrative, the
story centers around historical figure George Burroughs and fictional
witch hysteria victim Rachel Dyer. About two-thirds of the story takes
place in the courtroom, following the trials of alleged witches. Themes
include justice, sexual frustration, mistreatment of American Indians by
Puritans, the myth of national American unity in the face of pluralist
reality, and republican ideals as an antidote for Old World precedent.
The novel experiments with speech patterns, dialogue, and transcriptions
of Yankee dialect that Neal hoped would come to characterize American
literature.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Dyer>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1789:
French Revolution: Upset about the high price and scarcity of
bread, thousands of Parisian women and allies marched on the Palace of
Versailles.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_March_on_Versailles>
1936:
Around 200 men began a 291-mile (468 km) march from Jarrow to
London, carrying a petition to the British government requesting the re-
establishment of industry in the town.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarrow_March>
1962:
Dr. No, the first James Bond film, was released.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._No_%28film%29>
1963:
The U.S. suspended the Commercial Import Program, its main
economic support for South Vietnam, in response to the oppression of
Buddhists by President Ngô Đình Diệm (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_Import_Program>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
orthography:
1. (countable, architecture) A form of projection used to represent
three-dimensional objects in two dimensions, in which all the projection
lines are orthogonal or perpendicular to the projection plane; an
orthographic projection, especially when used to draw an elevation,
vertical projection, etc., of a building; also (obsolete) a drawing made
in this way.
2. (linguistics)
3. (countable) A method of representing a language or the sounds of
language by written symbols; spelling.
4. (countable, more broadly) A set of conventions for writing a
language, including norms of spelling, capitalization, emphasis,
hyphenation, punctuation, and word breaks.
5. (uncountable) The aspect of language study concerned with letters and
their sequences in words; the study of spelling.
6. (uncountable) Correct spelling according to established usage; also
(obsolete) pronunciation according to the spelling of a word.
7. (countable, obsolete) Synonym of orthographer (“someone knowledgeable
in spelling rules”)
8. (transitive, rare) To spell (words) or write (text) according to
established usage.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/orthography>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Sometimes I think some people were disappointed when they met me
and found out I wasn't any smarter or happier than they were. I'm proud
and I've got my own ideas, but I ain't no better than nobody else. I've
often wondered why I became so popular, and maybe that's the reason. I
think I reach people because I'm with 'em, not apart from 'em.
--Loretta Lynn
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Loretta_Lynn>