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 It is best remembered for "Unpublished Preface", an American literary nationalist essay that precedes the story.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