Brother Jonathan is an 1825 historical novel about the American Revolution. Author John Neal (pictured) was considered one of America's top novelists at the time. The story explores cross-cultural relationships and highlights cultural diversity within the Thirteen Colonies, stressing egalitarianism and challenging the conception of a unified American nation. The book's sexual themes were explicit for the period, addressing female sexual virtue and male guilt for sexual misdeeds. Scholars praised Brother Jonathan's extensive and early use of realism in depicting American culture and speech. It is Neal's longest work and possibly the longest single work of American fiction until well into the twentieth century. The editing process resulted in a number of inconsistencies in the plot. A financial failure, it received mixed but mostly warm reviews at the time. Readers of the twenty-first century are generally unaware of the book, and many scholars consider it too complex to be considered good.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother_Jonathan_%28novel%29

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1941:

Second World War: Free French and British forces (aircraft pictured) began the Battle of Keren to capture the strategic town of Keren in Italian East Africa. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Keren

1953:

Hundreds of native creoles known as Forros were massacred on São Tomé Island by the colonial administration and Portuguese landowners. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batep%C3%A1_massacre

2023:

A freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, releasing hazardous materials into the surrounding area. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Ohio_train_derailment

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

cut the mustard: (intransitive, idiomatic) To achieve the expected standard; to be effective or good enough; to suffice. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cut_the_mustard

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The human soul has need of truth and of freedom of expression. The need for truth requires that intellectual culture should be universally accessible, and that it should be able to be acquired in an environment neither physically remote nor psychologically alien.   --Simone Weil https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Simone_Weil