The first full biography of Ursula Moray Williams has been published to mark the centenary of her birth. In this article, its author, Colin Davison, assesses her work in the context of her life, paying particular attention to the way that her extraordinary childhood influenced her writing. He also examines new evidence about where her ideas came…

As the world marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens's birth, social workers may take note of the contributions Dickens made to 19th century social reform. Ever the advocate for people who were poor and oppressed, Dickens, in his timeless fictional narratives, continues to have relevance for contemporary social justice advocacy. This…

Two months before he died, John Keats claimed he had been poisoned. Although most scholars and biographers have attributed Keats's fears of persecution, betrayal, and murder to consumptive dementia, Keats's suspicions had begun long before 1820 and were not without some justification. In this article, the author talks about the death of John…

This article draws upon evidence from letters, prose, poetry, and biographies of William Butler Yeats and concludes that this nineteenth-century poet probably suffered from dyslexia. (DB)

How the novel "1984" evolved out of Orwell's mind and experience is examined. The novel was meant to be much more than an attack on the Soviet Union and communism. The real target is the deadly combination of advanced technology and unbridled exercise of power over the individual. (RM)