Jonathan Gibbs

Jonathan Gibbs is the author of Randall, or The Painted Grape, published by Galley Beggar Press, and lectures in Creative and Professional Writing at St Mary’s University, Twickenham. He tweets as @Tiny_Camels and blogs at Tiny Camels.

The Art of the Novella Challenge 42: The Touchstone

Title: The Touchstone Author: Edith Wharton First published: 1900 Page count: 124 First line: “Professor Joslin, who, as our readers are doubtless aware, is engaged in writing the life of… Read more »

The Art of the Novella challenge 41: Oroonoko

Title: Oroonoko Author: Aphra Behn First published: 1688 Page count: 128 First line: I do not pretend, in giving you the History of this Royal Slave, to entertain my Reader… Read more »

The Art of the Novella challenge 40: Benito Cereno

Title: Benito Cereno Author: Herman Melville First published: 1855 Page count: 132 First line: In the year 1799, Captain Amasa Delano, of Duxbury, in Massachusetts, commanding a large sealer and general trader, lay at… Read more »

The Art of the Novella challenge 39: The Enchanted Wanderer

Title: The Enchanted Wanderer Author: Nikolai Leskov First published: 1873 Page count: 210 First line: The superintendent said to me: “We sailed across Lake Ladoga from Konevets Island to Valaam,… Read more »

The Art of the Novella challenge 38: My Life

(Editor’s note: If you’re in NYC, and you’re interested in talking about this novella with some very cool coffee fans, come to the inaugural Melville House Book Club at Brooklyn Roasting!… Read more »

The Art of the Novella challenge 37: Carmen

Title: Carmen Author: Prosper Mérimée First published: 1903 Page count: 93 First line: I had always suspected the geographers of not knowing what they were talking about when they placed… Read more »

The Art of the Novella challenge 36: The Country of Pointed Firs

Title: The Country of the Pointed Firs Author: Sarah Orne Jewett First published: 1896 Page count: 158 First line: There was something about the coast town of Dunnet which made… Read more »

The Art of the Novella challenge 35: A Simple Heart

Title: A Simple Heart Author: Gustave Flaubert First published: 1877 Page count: 62 First line: For half a century, the housewives of Pont-l’Évêque had envied Madame Aubain her servant, Félicité.… Read more »

The Art of the Novella challenge 34: The Death of Ivan Ilych

Title: The Death of Ivan Ilych Author: Leo Tolstoy First published: 1886 Page count: 104 First line: Within the edifice of the Public Courts, the advocates and prosecutor from the… Read more »

The Art of the Novella challenge 33: The Duel (Kuprin)

Title: The Duel Author: Alexander Kuprin First published: 1905 Page count: 306 First line: The sixth company’s maneuvers were winding down, and the junior officers were checking their watches more frequently… Read more »