Pages of the Past

Journey through the pages of time and let the true stories of literary maestros and pivotal moments in publishing enrich your understanding of the evolution of books, novels, and the written word across the ages.

See what happened today, or browse the whole month for more.

Yesterday
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson and family 13 June 1850: Alfred, Lord Tennyson marries. read more ...
William Butler Yeats 13 June 1865: William Butler Yeats is born. read more ...
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery 13 June 1908: Anne of Green Gables is published. read more ...
Today
Harriet Beecher Stowe & Uncle Tom's Cabin 14 June 1811: Harriet Beecher is born. read more ...
G. K. Chesterton at work 14 June 1936: Gilbert Keith Chesterton dies. read more ...
Tomorrow
Dubliners by James Joyce, 1914 15 June 1914: Dubliners is published. read more ...

Browse this month, or select a different month. Simply click on the showcased years for each day in this calendar and reveal the literary tapestry of the past.

List View
< June 2025 >
SundayMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturday
118781878John Masefield is born 218401840Thomas Hardy is born 319691969The Very Hungry Caterpillar is published 419131913A.A. Milne marries 519491949Noddy first appears 18511851First instalment of Uncle Tom’s Cabin is serialised 18331833Ada, Countess of Lovelace, meets Charles Babbage 619241924A Passage to India is published 718671867Henry Lawson is born 18621862Les Miserables is published in English
819491949Nineteen Eighty-Four is published 18981898George Bernard Shaw marries 18761876George Sand dies 918701870Charles Dickens dies 1019281928Maurice Sendak is born 1118441844Anthony Trollope marries MELBOURNE: Discovering the Belle Époque: Art, Literature & DesignMELBOURNE: Discovering the Belle Époque: Art, Literature & DesignTime: 10:00 am - 4:30 pm
A day of lectures, presentations and music. This special day, planned to tie in with the fabulous French Impressionists exhibition at the NGV in Melbourne (with art from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts) includes a talk by me. Also speaking will be artist David Henderson, Jewellery Historian Adrian Dickens and rare book collector Professor Chris Browne. There will be a delightful concert, morning tea, lunch and prosecco. It should be a fabulous day.
THE LYCEUM CLUB, MELBOURNE Map
1219421942Anne Frank receives a birthday present 18271827Johanna Spyri is born 1319081908Anne of Green Gables is published 18501850Alfred, Lord Tennyson marries 1419361936Gilbert Keith Chesterton dies 18111811Harriet Beecher Stowe is born
1519141914Dubliners is published 1619041904The First Bloomsday 18161816Lord Byron proposes a literary challenge 1719101910Diana Mitford is born 1817461746Samuel Johnson agrees to compile a dictionary 1919471947Salman Rushdie is born 2019491949Vikram Seth is born 2119051905Jean-Paul Sartre is born
2218561856Henry Rider Haggard is born 2318191819Rip van Winkle is published 2418421842Ambrose Bierce is born 2519031903George Orwell is born 2619971997Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is first published 2718931893Happy Birthday to You is published 2817121712Jean-Jacques Rousseau is born
2916131613The Globe Theatre is destroyed 3019731973Nancy Mitford dies 19361936Gone With the Wind is first published