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In a tale as old as time, here is a short list of classic books and other literary works that were originally attacked by critics and subsequently given bad reviews.

* A Midsummer Night's Dream - William Shakeaspeare - performed in London in 1662.
"The most stupid ridiculous play that I ever saw in my life."
- Samuel Pepys, Diary.


book pages
* Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift - 1726.
"..evidence of a diseased mind and a lacerated heart."
- John Dunlop, 'The History of Fiction', 1814.


* Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert - 1857.
"Monsieur Flaubert is not a writer."
- Le Figaro.


* Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy - 1877.
"Sentimental Rubbish"
- The Odessa Courier.


* The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald - 1925.
"What has never been alive cannot very well go on living. So this is a book of the season only."
- New York Herald Tribune.


* Catch-22 - Joseph Heller - 1961.
"Heller wallows in his own laughter... and the sort of antic behaviour the children fall into when they know they are losing our attention."
- Whitey Balliett, New Yorker.


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US naval salute
U.S Naval salute - palm down.
Recently I was involved in a conversation where an American decided to, quite arrogantly I might add, tell an Englishwoman that the reason that the American military salute with their palms down (as if shading the eyes from the sun) is because they have never lost a war, whereas the British, who salute with their palms facing outwards, have lost in the past and therefore must salute as such.

Upon pointing out that they lost at Vietnam, the American initially tried to deny that it was actually a war, and when challenged on the issue subsequently snapped and the night turned into a smaller, but more tense version of Fawlty Towers ‘don’t mention the war.’

[ Click here to read more ]
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pink squares
In 1962, Barbara Cartland, writer of romance novels and lover of the colour pink, wrote a book instructing people in etiquette.
Seeing as Valentine's Day is on the march, I thought I'd share with you some of the notions she has about using etiquette correctly. This should make you rise an eyebrow or two!


[ Click here to read more ]
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Machine Guns and Warfare? Never!

July 14th 2008 10:30
Douglas Haig
Field Marshal Douglas Haig, born June 19, 1861 was a senior British commander during World War I and has been regarded as somewhat of an idiot.
Known as the "Butcher of the Somme", he had a reputation for issuing orders which led to excessive casualties of British troops and never actually visited the direct warfront.

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What Would You Make Of This!

February 23rd 2008 23:05
Charlie Chaplin
Here's a situation that could be considered laughable.

Charlie Chaplin once entered a competition and came away the winner of 3rd prize.

[ Click here to read more ]
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I'LL BET YOU 50 WORDS To Be PRECISE!

January 10th 2008 21:08
book
The founder of Random House book publishing, Bennett Cerf once made a bet after 30 years in the company with a gentlemen by the name of Theodor Geisel, known better by his Nom-de-plume of Dr Seuss.

Cerf bet Geisel that he couldn't write a book with exactly 50 words in it.

[ Click here to read more ]
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Guide To Hiring Women During 1943

June 19th 2007 00:30
The following originated from a 1943 magazine written for the male supervisors of women going into the workforce during World War II.

Eleven Tips on Getting More Efficiency Out of Women Employees:

[ Click here to read more ]
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