Once Upon an Author: J.D. Salinger’s 100th Birthday

| Catherine DiMercurio | January 1, 2019, marked what would have been J. D. Salinger’s 100th birthday. Salinger died in 2010, having secured his place in literary history and American culture in 1951 with the publication of his novel The Catcher in the Rye. The work was a bestseller, and its angsty teen protagonist, Holden Caufield, … Read more

Gale Products Support The Great American Read

| By Traci Cothran & Catherine DiMercurio | These last few months, PBS created a whole campaign and shows around The Great American Read. They selected 100 books and asked viewers to note which novel impacted them the most, culminating in the announcement of the #1 “Great American Read.” Finalists were announced, building anticipation for … Read more

Downton Abbey: The Clothes, oh, the Clothes!

By Jennifer Albers-Smith

If you haven’t gotten on the Downton train, now’s the time. Exciting things are happening on the show, and I can hardly wait until Sunday night when I get to see another episode. I refuse to spoil it (although I’m tempted) by buying the DVDs of Season 4 off Amazon and watching it in all in a single, glorious weekend. I love the story line, I love the characters–and man, oh, man–do I LOVE the costumes! Beautiful, beautiful clothes. Mary, Cora, Edith, Rose – all are dressed in these amazing silk dresses that I want to grab from the t.v. and wear in my everyday life.

It’s 1922. T.V. didn’t exist. How did women learn about the latest fashion?

Here’s an ad from the Daily Mail, taken from Gale NewsVault.  This one screams Rose to me, although Edith in Season 4 could also carry this off. She’s much more daring.

Read moreDownton Abbey: The Clothes, oh, the Clothes!