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February 9		The Hemingway Puzzle
		On this day in 1926 Ernest Hemingway ended his contract with his first publisher, Boni & Liveright; this enabled him to sign with Scribners a week later, and so complete the double-deal he had orchestrated by means of his satiric novella, The Torrents of Spring. While the novella is little-read now, scholars regard it and the double-dealing as an early peek into the puzzle of Hemingway's personality.
February 8		Robert Burton's "Rhapsody of Rags"
		On this day in 1577 Robert Burton was born. Burton described his 1621 masterwork, The Anatomy of Melancholy, as "a rhapsody of rags gathered from several dunghills, excrements of authors, toys and fopperies confusedly tumbled out." It was immediately popular and has since become not only a classic of its genre but pretty much the only book in it.
February 7		Essex Loses Head Over Richard II
		On this day in 1601, Shakespeare's Richard II was presented at the Globe playhouse, a performance especially arranged by those hoping to overthrow Queen Elizabeth the following day. Followers of the Earl of Essex hoped the story of king-killing might stir up support; overcoming the actors' objections that it would not be a good draw, they paid forty shillings to have it staged. If the Saturday afternoon performance was poorly-attended, the Sunday morning rebellion was worse. . . .