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.“..evidence of a diseased mind and a lacerated heart.”
– John Dunlop, ‘The History of Fiction’, 1814.
* 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.*Â 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.
*Â Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy – 1877.
“Sentimental Rubbish”
– The Odessa Courier.
*Â 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.
*Â 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.