Litary Related Articles
Every year on New Years Day (less known as Public Domain Day), thousands of creative works – whether books, music, or artwork – enter this collection. referred to as the “public domain”. This means that the copyright in them has expired, and they can be used freely in any format you want. The UK and US both grant automatic copyright protection to original works from the date of their creation (with some exceptions), but this is limited. The works will fall into the public domain 70 years after the author’s death, so the writings of those who died in 1951 will be available next year. In the United States, the Copyright Term Extension Act further provides that books published in 1926 will enter the public domain in 2022 – an extended protection of 96 years.
The list of 2022 public domain books below contains a few big names, although overall next year isn’t a big deal for the suddenly available classics. I’ve put together a list that tries to reflect some of the most popular writers whose works are now free, from a variety of backgrounds. If you’re interested in seeing what else will be on offer, take a look at the Wikipedia pages for “1951 in the Literature” (in particular, the deaths that year) and “2022 in the public domain”.
Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne
Absolutely no introduction needed. The classic and beloved character of Milne first captured the public imagination with the publication of this book in 1926. Since then his fame has grown by leaps and bounds. A few years ago, I attended a rare book auction at Sotheby’s and saw a first edition costing several hundred thousand pounds!
In a slight dark side of Winnie the Pooh’s wholesomeness, Milne’s son Christopher Robin ended up hating being his father’s famous inspiration. He described a poem about his pious young self as “the one [work] who over the years has given me more embarrassment than any other with curling my toes, clenching my fists and biting my lips, “and the relentless bullying at his public school has led him to observe that” he It almost seemed to me that my father had reached where it was by climbing on my child’s shoulders that he had stolen my name from me and left me the vain fame of being his son. Christopher’s relationship with his mother was also extremely strained, as the two had not seen each other for the last 15 years of her life, and she refused to see him on her deathbed.
The sun is also rising by Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway’s first novel, written while cheating on his wife Hadley with his best friend Pauline *, was released in 1926. It was dedicated to Hadley and their son Jack; Hadley filed for divorce immediately after publication, and all royalties for the novel were awarded to her.
It is now considered his best work, and one that showcases his “Iceberg” writing style. It is a clean, journalistic style of prose, devoid of unnecessary detail or context.
* As Eppie Lederer pointed out, “If you marry a man who cheats on his wife, you will be married to a man who cheats on his wife”. Pauline’s marriage to Hemingway ended the same way it started, with her infidelity.
My mortal enemy by Willa Cather
Cather’s eighth novel, published in 1926, traces the hopelessly dark fates of a number of intertwined and unhappy people. Or, as Laura Winters puts it more academically, the book “represents the bitter apotheosis of the problems of exile that Cather worked on all his life.” Encouraging stuff.
Izu dancer by Yasunari Kawabata
Kawabata won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968, the first Japanese to do so. Izu dancer is a short story widely regarded among his best works. Although published in 1926, an English translation did not appear until 1955.
The blind owl by Sadegh Hedayat
Originally published in Persian, this work – considered the best by Iranian author Hedayat – is a grim and “frenzied” tale from an unreliable narrator who reveals his murderous inclinations to a shadow on the wall. Deeply pessimistic, he was banned under Reza Shah for apparent promotion of suicide.
The murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
No description needed, I’m sure. Christie’s 1926 novel is one of the most popular and is the third to feature Hercule Poirot.
Soldiers’ pay by William Faulkner
As with Hemingway, Faulkner’s first novel was published in 1926. He was paid $ 200 for the manuscript and it ended up being a commercial failure, with only 1,200 copies of the 2,500 original prints sold. However, since Faulkner won the Nobel Prize for Literature, his popularity has skyrocketed. We know that the first editions cost more than $ 35,000.
Don Segundo Sombra by Ricardo Güiraldes
Written by a friend of Jorge Luis Borges, this 1926 Argentine novel revolves around the popular gaucho figure – a Latin American archetype with parallels to the cowboy figure. It became an acclaimed film in 1969.
These old shades by Georgette Heyer
Heyer is one of my all-time favorite authors. I wrote my sophomore thesis on her, and even did an article here on some great quotes from her books. These old shades is technically not his first novel – this honor goes to Black moth – but this is the one where her signature style and spirit shines through first. Her long-standing aversion to publicity can also be traced back to this book’s release date in 1926. Despite the general strike that rocked the UK at the time, she was extremely popular, convincing her that things like newspaper interviews were not necessary to sell a book.
I like the title, so it’s worth adding that These old shades is a quote from “Epilogue” by the Victorian poet Austin Dobson in 18th century vignettes. An excellent commentary on what draws him (and others) to a fascination with the past. It’s here:
” What is it ? “- a certain reader asks, –
‘What attaches
Your desire therefore to fans and masks, –
To wigs and patches?
“Is human life so poor today? “
So bloodless, you despise him,
To “galvanize” the past once again?
-Allow me. I will explain it.
This age I grant (and I grant with pride),
Is varied, rich, lively;
But, if you touch its weaker side,
Deplorably resentful:
Belaud, and we need your praise
With an air of calm conviction;
Condemn it, and both you raise
A storm of contradiction.
While with these old shades of mine,
Their manners and their clothes delight me;
And should I stumble by word or line,
They can’t charge me well.
Seven pillars of wisdom by TE Lawrence
Thomas Edward Lawrence – much better known, of course, as Lawrence of Arabia – published this autobiographical account of the Arab revolt of 1916 in 1926. The copies of the proofs produced were full of typos; he corrected five copies by hand, and these cost nearly a million dollars at auction.
Winston Churchill said of this: “It ranks among the greatest books ever written in English. As a tale of war and adventure, it is unsurpassable.
In case you missed them, here are the books that entered the public domain in 2021!
