May 9:
Eleanor Estes: The Hundred Dresses is a wonderful chilldren’s book about prejudice and cruelty and repentance and how sometimes we repent but are unable to repair the damage we have done. It turns out Eleanor Estes was a children’s librarian. I like librarians.
Sir J.M. Barrie (1860-1937): Peter Pan is fun, but I really enjoyed The Little Minister when I read it many years ago. It’s the romantic story of a new minister in a a small village who falls in love with an elusive gypsy girl.

May 12:
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882): I will never forget watching a film in some literature class with Oliver Reed as Rossetti. He played a dark and tortured poetic genius, misunderstood, of course. I’d love to see the film again to see if it’s as memorable as I remember. Anyway, Rossetti was a Victorian, Pre Raphaelite poet and artist.
Try Edward Lear, for poetry that’s a little lighter than that of Rossetti. My personal favorite is The Pobble Who Had No Toes. It’s a fact the whole world knows,/That Pobbles are happier without their toes.

May 13
Daphne Du Maurier: I already jumped the gun and wrote about her here.

May 14
Hall Caine (1853-1941): I never heard of him, but according to VictorianWeb , he was a novelist and a protege of . . . Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
Dante Alighieri: Last, but not least, I found this date for Dante’s birth in some source, however, this Dante website says that he “was born in Florence in May or June 1265.” Since it fits with what has become the theme of this post, we’ll use this date.