Today:
Welcome to this week's instalment of /r/AskHistorians' Sunday Digest (formerly the Day of Reflection). Nobody can read all the questions and answers that are posted here, so in this thread we invite you to share anything you'd like to highlight from the last week - an interesting discussion, an informative answer, an insightful question that was overlooked, or anything else.
I answered a question about the origins and rise of Young Adult literature. Thanks to u/Siantlark for such a great question!
I finally get to escape from cleaning my house^Plz no more dusting, and I use my free time to bring glorious knowledgeable answers to share amongst the fine folk of reddit.
First off, in honor of Remembrance Day, go check out the fabulous Amateur Ask You Anything. It's amazing, and a great opportunity for the wider community to get involved on the sub.
With that PSA shouted out nice and firm, let's dive into the previous weeks treasures with a great start.
How was Shakespeare's tragedy of 'Romeo & Juliet' perceived at the time? It's a very interesting question and /u/cdesmoulins gives us an idea how the audience would have perceived the plays while Shakespear was personally running the show.
Know who else wrote some awesome stuff? Tolkein. Also /u/itsallfolklore, who's talking about some of the inspirations and influences in Tolkeins work in Did The Celtic Renaissance Affect J. R. R. Tolkien? It's a relatively smaller answer, but touches on some very interesting information about oral stories and national folklore.
Another favorite story of mine is the epic Journey to the West. Check out the thread In the famous Chinese novel "Journey.to the West" why are daoists represented so negatively? where /u/cthulhushrugged not only gives an overview of Daoism/Buddhism and the origins of the book itself, but also a remarkable tale about the historical event that inspired it. Seriously, I've been telling everyone that sits near me for more then five minutes about it.