Blog Fiction Mythbusting
By Jenni Harrison | Fiction, Fun Facts
Let’s look at a few well-known facts about some of the most well-known stories, but which may not be as accurate as we’ve been led to believe!
Did you know that ‘Frankenstein’ isn’t the name of the monster in Mary Shelley’s book? That’s the name of the scientist who creates him!
While we’re on the subject, the scientist is often referred to as ‘Dr Frankenstein’, but in the novel he isn’t a qualified doctor – he’s still a university student!
Have you ever seen Juliet declaring ‘Wherefore art thou Romeo?’ and peering over her balcony, looking for him? Well she’s wrong! ‘Wherefore’ means ‘why’, not ‘where’. She’s asking why he’s called Romeo, sad that he’s a Montague and a member of the enemy family.
We are familiar with a lot of fairy tales thanks to Disney, but many of the originals don’t end happily ever after. For example the Little Mermaid dies and turns into sea foam!
Sherlock Holmes never says ‘Elementary, my dear Watson!’ in the books. He says ‘elementary’ and ‘Watson’, but never that exact phrase!
You may have heard of theories that William Shakespeare didn’t really write all those plays and poems, but actually there isn’t any hard evidence to support this, and most Shakespeare experts and historians believe Shakespeare was the true author.
In one of the earliest stories, Eve accepts an apple from the serpent in the garden of Eden… or did she? The text only states ‘forbidden fruit’, so perhaps it was a banana, or a grape. Maybe a pineapple!
A famous 6-word story is ‘For sale: baby shoes, never worn’, and is often attributed to Ernest Hemingway, written after a bet to write the shortest story. But there’s no evidence that he wrote it, and it’s more likely that it came out of a combination of real adverts selling unused baby items.
Get in touch on socials or email us at [email protected] if you've heard of any more fiction myths that have been busted!
Published: Fri 30th Jun 2023