Příběhy spadlé pod stůl (a zametené pod koberec) – Bystrov Michal (2019)

A gunslinger from the Wild West, who turned out to be a Russian nobleman. A country-blues singer who became a legendary demigod in Africa. An eccentric doctor who keeps the body of his deceased daughter in a cave in a glass cylinder. The stories that have fallen under the table (and swept under the rug) are full of forgotten oddities. The author sheds light on little-discussed chapters from relatively recent history: he traces the origins of the term "lynch judge," maps attempts to remove African Americans from the United States in a "out of sight, out of mind" style, describes the atrocities committed in Congo at the end of the 19th century and their surprising resonance in literature. He explores the origins of still-living myths (the devil at the crossroads, the killer of fools). He offers a probable explanation for the mysterious death of Edgar Allan Poe, defends the alleged embezzler and later literary star O. Henry, and denies the legend of the unfair treatment of the dying blues empress Bessie Smith. He recounts the last journey of detective story creator Jacques Futrelle on a ship called the Titanic and the heroism of young Bret Harte, who witnessed the massacre of an Indian tribe. With remarkable results, he reconstructs the visits of Jerome K. Jerome, Mark Twain, Alexandre Dumas the elder, and Fyodor...