The novel begins with Mrs Ramsay assuring her son that they should be able to visit the lighthouse the following day. This prediction is denied by Mr Ramsay who predicts rain.

A story about an old man who approaches some women on a beach and begins telling them stories from his life, Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age is unique for one singular achievement: the entire novel is rendered as a single sentence. It was reviewed in Publishers Weekly in 1995, where the critic described it as a "humorous and breathless affair".

A week after he turns 23 years old, Pip learns that his benefactor is the convict he encountered in the churchyard, Abel Magwitch.

The entirety of The Mezzanine takes place in the mind of young Howie as he returns from his lunch break and rides an escalator up one floor.

References to Sutpen as a "demon" are peppered throughout Miss Rosa's words and Quentin's thoughts, along with other unmistakably Satanic allusions. With thunder, sulphur, beard, and beasts, Sutpen descends upon the "soundless Nothing" of earth like an inverted creator.

Scout's friend Dill was inspired by Lee's childhood friend and neighbor, Truman Capote. Lee, in turn, was the model for a character in Capote's first novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms, published in 1948.

Artamène ou le Grand Cyrus is a French novel originally published in ten volumes (1,954,300 words) in the 17th century. The title pages credit the work to Georges de Scudéry, but it is usually attributed to his sister Madeleine.

Caddy never develops a voice of her own, but rather allows her brothers' emotions towards her to develop her character.

The title is taken from The Battle Hymn of the Republic: "Mine eyes have seen the coming of the glory of the Lord, He is trampling on the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored."