Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words

Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words

“Man-eating orchids” (March-April). Bernard Witlieb suggested as a possible answer the short story “The Flowering of the Strange Orchid,” by H.G. Wells, in which a man breeds an orchid that overpowers him with its scent and sucks his blood until it is discovered in the act and destroyed by his housekeeper.

Send inquiries and answers to Chapter and Verse, Harvard Magazine, 7 Ware Street, Cambridge 02138, or via email to chapterandverse@harvardmag.com.

Related topics

You might also like

The Gretel and the Great War author on how the Lampoon derailed his science career—and set him on a literary path.

The popular Harvard English professor published Under Water this spring.

Author and Harvard Divinity School writer-in-residence Terry Tempest Williams finds beauty in the world around us.

Most popular

All That’s Unseen charts the Harvard graduate’s uneasy journey from Appalachia to Cambridge and back.  

An animal’s journey from grief to love shows how much humans need each other, too.

In 1954, Gregory Corso moved into Eliot House. How he stayed there is a literary legend.

Explore More From Current Issue

Modern building with large glass windows, surrounded by greenery and pedestrians.

A roundup of University news from the summer of 2026

Colorful word cloud with various emotions and ideas related to learning and reflection.

But it can’t replace human connection.

A woman with long, wavy hair wearing a white suit, seated in a bright, modern room.

The Harvard graduate’s roundtable talk show touches on hot button issues from religion to sex.