World traveler and prolific writer Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay on December 30, 1865. As a boy, he happily listened to the stories of his Indian attendant and Portuguese nanny. The author's upbringing would often manifest in his works.
She wrote her first formal work at 18 years old and lived until 42, but Jane Austen made the literary impact of much more prolific writers in only six published novels. With universally appealing works such as Pride & Prejudice (1813) and Sense & Sensibility (1811), Austen has amassed an impressive following the world over, and her works have been adapted into plays, TV series, and modern movies as varied as the film "Pride & Prejudice" and the American comedy "Clueless."
Gustave Flaubert was born on December 12, 1821. He is known for his style, aesthetics, and perfectionism, and he appeals to both romantics and realists. Sometimes writing only one page per week, Flaubert took five to 25 years to complete each novel. The result was worthwhile: Flaubert is regarded as one of the best Western writers of all time.
Joseph Conrad, one of the first modernist writers, was born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski in Poland on December 3, 1857. Though he didn't learn English until early adulthood, Conrad would become one of the top prose writers of the English language. Many of his stories were first published in magazines before they were published as novellas or books. Yet though he wrote steadily, he was not a financial success or widely read until the last decade of his life.
If, in the words of James Barron Hope, “Tis after death that we measure men,” William Blake is fortunate indeed. Now a paragon of the Romantic Age whose poems and engravings are among the most famous of his time, Blake’s contemporaries dismissed his work and largely considered him insane. William Wordsworth wrote, “There was no doubt that this poor man was mad” and John Ruskin called him “diseased and wild.” Although his work was not understood during his lifetime, Blake has become one of the most important poets, engravers, and artists of the Romantic Age.
This month, we celebrate the life of the acclaimed Victorian novelist, journalist, and translator. She is the author of seven novels drawing insight into rural England and psychological analysis in modern literature.
Yesterday Doris Lessing, author of more than 55 works of poetry, fiction, opera, and non-fiction, passed away. The Nobel laureate was known for free thinking political activism and innovative literary form. Lessing was born in Iran to British parents, and she spent much of her childhood in Zimbabwe. She made her novel debut in 1950 with The Grass Is Singing, but did not gain attention from the literary world until 1962, with The Golden Notebook.
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was born on November 13 1850. The Scottish writer published novels, poems, essays, and travel books. He is among the most translated writers in the world, best known for Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
The leaves have changed colors, and the air has turned crisp and cool. Sunsets are also coming earlier and earlier. These shorter days mean longer nights--and more time for evening reading! If you love to curl up with a good book, you'll love this list of excellent reading copies, all priced at $20 or under. Many of them are even signed by the author.
Halloween often ranks as people's favorite holiday--after all, who can resist costumes and candy corns? Many of us love the holiday for much spookier reasons; we love those ghosts, goblins, and ghouls. Ghosts have haunted the pages of many a book, including those of some of the best works of world literature. We’ll list ten, beginning with the creepiest, ghouls in BOOOOks! See? You've already had your first scare and we haven't even started the ghostly countdown. Hold on tight--you're about to take a trip through a haunted house full of ghastly literary characters.
