Secret lives of great authors : what your teachers never told you about famous novelists, poets, and playwrights PDF
Preview Secret lives of great authors : what your teachers never told you about famous novelists, poets, and playwrights
Copyright © 2008 by Quirk Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Number: 2007937187 eBook ISBN: 978-1-59474744-1 Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-59474-211-8 Cover designed by Doogie Horner Interior designed by Joshua McDonnell Illustrations by Mario Zucca Quirk Books 215 Church Street Philadelphia, PA 19106 www.quirkbooks.com v3.1 The author would like to acknowledge Jean Kim, Jure Fiorillo, and Karen Lurie for their help in researching this book. Cover Title Page Copyright Acknowledgments INTRODUCTION WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE April 23, 1564–April 23, 1616 LORD BYRON January 22, 1788–April 19, 1824 HONORÉ DE BALZAC May 20, 1799–August 18, 1850 EDGAR ALLAN POE January 19, 1809–October 7, 1849 CHARLES DICKENS February 7, 1812–June 9, 1870 THE BRONTË SISTERS CHARLOTTE BRONTË April 21, 1816–March 31, 1855 EMILY BRONTË July 30, 1818–December 19, 1848 ANNE BRONTË January 17, 1820–May 28, 1849 HENRY DAVID THOREAU July 12, 1817–May 6, 1862 WALT WHITMAN May 31, 1819–March 26, 1892 LEO TOLSTOY September 9, 1828–November 20, 1910 EMILY DICKINSON December 10, 1830–May 15, 1886 LEWIS CARROLL January 27, 1832–January 14, 1898 LOUISA MAY ALCOTT November 29, 1832–March 6, 1888 MARK TWAIN November 30, 1835–April 21, 1910 OSCAR WILDE October 16, 1854–November 30, 1900 ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE May 22, 1859–July 7, 1930 W. B. YEATS June 13, 1865–January 28, 1939 H. G. WELLS September 21, 1866–August 13, 1946 GERTRUDE STEIN February 3, 1874–July 27, 1946 JACK LONDON January 12, 1876–November 22, 1916 VIRGINIA WOOLF January 25, 1882–March 28, 1941 JAMES JOYCE February 2, 1882–January 13, 1941 FRANZ KAFKA July 3, 1883–June 3, 1924 T. S. ELIOT September 26, 1888–January 4, 1965 AGATHA CHRISTIE September 15, 1890–January 12, 1976 J. R. R. TOLKIEN January 3, 1892–September 2, 1973 F. SCOTT FITZGERALD September 24, 1896–December 21, 1940 WILLIAM FAULKNER September 25, 1897–July 6, 1962 ERNEST HEMINGWAY July 21, 1899–July 2, 1961 AYN RAND February 2, 1905–March 6, 1982 JEAN-PAUL SARTRE June 21, 1905–April 15, 1980 RICHARD WRIGHT September 4, 1908–November 28, 1960 WILLIAM BURROUGHS February 5, 1914–August 2, 1997 CARSON MCCULLERS February 19, 1917–September 29, 1967 J. D. SALINGER January 1, 1919– JACK KEROUAC March 12, 1922–October 21, 1969 KURT VONNEGUT November 11, 1922–April 11, 2007 TONI MORRISON February 18, 1931– SYLVIA PLATH October 27, 1932–February 11, 1963 THOMAS PYNCHON May 8, 1937– APPENDIXES INDEX About the Author IS IT JUST ME, or do we expect great authors to lead sedate, contemplative, uninteresting lives? Granted, some of them do—I’m looking at you, Jane Austen—but you won’t find any of them in this book. The vast majority of literary legends live more like debauched Hollywood actors than shy, retiring bookworms. They’re drug addicts and pee drinkers, womanizers and wannabe movie stars, more likely to be seen with a half-empty bottle of gin in hand than a feathered quill. We can probably thank our teachers for this misperception. They were trying so hard to encourage us to slog through Ulysses, they forgot to tell us about James Joyce’s weird sex life—which, come to think of it, might have made it easier to slog through Ulysses (or at least understand it). Just as knowing how much Ayn Rand enjoyed the 1970s TV jigglefest Charlie’s Angels might have made us more inclined to read all 1,100 pages of Atlas Shrugged. Well, okay, maybe not so much. But you get the point. Great writers put their underwear on one leg at a time just like the rest of us (although in Hemingway’s case, it might be ladies’ underwear). They freak out, feud with each other, get slammed in the press, and join obscure religious cults just like anyone else in the public eye. This book fills you in on all the flaws, foibles, and human frailties that you may not have heard about the first time you encountered these literary giants, and hopefully you will be intrigued enough to read, or reread, their works. Along the way, you may just learn a few useful facts that could help you fill out that skimpy term paper or keep up with that cocktail party blowhard who somehow found the time to read every one of Faulkner’s novels—in French. One well-placed “Did you know?” from the tidbits compiled here could be the room-clearing rim shot you need at the next campus bull session.
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