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Archives: Book Authors
Aesop
Aesop lived approximately 620-564 B.C. and his fables have been in print in English since 1484. Although now considered as children’s stories, they are believed to have been written as thinly disguised social and political criticisms. Whatever their origins, the stories and their morals are very familiar to readers of all ages.
Woolf Virginia
(Adeline) Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) was an English writer, whose innovative, experimental novels have had a lasting effect on the development of modern literature. Her books, such as ‘Mrs Dalloway’, ‘The Waves’ and ‘To the Lighthouse’, with their stream-of-consciousness structure, have led her to be recognised as one of the most significant writers of the twentieth century.
Wilde Oscar
“I have put my genius into my life, all I have put into my works is my talents”. In many ways, the written works of Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) are overshadowed by the drama of his life, and the incandescence of his personality, but they should not be undervalued. Whether it is the wit of his plays, the intriguing premise of his only novel, ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray, the sporadic brilliance of his poetry or the delightful charm of his children’s stories, not just the talent but the genius of the man shines through.
Wharton Edith
Edith Wharton (1862 -1937) was an American writer, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1921, the first woman to do so. She was a popular novelist and short-story writer during her lifetime, although in the years following her death she came to be viewed as rather old-fashioned. Subsequent reappraisal of her work has established ‘The House of Mirth’, ‘Ethan Frome’ and ‘The Age of Innocence’ as classic American novels, and her excellent ghost stories have found a new audience.
Wallace Lewis
The writing career of Lew Wallace (1827-1905) was very much a supplement to an eventful life. His military career started with the Mexican American war of 1846, and in the American Civil War he reached the rank of Major-General. Subsequently he became governor of New Mexico, and then U.S. minister to the Ottoman Empire. In the midst of all this activity, he found time to write ‘Ben-Hur’, a novel of the later days of the Roman Empire, and the early days of Christianity, which became one of the best-selling American novels of the nineteenth century.
Virgil
Considered the greatest of the Roman poets, Publius Vergilius Maro, known as Virgil (70BC -19BC) took Greek literary traditions and transformed them into something unique. ‘The Aeneid’, which consists of twelve books, each between 700 and 1,000 lines long, is considered the crowning achievement of Roman culture.
Verne Jules
Jules Verne (1828 -1905) is a French author who, although he did not invent Science Fiction, was probably the most influential writer in the genre. Although basing many of his ideas on the latest technological advances of his time, his invention was so meticulous as to be totally convincing. His novels, such ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea’ and ‘Journey to the Centre of Earth’ are classics of enduring popularity.
Twain Mark
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 -1910) alias Mark Twain, is considered one of America’s greatest ever writers. Not only did he write enormously popular novels, such as ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’, but also a series of classic travel books, including ‘Life on the Mississippi’ and ‘The Innocents Abroad’. Probably his finest work is ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’, which is rated as one of the finest American novels ever written.
Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich
Ivan Turgenev (1818 -1883) was the first Russian author to achieve international fame, and is ranked with Tolstoy and Dostoevsky as the three great Russian novelists of the nineteenth century. ‘Fathers and Sons’ is his most enduring work.