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Charles Lamb (1775 – 1834) was an accomplished writer and essayist, best remembered for ‘Tales from Shakespeare’, a rewriting of the plays which made them more accessible for children. He wrote them with his sister, Mary (1764 – 1834), he, the tragedies, she, the comedies.

Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1837-1915) was one of the most popular and prolific of Victorian authors, producing over eighty novels, five plays and various poems and short stories. Her most enduring work is ‘Lady Audley’s Secret’.

George Grossmith (1847 – 1912) and Weedon Grossmith (1854 – 1919) were brothers, both of whom were known for their careers on the stage. They collaborated in writing a column for ‘Punch’ between 1888-9, which was published as ‘The Diary of a Nobody’ in 1892. Never out of print, it is one of the classic works of English comedy.

Anne Brontë (1820-1849), the sister of Charlotte and Emily, was the youngest of six children and is best known for her novels ‘Agnes Grey’ and ‘The Tenant of Wildfell Hall’.

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) had a writing career which spanned more than fifty years, and he is now considered both a major novelist and poet. His tales of Wessex, a fictional amalgamation of various south-west counties, have a lasting appeal, and many, such as ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’ and ‘Tess of the d’Urbervilles’ have become popular television adaptations.

Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855) was oldest of the three Brontë sisters to achieve fame. Her first published novel ‘Jane Eyre’ remains her most popular work, but her subsequent books, ‘Shirley’, ‘Villette’ and the posthumously-published ‘The Professor’ are all highly rated.

Jerome K(lapka) Jerome (1859-1927) spent the majority of his creative life writing for the stage, with which he was associated for over 50 years, but it is for a classic work of English humour that he is now remembered. ‘Three Men in a Boat’, and the sequel, ‘Three Men on the Bummel’ have an enduring popularity.

Emily Jane Brontë (1818-1848) is widely considered to be the greatest writer of the three Brontë sisters. She published only the one novel, ‘Wuthering Heights’ in 1847, an intense story of almost demonic love and revenge, which over the years has come to be placed among the greatest works of English literature.

Joseph Rudyard Kipling (1865 – 1936) was an English poet, short-story writer and novelist. His stories of the British in India reached their height of popularity in the 1890s, but opinion turned against him as the public perception of the days of the Empire changed. With the passing of years, he can now be viewed from a historical perspective as a recorder of the world as it was then. His books for children, including ‘The Jungle Book’ and ‘The Second Jungle Book’ have an enduring appeal.