American journalist and novelist Ernest Hemingway‘s legacy to American literature lies in his economical and understated writing style, which he termed the “iceberg theory” and writers who came after him either attempted to emulate or avoid. After his reputation was established with the publication of The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway essentially became the spokesperson forContinue reading “Ernest Hemingway: Spokesman of the Lost Generation.”
Category Archives: Authors
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tales of the Jazz Age.
Born in the fall of 1896, F. Scott Fitzgerald, is widely regarded as the greatest novelist of the Roaring Twenties. Fitzgerald’s struggles in love, work, and fame became the fundamental motifs and themes of his novels. Despite the losses he suffered, the success of his novels in the years following his early death immortalized hisContinue reading “F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tales of the Jazz Age.”
Celebrating International Women’s Day and Notable Female Authors.
In celebration of International Women’s Day, we invite you to browse some of the most notable works by female authors that have graced our bookshelves in recent years: First published in 1818, Frankenstein is not only the “most famous English horror novel” but also, by some critics’ reckoning, “the first genuine science fictionContinue reading “Celebrating International Women’s Day and Notable Female Authors.”
Women’s History Month Author Spotlight: Jane Austen.
Miss Jane Austen, born in late 1775, lived a life of relative obscurity. Now revered as an exceptional English novelist, Austen’s work provides a thorough social commentary on the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen’s plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage in the pursuit of favorable socialContinue reading “Women’s History Month Author Spotlight: Jane Austen.”
Alexander Hamilton: Father of American Finance.
Born in the mid-1700s in relative poverty, Alexander Hamilton rose to prominence as one of America’s founding fathers and the first treasury secretary of the United States. He founded the nation’s financial system, the Federalist Party, the United States Coast Guard, the New York Post newspaper, and he was the main author of the economicContinue reading “Alexander Hamilton: Father of American Finance.”
Ayn Rand: Objective and Romantic Realist.
Ayn Rand, born in 1905 as Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum, was a Russian-born American writer who emigrated to the U.S. in 1925. Upon gaining permanent residency in 1929, she became a famous novelist and philosopher. Her analysis of the human condition and the role of reason in human affairs made her books of lasting influence onContinue reading “Ayn Rand: Objective and Romantic Realist.”
James Joyce: Modernist Master.
Born in Ireland in 1882, James Joyce is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of the 20th century. His novel Ulysses (1922) is a landmark in which the episodes of Homer’s Odyssey are paralleled in a variety of literary styles, particularly stream of consciousness and his other well-known works include AContinue reading “James Joyce: Modernist Master.”
John le Carré: Sophisticated Spy Novelist
John le Carré, born in October of 1931 as David John Moore Cornwell, was a British intelligence officer and and novelist during the latter half of the 20th century. After serving in British intelligence during the 1950s and 60s, le Carré‘s fame as a novelist in post-war Britain was established with his third novel, TheContinue reading “John le Carré: Sophisticated Spy Novelist”
José de Sousa Saramago: Nobel Prize-Winning Portuguese Author.
In 1982, a novel called Memorial do Convento was published in Portugal. A love story set against 18th-century Inquisitorial Lisbon, the novel captured the imagination of many readers, garnering widespread acclaim. Its author, then sixty year old José Saramago, was not known for literature, but for journalism. With this novel, his fourth to be published,Continue reading “José de Sousa Saramago: Nobel Prize-Winning Portuguese Author.”
Celebrating Stephen King: Master of Horror.
Thursday, September 21st marked Stephen King‘s seventy-fifth birthday. Born in 1947 in Maine, King was raised by his mother who, with her two sons, moved several times before settling in Durham, Maine. King’s love for horror blossomed in his childhood, when he discovered a collection of H.P. Lovecraft stories in an attic. As he enteredContinue reading “Celebrating Stephen King: Master of Horror.”