This site continues to “Shelf Life”

Dear valued friends & visitors,

To consolidate efforts and time, “Authors Brief Biographies” blog has been merged with Books Shelf Life. New posts will be populated at Life Shelf.  This existing blog site, however, will remain available.

Thank you very much for understanding.

Maurice Maeterlinck

Maurice Maeterlinck (1862-1949)

Belgian Playwright, Poet, Essayist

Maurice Maeterlinck was a Belgian playwright, poet and essayist who became involved with Symbolism, a French literary movement which uses symbols to represent ideas and emotions. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1911.

Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard, Count Maeterlinck, was born in Ghent, Belgium on August 29, 1862. He studied law at the University of Ghent where he was profoundly influenced by Symbolism. His early works were not in plays but poetry. He published his first poem, The Rushes, when he was a 21-year-old university student.

Read more…  Maurice Maeterlinck Brief Biography

 

Works by Maurice Maeterlinck

• The Rushes, 1883
• Hot Houses, 1889
• The Princess Maleine, 1889, play
• The Blind, 1891, play
• Pelléas and Mélisande, 1892, play
• Aglavaine and Selysette, 1896
• Ariadne and Bluebeard, 1901
• Sister Beatraice, 1902
• Monna Vanna, 1902, play
• The Blue Bird, 1908
• The Burgomaster of Stilmonde, 1918

John Milton

John Milton (1608-1674)

English Poet and Essayist

Best known for Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained and Lycidas, John Milton was one of the greatest English poets with huge influence on English poetry.

Milton’s Life in a Nutshell

John Milton was born on December 9, 1698 in London. His father was a successful lawyer and composer. They had a second house in the country where Milton spent six years in private study after finishing education in Cambridge University in 1632.

Read more …   John Milton Life and Works

Works by John Milton

•”On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity”, 1629
•”L’Allegro”, c. 1631
•”Il Penseroso”, c. 1631
•Comus, 1634
•Lycidas, 1637
•Areopagitica, 1644
•Poems, 1645
•Paradise Lost, 1667
•Paradise Regained, 1671
•Samson Agonistes, 1671

Ralph Ellison

Ralph Waldo Ellison (1914-1994)

American Novelist, Short Story Writer, Essayist

Ralph Ellison is best known for his novel, Invisible Man, claimed to be where his reputation lies as a writer. This book provides a study of racism and its effect on a person’s identity. It became a classic of modern American literature.

Life of Ralph Ellison

Ralph Waldo Ellison was born on March 1, 1914, in Oklahoma City. He won a state scholarship and was educated at Tuskegee University.

Read more… Ralph Ellsion Biography

Books by Ralph Ellison

• Invisible Man, 1952
• Noble Savage I, 1960
• Shadow and Act, 1964
• Going to the Territory, 1986

Washington Irving

Washington Irving (1783-1859)

American Short-Story Writer and Essayist

Washington Irving became a famous author, best known for his humorous and satirical stories. He pioneered the establishment of short-story writing in American literature, and wrote history and biography in later years.

Early Life of Washington Irving

Washington Irving was born on April 3, 1783, in New York City, son of a wealthy merchant. He studied law privately but did not pursue it as a career although he practiced it briefly.

Read more — Washington Irving Biography

Books by Washington Irving

• A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty, 1809
• The Sketch Book, 1819-1820
• Bracebridge Hall, 1822
• Tales of a Traveller, 1824
• History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, 1828
• Voyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Columbus, 1831
• The Crayon Miscellany, 1835
• The Adventures of Captain Bonneville, 1837
• Biography and Poetical Remains of the Late Margaret Miller Davidson, 1841
• George Washington (5 volumes), 1855-1859

Charles Lamb

Charles Lamb (1775-1834)

English Essayist and Poet

Charles Lamb was a 19th-century English writer whose retellings of the classic works of literature especially that of Shakespeare’s tales, still popular today. He is best known for his essays, in particular, The Essays of Elia.

Charles Lamb was born in London on February 10, 1775, the son of a lawyer’s clerk and youngest son.

Read more - Charles Lamb Biography

Works by Charles Lamb

• A Tale of Rosamund Gray, 1798
• Tales from Shakespeare, 1807
• The Adventures of Ulysses, 1808
• Mrs. Leicester’s School, 1809
• Poetry for Children, 1809
• Prince Dorus, 1811
• The Works of Charles Lamb, 1818
• Essays of Elia, 1823
• The Last Essays of Elia, 1833

Gore Vidal

Gore Vidal (1925-)

American Novelist and Playwright, Famous for Essays

American writer Gore Vidal is best known for his many satirical essays primarily about politicians and politics. He is author of many novels, including Washington, D.C. (1967) and Duluth: A Novel (1983), a satire of the TV show Dallas. He is also known for his plays Visit to a Small Planet (1955) and The Best Man (1960).

Eugene Luther Vidal Jr. was born on October 3, 1925, at the military academy in West Point, New York, the only child of Eugene Luther Vidal and Nina Gore.

Read more…  Gore Vidal Biography

 

Aldous Huxley

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)

British Novelist, Poet and Essayist

Aldous Huxley was a major British writer just after the First World War. He is best remembered for his novel Brave New World and Point Counter Point.

Aldous Leonard Huxley was born in Godalming, Surrey, England, on July 26, 1894, into a rich and famous Huxley English family. His grandfather, Thomas Huxley, was a biologist who helped develop the theory of evolution.

Read more…  Aldous Huxley Biography and Works

Works by Aldous Huxley

• Come Yellow, 1921
• Antic Hay, 1923
• Point Counter Point, 1928
• Brave New World, 1932
• Eyeless in Gaza, 1936
• After Many a Summer, 1939
• Time Must Have a Stop, 1944
• Apre and Essence, 1948
• The Devils of Loudun, 1952
• The Doors of Perception, 1954
• Brave New World Revisited, 1958
• Island, 1962