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.

Daniel Defoe

Daniel Defoe (1660-1731)

English Novelist, Journalist and Satirist

English author Defoe wrote one of the best-known books in the English literature, Robinson Crusoe, an early example of a novel. Another book, Moll Flanders, became just as famous.

Before his time stories were usually written as long poems or dramas. He was one of the first to write believable characters in stories, in realistic situations by using simple prose.

Read more — Daniel Defoe Brief Biography

Daniel Defoe’s Books

• The True-born Englishman, 1701
• The True Relation of the Apparition of One Mrs. Veal, 1706
• A General History of the Union of Great Britain, 1709
• Robinson Crusoe, 1719
• Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, 1719
• Memoirs of a Cavalier, 1720
• Captain Singleton, 1720
• Moll Flanders, 1722
• A Journal of the Plague Year, 1722
• Colonel Jack, 1722
• Roxana, 1724
• A Political History of the Devil, 1726

Albert Camus

Albert Camus (1913-1960)

French Novelist, Journalist, Philosopher, Playwright

Camus was a major and influential French author of the 20th century who received the 1957 Nobel Prize for literature. He is famous for his books The Plague, The Fall and The Rebel.

Early Life of Albert Camus

Albert Camus was born into a poor working-class family in Algeria, North Africa, which at that time belonged to France and which was the setting for much of his work.

Read more — Albert Camus Biography

Works by Albert Camus

• The Inverse and the Place, 1937Caligula, 1938
• The Stranger, 1942
• The Myth of Sisyphus, 1942
• The Outsider, 1942
• Cross Purpose, 1944
• The Plague, 1947
• The State of Siege, 1948
• The Rebel, 1951
• The Fall, 1956
• Exile and the Kingdom, 1958

William Makepeace Thackeray

William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863)

English Novelist, Comic Illustrator and Journalist

William Makepeace Thackeray was one of the greatest English novelists of the nineteenth century. He was also a comic illustrator and a journalist. A prolific writer in many genres, he is famous for Vanity Fair. His other key works include Barry Lyndon, Pendennis, Henry Esmond and The Virginians. His best stories are funny, satirical and historical, carefully observed studies of the society he lived in.

Thackeray’s books were more realistic than most other novels of his time.

Read more… William Makepeace Thackeray

Thackeray’s Works:

• Catherine, 1839
• The Paris Sketchbook, 1840
• The Luck of Barry Lyndon, 1844
• Vanity Fair, 1847-48
• The Book of Snobs, 1848
• The History of Pendennis, 1848-1850
• The History of Henry Esmond Esq., 1852
• The Newcomes, 1853-55
• The Virginians, 1857-59

Maxim Gorky

Maxim Gorky (1868-1936)

Considered the Father of Soviet Literature

Maxim Gorky became famous as a spokesman for the Russian poor in his novels. He is considered the father of Soviet literature, and famous for his novel The Lower Depths. From personal experience he wrote with sympathy and optimism about the impoverished people of Russia.

Read more… Maxim Gorky, Bio and Works

Works by Maxim Gorky:

• ‘Makar Chudra’, 1892
• ‘Chelkash’, 1895
• Twenty-Six Men and a Girl, 1899
• Foma Gordeyev, 1899
• The Lower Depths, 1902
• The Mother, 1906-1907,
• My Childhood, 1913-1914
• In My World, 1915
• My Universities, 1923
• The Arlamonov Business, 1925

Maxim Gorky

Maxim Gorky (1868-1936)

Considered the Father of Soviet Literature

Maxim Gorky became famous as a spokesman for the Russian poor in his novels. He is considered the father of Soviet literature, and famous for his novel The Lower Depths. From personal experience he wrote with sympathy and optimism about the impoverished people of Russia.

Gorky (1868-1936) was born on March 28, in the Russian town of Nizhny Novgorod. It was later renamed Gorky in his honour.

Read more… Maxim Gorky, Bio and Works

Gorky Maxim’s Works:

• ‘Makar Chudra’, 1892
• ‘Chelkash’, 1895
• Twenty-Six Men and a Girl, 1899
• Foma Gordeyev, 1899
• The Lower Depths, 1902
• The Mother, 1906-1907,
• My Childhood, 1913-1914
• In My World, 1915
• My Universities, 1923
• The Arlamonov Business, 1925

Graham Greene

Graham Greene (1904-1991)

Novelist, Short Story Writer, Playwright, Journalist, Critic

Graham Greene, one of the greatest and most popular English writers of the 20th century, is famous for bestselling novels like Brighton Rock, The Third Man, The Quiet American, and Our Man in Havana. Some of them became successful films.

His writings deal with moral issues, and many have exotic settings. Greene gathered materials for these settings during his travels all over the world. A prolific writer, he wrote novels, short stories, biographies and plays, travel books, as well as film criticism.

Read more… Graham Greene

Works by Graham Greene

• The Man Within, 1929
• Stamboul Train, 1932
• The Basement Room and Other Stories, 1935
• A Gun for Sale, 1936
• Brighton Rock, 1938
• The Confidential Agent, 1939
• The Power and the Glory, 1940
• The Heart of the Matter, 1948
• The Third Man, 1950
• The End of the Affair, 1951
• The Quiet American, 1955
• Our Man in Havana, 1958
• A Burnt-Out Case, 1961
• The Comedians, 1966

Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf (1882-1941)

English Novelist, Critic, Essayist, Feminist, Socialist

Virginia Woolf was a founder of the Bloomsbury Group of writers and artists. Her famous books include Mrs Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, Orlando, and The Waves.

She is best known for developing the ’stream of consciousness’ method of writing in which the reader follows the characters’ internal thoughts as the story unfolds. Her writing style is significantly influential in the development of the 20th century novel.

Read more…  Virginia Woolf Short Bio

Works by Virginia Woolf

• The Voyage Out, 1915
• Night and Day, 1919
• Jacob’s Room, 1922
• Mrs. Dalloway, 1925
• To the Lighthouse, 1927
• Orlando, 1928
• A Room of One’s Own, 1919
• The Waves, 1931
• The Years, 1937
• Between the Acts, 1941