Jonathan Littell is a writer and a dual citizen of the United States and France and is of Jewish background. His first novel written in French, Les Bienveillantes, won two major French awards. Littell is the son of author Robert Littell. Although his grandparents were Jews who emigrated from Russia to the United States at the end of the 19th century, Littell does not define himself as a Jew "at... Read More
Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. She came from the Beecher family, a famous religious family, and is best known for her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, which depicts the harsh conditions for enslaved African Americans. Harriet Beecher Stowe was born on June 14, 1811, in Litchfield, Connecticut. Her father, Lyman Beecher, was a leading Congregationalist minister... Read More
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American writer and philanthropist, the author of the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which contributed so much to popular feeling against slavery that it is cited among the causes of the American Civil War. Stowe wrote 30 books, including novels, three travel memoirs, and collections of articles and letters. She was influential for both her writings and her public stances... Read More
Ambrose Bierce, in full Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce, was an American newspaperman, wit, satirist, and author of sardonic short stories based on themes of death and horror. Bierce was born in a log cabin at Horse Cave Creek in Meigs County, Ohio, on June 24, 1842, to Marcus Aurelius Bierce and Laura Sherwood Bierce. He was of entirely English ancestry: all of his forebears came to North America betw... Read More
Ambrose Bierce was an American writer of sardonic short stories based on themes of death and horror. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is about a man named Peyton Farquhar. He was a well-off southern planter from Alabama. Peyton, who was “ardently devoted to the Southern cause,” was prevented from joining the army by circumstance and was eager to serve the South in any way possible. One evening... Read More
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce’s literary reputation is based primarily on his short stories about the Civil War and the supernatural, a body of work that makes up a relatively small part of his total output. Often compared to the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, these stories share an attraction to death in its more bizarre forms, featuring depictions of mental deterioration, uncanny, otherworldly manifesta... Read More
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist and satirist. Bierce professed to be mainly concerned with the artistry of his work, but critics find him more intent on conveying his misanthropy and pessimism. In his lifetime Bierce was famous as a California journalist dedicated to exposing the truth as he understood it, regardless of whose reputa... Read More
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American satirist, critic, short story writer, editor and journalist. Bierce lived and wrote in England from 1872 to 1875, contributing to Fun magazine. His first book, The Fiend's Delight, a compilation of his articles, was published in London in 1873 by John Camden Hotten under the pseudonym "Dod Grile". Today, he is best known for his short story, An Occurrence... Read More
Ambrose Bierce was an American newspaperman and author of short stories. Known for his satirical wit and sardonic view of human nature, he earned the nickname "Bitter Bierce." Ambrose Bierce is perhaps most famous for his serialized mock lexicon, The Devil's Dictionary, in which, over the years, he scathed American culture and accepted wisdom by pointing out alternate, more practical definition... Read More
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short-story writer, and satirist, today best known for his Devil's Dictionary, which lampooned, among other things, religion and politics. Because of his penchant for biting social criticism and satire, Bierce's long newspaper career was often steeped in controversy. On several occasions, his columns stirred up a storm of hostile... Read More
Ambrose Bierce was an American journalist, short story writer and, editorialist. His main occupations were in the writing or editing field, although he also played the satire. He had a very distinctive style of writing which embraced an abrupt beginning, dark imagery, limited descriptions, the theme of war, impossible events, and vague references to time. Bierce wrote realistically of the terri... Read More
Ambrose Bierce was an American newspaper columnist, satirist, essayist, short-story writer, and novelist, an enigmatic figure, and some say he was simply a cold-hearted bitter person. His death is still a mystery, but in 1913 Bierce set off for Mexico and stated, "If you ever hear of my being stood up against a Mexican Stone wall and being shot to rags please know it is a pretty good way to dep... Read More
Greg Iles is an American novelist. He was born in Germany in 1960. He grew up in Natchez, Mississippi, and graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1983. He was active in a band called "Frankly Scarlet", but quit after realizing that the touring lifestyle was not conducive with his family life. Once no longer busy with the band, he turned his attention to writing. Iles is a member of the... Read More
Richard Gary Brautigan was an American novelist, poet, and short story writer. His work often employs black comedy, parody, and satire. Brautigan grew up in the Pacific Northwest and had an unhappy childhood. His parents separated before he was born, and his family, which relocated often, suffered abject poverty for a time. As a teenager, he was committed to the Oregon State Hospital, where he... Read More
Laurell Kaye Hamilton is an American fantasy and romance writer. Hamilton is generally considered one of the most influential writers in the history of paranormal fiction. Several media outlets, including USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, and Time have identified her works as significant contributions to the development of the urban fantasy genre. The Merry Gentry series is a series of urban fan... Read More
Daphne du Maurier was a famous English writer and playwright. Her best-known works are Rebecca and The Birds, both of which have been adapted into films by Alfred Hitchcock. She was a prominent literary name in England and was the grand-daughter of the famed cartoonist, George du Maurier. Given her exposure to literary and artistic accomplishments during childhood, it is no surprise that du Mau... Read More
Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, was an English author and playwright. Although she is classed as a romantic novelist, her stories have been described as "moody and resonant" with overtones of the paranormal. Her bestselling works were not at first taken seriously by critics, but have since earned an enduring reputation for the narrative craft. She wrote in a variety of genres and styles;... Read More
John Updike, in full John Hoyer Updike, was an American writer of novels, short stories, and poetry, known for his careful craftsmanship and realistic but subtle depiction of “American, Protestant, small-town, middle-class” life. Updike grew up in Shillington, Pennsylvania, and many of his early stories draw on his youthful experiences there. He graduated from Harvard University in 1954. In 195... Read More
American author John Hoyer Updike was born on March 18, 1932, in Shillington, Pennsylvania. His father, Wesley, was a high school mathematics teacher, the model for several sympathetic father figures in Updike's early works. Because Updike's mother, Linda Grace Hoyer Updike, had literary dreams of her own, books were a large part of the boy's early life. Updike began his remarkable career as a... Read More
American author John Updike mirrored his America in poems, short stories, essays, and novels, especially the four-volume "Rabbit" series. At the age of twenty-two, Updike began his writing career when he published his first story "Friends from Philadelphia," in the New Yorker in 1954. Since childhood, Updike had admired the New Yorker and always dreamed of becoming a cartoonist for the magazine... Read More