Classic Writers


Classics

Well Known Classic Writers                                                                                                                                                                                                           


 Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855) is most famous for her novel Jane Eyre. By showing the females in her novels as main characters who are strong, independent, and have free will, Bronte changed the style of fiction as it is today. In her lifetime, for a woman to stand against what a man said was wrong. However, Bronte showed in her novels that women can be independent and thoughtful.  Beauty or wealth is not required to be considered a proper woman. Bronte grew up in Victorian England and so gained moral support from her sisters, Emily and Anne. They, her sisters, were authors as well. Together they would share creative ideas and learned from each other. [1]


William Shakespeare (1564- 1616) (actual birthdate unknown- rumored he died on his birthday)- Shakespeare is by far one of the most influential writers of all time. He has created many classics that are still being alluded to in today's literature, made into movies, and studied by many. Shakespeare wrote many plays, sonnets, and other unfinished works. His most famous and well-known pieces are, (you may have already guessed) Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, and Julius Ceasar. Shakespeare's ancestry is unknown. His parents were John, a glover from Snitterfield, and Mary Arden, the daughter of a wealthy landowner. Shakespeare is a classic writer because of his works' ability to stand the test of time and still touch the hearts of its readers. [2]


Jane Austen (December 16,1775- July 18, 1817) was a talented and opinionated woman who wrote the famous love novel Pride and Prejudice. Austen, during her time, transitioned from romanticism to realism with her style of writing. Her parents were George Austen and Cassandra Leigh Austen. Her mother was of higher class who married "beneath" her, yet still had eight children. They became the lower end of the high social class but still got along with others. Austen is still a favorite of many today and is taught everywhere. Her works are important and definitely worth a read. Other books by Austen include Emma and Sense and Sensibility. [3]


Washington Irving was born in New York City on April 3, 1783.  Irving wrote many kinds of literature such as novels, short stories, essays, poems, biographies, and even columns.  You’ve probably heard of his two most famous short stories, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle.”  Irving was inspired to put more effort into his writing when his 17 year old fiancée, Matilda Hoffman, died in 1809.  Irving lived in several places - first in America, then Europe, then back to America, then Spain, and back to America again where he passed away on November 28, 1859 in Sunnyside, New York at the age of 76.  Washington Irving is now buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York.


James Joyce was born in Dublin, Ireland, on February 2, 1882. His father had many professions and his mother who married into a lower class, encouraged him to aquire a higher level of education. At the age of twenty-one in 1902 Joyce went to Paris where due to financial hardships he held a variety of jobs including journalist and teacher . He returned to Dublin when his mother was sick. He left Dublin again in 1904 with Nora Barnacle, whom he married in 1931. His first book was called Dubliners and was published in 1914. Many of his books are considered masterpieces like Ulysses and A Portrait of a Young Man. Many of his short stories like The Dead are very popular as well.[5]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Jamesjoyce_tuohy-ohne.jpg[6]


Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born on August 30, 1797 to two well-known parents. Her father, William Godwin, was a philosopher and her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, a feminist. Mary, at sixteen met and fell in love with poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley even though he was married. Mary and Shelley ran away together and married after his first wife drowned in 1816.[8] In 1818, Shelley's most popular novel Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, was published.[7] In 1822, Mary's husband drowned and she turned to writing as a means of financial stability. In addition to editing her husband's poetry, Shelley wrote the novels Valperga in 1823, The Last Man in 1826 and Lodore in 1835. She continued to write until her death in 1851.[8]


Joseph Heller had an interest in writing at a young age and wrote short stories during his high school years. He joined the U.S Army Air Corps when he was 19 years old. As a wing bombardier he was stationed in Corsica, an island in the Mediterranean. He spent five years in the military, one year flying 60 missions and left the military in 1945.[9] Later that year he enrolled at the University of Southern California and published his first short story in Story magazine.[10] In the 1950's, he worked for advertising departments for magazines such as Time, Look, and McCall's. During this time he began writing his most famous work Catch-22. In this novel and several plays he drew from his past military experience and emotions. At the age of 40 he published Catch-22 [9] only after being rejected by two dozen publishers.[10] 

  Anrie[11]


1. Lombardi, Esther. "Top 10 Charlotte Bronte." About.Com. 2008. 8 Dec. 2008.      <http://classiclit.about.com/od/booklists/tp/aatp_cbronte.htm>

Higgins, Ross W. "About Washington Irving." 1999. Resources for Educators. 1999. Verizon. 4 May 2009.      <http://www.hudsonvalley.org/education/Background/abt_irving/abt_irving.html>

 

2. Mabillard, Amanda. "William Shakespeare of Stratford." Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2000. 8 Dec. 2008

      < http://www.shakespeare-online.com    /biography >.

 

3. Kelly, Gary. "Jane Austen." 2008. Dec 8, 2008. <http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/austenbio.html>

 

4.  "Washington Irving." 28 Apr. 2009.  Wikipedia.  4 May 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Irving>

Liukkonen, Petri. "Washington Irving (1783-1859) - pseudonyms: Dietrich Kickerbocker, Jonathan Oldstyle, Geoffrey Crayon." 2008. Pegasos. 2001. 4 May 2009. <http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/wirving.htm>

 

5. " James Joyce." Literature Network. 2009. 10 Dec. 2009. <http://www.online-literature.com/james_joyce/

 

6. "James Joyce." Wikipedia.7 Dec. 2009. 10 Dec. 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Joyce.>

 

7. Geherin, David. "Frankenstein." The World Book Encyclopedia, 2010. Print.

 

8. Shilstone, Frederick W. "Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley." The World Book Encyclopedia, 2010. Print.

 

9. Fine, Richard A., and Jim O' Loughlin. "Joseph Heller." Critical Survey of Long Fiction, Fourth Edition (2010): 1-8. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 20 Apr. 2016

 

10. Shackelford, Lynne P. "Joseph Heller." Research Guide To Biography & Criticism 5. (1991): 371-379. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 22 Apr. 2016 

 

11. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AJoseph_Heller1986_crop.jpg