Authors

Explore our selection of 171 authors, each with a unique voice. From classics to contemporary works, this collection spans genres, inviting readers to discover the magic of literature.

November

Also this November

Stoker Bram

1847 - 1912

•

“How blessed are some people, whose lives have no fears, no dreads; to whom sleep is a blessing that comes nightly, and brings nothing but sweet dreams.”

It has been said of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’, that it “not only set the standard for subsequent novels in the horror-mystery genre but also helped establish the vampire as one of the most recognizable figures in the popular arts.” Stoker (1847-1912) wrote many other works of some merit, but achieved lasting fame through his iconic invention.

Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich

1818 - 1883

•

“Time sometimes flies like a bird, sometimes crawls like a snail; but a man is happiest when he does not even notice whether it passes swiftly or slowly.”

Ivan Turgenev (1818 -1883) was the first Russian author to achieve international fame, and is ranked with Tolstoy and Dostoevsky as the three great Russian novelists of the nineteenth century. ‘Fathers and Sons’ is his most enduring work.

Dostoevsky Fyodor

1821 - 1881

•

“A real gentleman, even if he loses everything he owns, must show no emotion.
Money must be so far beneath a gentleman that it is hardly worth troubling about.”

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821-1881) is a Russian novelist. Of his eleven novels, his three most famous were written later in life: ‘Crime and Punishment’, ‘The Idiot’ and ‘The Brothers Karamazov’. His books have been translated into over 170 languages, and have sold over 15 million copies.

Stevenson Robert Louis

1850 - 1894

•

“Life is not a matter of holding good cards,
but of playing a poor hand well.”

One of the recurring themes in the works of Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 -1894) is the mixture of good and evil in mankind, and the impossibility of separating the two. His two most enduring books, ‘Treasure Island’ and ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ illustrate this point, and the depth of his characterisation was very influential on later writers.

Voltaire

1694 - 1778

•

“No problem can withstand
the assault of sustained thinking.”

Francois-Marie Arouet (1694-1778) was better known under his nom de plume of Voltaire. A prolific writer of over 2,000 books and booklets and over 20,000 letters, he is best remembered for novels such as ‘Candide’.

Eliot George

1819 - 1880

•

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”

George Eliot was the pen name of Mary Anne Evans (1819-1880), one of the leading writers of Victorian times. Like many of her contemporary female writers, she published her books using a male name in order to be taken seriously. Her novels, including ‘Adam Bede’, ‘The Mill on the Floss’ and ‘Middlemarch’, have remained perennially popular and the subject of numerous television adaptations.

Sterne Laurence

1713 - 1768

•

“Respect for ourselves guides our morals, respect for others guides our manners.”

Laurence Stern (1713 -1768) was an author whose work divided opinion during his lifetime and has continued to do so ever since. His most notable work, ‘The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy’ was a ground-breaking novel which experimented with new forms of narration, parodied other authors and included some bawdy humour for good measure. Dismissed as a novelty by some critics, his book has been cited as an influence on Virginia Woolf, James Joyce and many others.

Burnett Frances Hodgson

1849 - 1924

•

“I am a princess. All girls are. Even if they live in tiny old attics.
Even if they dress in rags, even if they aren’t pretty, or smart, or young.
They’re still princesses”

Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849 – 1924) was an English writer who spent much of her life in America. Her most popular book during her lifetime was ‘Little Lord Fauntleroy’, but she is better remembered now for ‘The Little Princess’ and particularly ‘The Secret Garden’.

Collodi Carlo

1826 - 1890

•

“A conscience is that still small voice
that people won’t listen to”

Carlo Collodi was the pen name of Carlo Lorenzini (1826-1890) who dismissed his own work, ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’ as “childish twaddle”, little suspecting that, after his death, it would become one of the best-loved children’s stories ever written.

Spinoza Benedict

1632 - 1677

•

“Those who are believed to be most abject and humble are usually most ambitious and envious.”

Benedictus de Spinoza (1632 – 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin. While living quietly, working as a lens grinder, Spinoza wrote of highly controversial ideas which saw him expelled from his community. His ‘Ethics’, published posthumously, led him to be considered one of the great rationalists of 17th-century philosophy, laying the groundwork for the 18th-century Enlightenment and modern biblical criticism. Spinoza is considered to be one of Western philosophy’s most important philosophers.

Mayhew Henry

1812 - 1887

•

“The essential quality of an animal is that it seeks its own living, whereas a vegetable has its living brought to it.”

Henry Mayhew (1812 – 1887) was a playright and journalist, and co-founder of ‘Punch’ magazine. He was a social reformer, and wrote a series of articles for ‘The Morning Chronicle’ on the plight of the poor on London’s streets. These were later collected into a book, ‘London’s Labour and London’s Poor’, a detailed and extensive account of life as it truly was on the streets of Dickens’ London.

Bunyan John

1628 - 1688

•

“If we have not quiet in our minds, outward comfort will do no more for us than a golden slipper on a gouty foot.”

John Bunyan (1628-1688) was the writer of ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’, that was at one stage the second most popular book after the the Bible.

Engels Friedrich

1820 - 1895

•

“All history has been a history of class struggles between dominated classes at various stages of social development.”

Friedrich Engels (1820 – 1895) was a German writer, and a close friend and collaborator with Karl Marx. On moving to England, he was shocked by the poverty he found, which resulted in ‘The Condition of the Working Class in England’. He co-operated with Marx in writing ‘The Communist Manifesto’, and after Marx’s death, Engels assembled the second and third volumes of ‘Das Kapital’.

Blake William

1757 - 1827

•

“No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings.”

William Blake (1757-1827) was an English writer, poet, and illustrator. From the relative obscurity of his reputation in his own time, Blake is now recognised as one of the major poets of the Romantic period and one of the most original and challenging figures in the history of English literature.

Alcott Louisa May

1832 - 1888

•

“Love is a great beautifier.”

Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) grew up in Massachusetts, and her upbringing in a poor but happy environment gave her stories a strong autobiographical element. Wholesome without being condescending, her deceptively simple writing style made her works instantly popular, and so they have remained. ‘Little Women’ was her finest work, and was loved for its touching portrayal of American family life.

Swift Jonathan

1667 - 1745

•

“A wise person should have money in their head
but not in their heart.”

Jonathan Swift (1667 – 1745) was born and educated in Ireland, but moved to England in his early twenties, and became an ordained priest. In ‘Gulliver’s Travels’, he created a book that has been one of the most consistently popular books written in the eighteenth century, and probably the finest prose satire in the English language.

Twain Mark

1835 - 1910

•

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 -1910) alias Mark Twain, is considered one of America’s greatest ever writers. Not only did he write enormously popular novels, such as ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’, but also a series of classic travel books, including ‘Life on the Mississippi’ and ‘The Innocents Abroad’. Probably his finest work is ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’, which is rated as one of the finest American novels ever written.

Montgomery Lucy

1874 - 1942

•

“Life is worth living as long as there’s a laugh in it.”

Few writers can claim to have had a first novel more succesful than the Canadian writer L(ucy) M(aud) Montgomery (1874 – 1942) with ‘Anne of Green Gables’. It sold over one million copies during her lifetime, and has been in print ever since, together with the various sequels that she wrote.