Classic Literature Authors & Texts

Read about writers from around the world with an A-to-Z listings, profiles, biographies and more. Also find summaries and analysis of famous poems, novels, short stories, plays, and other works.

  • Portrait Franz Kafka
    Biography of Franz Kafka, Czech Novelist
  • Henry Miller
    Biography of Henry Miller, Novelist
  • Mary Shelley, 1831
    Biography of Mary Shelley, English Novelist, Author of 'Frankenstein'
  • Close-up black and white photo of Roald Dahl
    Biography of Roald Dahl, British Novelist
  • Portrait of Fyodor Dostoevsky
    Biography of Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russian Novelist
  • Black-and-white photo of Colette sitting at a writing desk with her pen in hand
    Biography of Colette, French Author
  • Portrait Of Novelist Aldous Huxley
    Biography of Aldous Huxley, British Author, Philosopher, Screenwriter
  • A January 28, 2010 photo shows a copies
    Biography of J. D. Salinger, American Writer
  • Vladimir Nabokov
    Biography of Vladimir Nabokov, Russian-American Novelist
  • C.S. Lewis
    Biography of C.S. Lewis, British Writer
  • An undated photo of Irishman James Joyce
    Biography of James Joyce, Influential Irish Novelist
  • Photograph of Sylvia Plath in front of a bookshelf
    Biography of Sylvia Plath, American Poet and Writer
  • Henry David Thoreau
    Biography of Henry David Thoreau, American Essayist
  • Head and shoulders of Ralph Waldo Emerson
    Biography of Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Essayist
  • Victor Hugo sitting on a stoop among leaves
    Biography of Victor Hugo, French Writer
  • Portrait Of Hermann Hesse
    Biography of Hermann Hesse, German Poet and Novelist
  • Miguel Angel Asturias
    Biography of Miguel Angel Asturias, Guatemalan Poet and Nobel Laureate
  • Portrait of Leo Tolstoy
    Biography of Leo Tolstoy, Influential Russian Writer
  • Portrait of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, circa 1896
    Biography of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, American Novelist
  • Samuel Johnson portrait
    Biography of Samuel Johnson, 18th Century Writer and Lexicographer
  • Photograph of Kate Chopin in a riding habit
    Biography of Kate Chopin, American Author and Protofeminist
  • Portrait of John Milton
    Biography of John Milton, Author of Paradise Lost
  • statue of Sir Walter Scott in Edinburgh
    Biography of Sir Walter Scott, Scottish Novelist and Poet
  • F. Scott Fitzgerald writing at his desk
    Biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Writer of the Jazz Age
  • Photo of Lucy Maud Montgomery
    Biography of Lucy Maud Montgomery, Author of "Anne of Green Gables"
  • Primo Levi Portrait
    Primo Levi, Author of the 'Best Science Book Ever Written'
  • Author Joseph Conrad Posing with Cane
    Biography of Joseph Conrad, Author of Heart of Darkness
  • Photograph of author Ken Kesey in the 1960s
    Ken Kesey, Novelist and Hero of 1960s Counterculture
  • photograph of Joan Didion in 1967
    Joan Didion, Essayist and Author Who Defined New Journalism
  • Sinclair Lewis
    Sinclair Lewis, First American to Win Nobel Prize for Literature
  • Nigerian Novelist and Poet Chinua Achebe
    Biography of Chinua Achebe, Author of "Things Fall Apart"
  • HG Wells
    The Life and Work of H.G. Wells
  • Portrait of Alexandre Dumas
    The Life of Alexandre Dumas, Classic Adventure Writer
  • Daguerrotype of Honore de Balzac circa 1845
    The Life and Works of Honoré de Balzac, French Novelist
  • Portrait of Willa Cather, circa 1926
    Biography of Willa Cather, American Author
  • A Doll's House
    'A Doll's House' Questions for Study and Discussion
  • Jules Verne
    Review of the Novel 'Around the World in 80 Days'
  • The Great Gatsby critical studies book
    Critical Overview of "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • Bust of French writer Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) in garden of Miromesnil castle, Normandy, France
    'The Necklace' Study Guide
  • "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" title page.
    'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer' Summary and Takeaways
  • Illustration to the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (Abyss of Hell), 1480-1490
    Dante's Inferno: A Guide to the 9 Circles of Hell
  • Mark Twain
    The Story of Samuel Clemens as "Mark Twain"
  • Mad Hatters Tea Party
    Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Book Review
  • Books burning in fire
    Fahrenheit 451 Characters: Descriptions and Significance
  • Mark Twain
    What Were Mark Twain's Inventions?
  • Burning book
    'Fahrenheit 451' Quotes Explained
  • Russian writer Leo Tolstoy telling a story to his grandchildren
    Papa Panov's Special Christmas: Synopsis and Analysis
  • Burning book
    Fahrenheit 451 Summary
  • Engraved portrait of Washington Irving in his study
    Biography of Washington Irving, Father of the American Short Story
  • Charles Dickens - Great Expectations
    'Great Expectations' Review
  • Guy de Maupassant
    Biography of Guy de Maupassant, Father of the Short Story
  • Vladimir Nabokov
    What Inspired or Influenced Vladimir Nabokov to Write 'Lolita'?
  • Still from film adaptation of The Great Gatsby
    F. Scott Fitzgerald's Inspiration for 'The Great Gatsby'
  • Pencil drawing of Jim from "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" sitting on the raft.
    Enslavement in Mark Twain's 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'
  • Mark Twain paid Ulysses S. Grant to write his memoirs.
    Mark Twain's "A Letter From Santa Claus"
  • Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf cover
    'Mrs. Dalloway' Review
  • A portrait of William Sydney Porter, who was also known as O. Henry.
    The Life and Death of O. Henry (William Sydney Porter)
  • woman reading book
    List of Works by James Fenimore Cooper
  • A printed photo of Sylvia Plath at her gravesite
    Sylvia Plath's 'The Bell Jar'
  • Edmond O'Brien, Jan Sterling in '1984'
    George Orwell: Novelist, Essayist and Critic
  • "The Devil and Tom Walker"
    'The Devil and Tom Walker' Study Guide
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