Essays of the masters

Wystan Hugh Auden [1] who signed his works W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,[2][3] born in England, later an American citizen, regarded by many as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.[4] His work is noted for its stylistic and technical achievements, its engagement with moral and political issues, and its variety of tone, form and content.[5][6] The central themes of his poetry are love, politics and citizenship, religion and morals, and the relationship between unique human b...

Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of almost 100 novels and plays collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the fall of Napoléon Bonaparte in 1815. ([Source][1].) [1]:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor%C3%A9_de_Balzac

Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born British novelist, who became a British subject in 1886. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in English though he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties (and then always with a marked Polish accent). He wrote stories and novels, predominantly with a nautical or seaboard setting, that depict trials of the human spirit by the demands of duty and honor. ([Source][1].) [1]:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Conrad

Charles Dickens, was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era, and one of the most popular of all time. He created some of literature's most iconic characters, with the theme of social reform running throughout his work. The continuing popularity of his novels and short stories is such that they have never gone out of print. ([Source][1].) [1]:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Dickens

Russian novelist Fyodor Mikhailovitch Dostoyevsky was a journalist and short-story writer, whose psychological penetration into the human soul profoundly influenced the 20th century novel. Dostoevsky's novels have much autobiographical elements, but ultimately they deal with moral and philosophical questions. He presented interacting characters with contrasting views or ideas about freedom of choice, Socialism, atheisms, good and evil, happiness and so forth. Dostoevsky's central obsession was G...

Thomas Stearns Eliot was an American poet, playwright, and literary critic, arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century.[3] His first notable publication, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, begun in February 1910 and published in Chicago in June 1915, is regarded as a masterpiece of the modernist movement.[4] It was followed by some of the best-known poems in the English language, including Gerontion (1920), The Waste Land (1922), The Hollow Men (1925), Ash Wednesday...

William Faulkner was a Nobel Prize-winning American author. One of the most influential writers of the 20th century, his reputation is based on his novels, novellas and short stories. He was also a published poet and an occasional screenwriter. ([Source][1].) [1]:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Faulkner

Gustave Flaubert was a French writer who is counted among the greatest Western novelists. He is known especially for his first published novel, Madame Bovary (1857), and for his scrupulous devotion to his art and style. ([Source][1].) [1]:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_Flaubert

Edward Morgan Forster OM, CH, was an English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy and also the attitudes towards gender and homosexuality in early 20th-century British society. Forster's humanistic impulse toward understanding and sympathy may be aptly summed up in the epigraph to his 1910 novel Howards End: "Only connect".

Anatole France was born François-Anatole Thibault in Paris, the son of a bookseller. His father's bookstore, Librairie France, specialized in books and papers on the French Revolution and was frequented by many notable writers and scholars of the day. Anatole France studied at the Collège Stanislas and went to work with his father after his graduation. After several years he became a cataloguer at Bacheline-Deflorenne and at Lemerre. He began his career as a poet and a journalist. In 1876 he was...

André Paul Guillaume Gide (22 novembre 1869 – 19 février 1951) était un écrivain et auteur français dont les œuvres couvraient une grande variété de styles et de sujets. Il a reçu le prix Nobel de littérature en 1947. La carrière de Gide s'étendait de ses débuts dans le mouvement symboliste à la critique de l'impérialisme entre les deux guerres mondiales. Auteur de plus de 50 livres, il a été décrit dans sa nécrologie du New York Times comme « le plus grand homme de lettres contemporain de Fra...

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer and polymath. Goethe's works span the fields of poetry, drama, literature, theology, philosophy, pantheism, and science. His magnum opus, lauded as one of the peaks of world literature, is the two-part drama Faust. Goethe's other well-known literary works include his numerous poems, the Bildungsroman Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship and the epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther. ^[1][1] [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joh...

Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet of the naturalist movement, although in several poems he displays elements of the previous romantic and enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural. While he regarded himself primarily as a poet who composed novels mainly for financial gain, during his lifetime he was much better known for his novels, such as Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Far from the Madding Crowd, which earned him a reputation as a grea...

Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer. Nathaniel Hawthorne was a 19th century American novelist and short story writer. He is seen as a key figure in the development of American literature for his tales of the nation's colonial history. Shortly after graduating from Bowdoin College, Hathorne changed his name to Hawthorne. Hawthorne anonymously published his first work, a novel titled Fanshawe, in 1828. In 1837, he published Twice-Told Tales and became engaged...

German poet, journalist, essayist, and literary critic

Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American writer and journalist. During his lifetime he wrote and had published seven novels; six collections of short stories; and two works of non-fiction. Since his death three novels, four collections of short stories, and three non-fiction autobiographical works have been published. Hemingway received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. Hemingway was born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school he worked as a reporter but within months he left...

Henry James, was an American writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James. ([Source][1].) [1]:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_James

Franz Kafka (gelegentlich tschechisch František Kafka, 3. Juli 1883, Prag, Österreich-Ungarn-3. Juni 1924, Kierling, Österreich) war ein österreichisch-tschechoslowakischer Schriftsteller. Er gilt als einer der bedeutendsten Vertreter der Prager deutschen Literatur und der deutschsprachigen Literatur des 20. Jahrhunderts. Seine Werke – darunter die drei Romanfragmente Der Process, Das Schloss und Der Verschollene sowie zahlreiche Erzählungen – gehören zum Kanon der Weltliteratur. Kafkas Werk...

Rudyard Kipling was a British author and poet. Born in Bombay, in British India, he is best known for his works of fiction "[The Jungle Book][1]" (1894). He is regarded as a major "innovator in the art of the short story"; his children's books are enduring classics of children's literature. ([Source][2]) [1]: /works/OL15400121W/ [2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudyard_Kipling

D.H. Lawrence was an English author, poet, playwright, essayist and literary critic. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation. In them, Lawrence confronts issues relating to emotional health and vitality, spontaneity, human sexuality and instinct. ([Source][1].) [1]:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._H._Lawrence

Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911. The main themes in his work are death and the meaning of life. His plays form an important part of the Symbolist movement.

Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual. His analysis and critique of the European and German soul used modernized German and Biblical stories, as well as the ideas of Goethe, Nietzsche, and Schopenhauer. His older brother was the radical writer Heinrich...

William Somerset Maugham was born at the British Embassy in Paris, France, where his father was an English lawyer handling the legal affairs of the British embassy. His mother died of tuberculosis while he was young, a death which traumatized him for life. Two years later, his father died of cancer, and he was sent to England to be cared for by his uncle, Henry MacDonald Maugham, the Vicar of Whitstable, in Kent. His uncle was cold and cruel, and the boarding school he attended, The King's Sc...

Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist and poet who is often classified as part of dark romanticism. He is best known for his novel Moby Dick and novella Billy Budd, the latter of which was published posthumously. ([Source][1].) [1]:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Melville

Danish writer and communist.

Luigi Pirandello was an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his almost magical power to turn psychological analysis into good theatre." Pirandello's works include novels, hundreds of short stories, and about 40 plays, some of which are written in Sicilian. Pirandello's tragic farces are often seen as forerunners of the Theatre of the Absurd.

Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction.[1] He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in...

Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust était un romancier, critique littéraire et essayiste français surtout connu pour son roman À la recherche du temps perdu, publié en sept volumes entre 1913 et 1927. Il est considéré par les critiques et les écrivains comme l'un des auteurs les plus influents du XXe siècle. ---------- Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, literary critic, and essayist best known for his novel À la recherche du temps perdu (tra...

A French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, existentialism, and Marxism, and his work continues to influence fields such as Marxist philosophy, sociology, and literary studies.

An Irish playwright.

Secondino Tranquilli (1 May 1900 – 22 August 1978), known by the pseudonym Ignazio Silone), was an Italian political leader, novelist, and short-story writer, world-famous during World War II for his powerful anti-fascist novels. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature ten times.

Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as Treasure Island, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Kidnapped and A Child's Garden of Verses.

Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of "Gitanjali" and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse" (The Nobel Foundation), he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature.

An English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.

Лев Николаевич Толстой (9 сентября 1828 – 20 ноября 1910) – русский писатель. Он считается одним из величайших и самых влиятельных авторов всех времён. Среди наиболее известных произведений Толстого – романы «Война и мир» (1869) и «Анна Каренина» (1878), которые часто называют вершинами реалистической прозы и двумя величайшими книгами всех времён. ---------- Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Russian: Лев Николаевич Толстой, 9 September 1828 – 20 November 1910), usually referred to in English a...

Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (Russian: Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́нев) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, translator and popularizer of Russian literature in the West. His first major publication, a short story collection titled A Sportsman's Sketches (1852), was a milestone of Russian realism. His novel Fathers and Sons (1862) is regarded as one of the major works of 19th-century fiction.

Mark Twain, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was a prolific American author and humorist. Twain is best known for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), which has been called "the Great American Novel", and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). He is extensively quoted. Twain was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty. ([Source][1].) [1]:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Twain

Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo (Bilbao, 29 de septiembre de 1864 - Salamanca, 31 de diciembre de 1936) fue un escritor y filósofo español perteneciente a la generación del 98. En su obra cultivó gran variedad de géneros literarios, incluyendo novela, ensayo, teatro y poesía. Rector de la Universidad de Salamanca a lo largo de tres periodos, también fue diputado de las Cortes constituyentes de la Segunda República, de la que se fue distanciando hasta el punto de secundar la sublevación militar que dio...

Walt Whitman was an American poet, essayist, journalist, and humanist. He was a part of the transition between Transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse.[1] His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality. ([Source][1].) [1]:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal...

An Irish writer, poet, and prominent aesthete. Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish playwright, poet, and author of numerous short stories, and one novel. Known for his biting wit, and a plentitude of aphorisms, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. Several of his plays continue to be widely performed, especially The Importance of Being Earnest. As the result of a widely covered ser...

Virginia Woolf was an English novelist, essayist, diarist, epistler, publisher, feminist, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century. ([Source][1].) [Comment from Ursula Le Guin on The Guardian][2]: > You can't write science fiction well if you haven't read it, though not all who try to write it know this. But nor can you write it well if you haven't read anything else. Genre is a rich dialect, in which you can say cer...

Irish poet, dramatist, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. In 1923, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for what the Nobel Committee described as "inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation."

Charles Neider curated a fantastic collection of "Great Short Stories of the Masters," showcasing some of the best in the genre. He had a knack for bringing together powerful narratives from across different authors.