Top Ten Most Famous Authors

Dombey and Son - A powerful tragedy of a distant, cold businessman who comes to realize too late the value of his worthy daughter, Florence, after the death of his beloved son, Paul – Dickens’s most famous death scene after that of the famous Little Nell of The Old Curiosity Shop.

Stephen King Biography - Stephen Edwin King is an American author of suspense, horror, sci-fi and fantasy books. He was born on 21st September 1947 in Portland, Maine. His father Donald King was a sea merchant and mother Nellie Ruth was a housewife. His father abandoned the family when he was little. After that the family decided to settle

Ernest Miller Hemingway; one of the most renowned author and journalist of this era, was born on the 21st of July 1899 in Oak Park, Chicago, USA.

William Shakespeare is regarded by many as the greatest dramatist of all times. An Englishman, Shakespeare was also a poet and an actor. His works such as Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet hold a significant place in world literature and occupy a major part of literary academics.

Joanne Rowling, CH, OBE, FRSL, FRCPE (/ ˈ r oʊ l ɪ ŋ / "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), writing under the pen names J. K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith, is a British novelist, philanthropist, film producer, television producer and screenwriter best known for writing the Harry Potter fantasy series.

William Faulkner Biography - The Noble Prize winner American Writer, William Faulkner has written many critically acclaimed short stories, plays, screenplays, essays and novels.

Born James Augustine Aloysius Joyce on February 2, 1882 in Dublin, Ireland, Joyce was one of the most revered writers of the 20th century, whose landmark book, Ulysses, is often hailed as one of the finest novels ever written.

Woolf is the author of well known books including Mrs Dalloway(1925), To the Lighthouse (1927) and Orlando (1928) but her most famous work is the book-length essay A Room of One’s Own (1929). The extensive essay, A Room of One’s Own is an evidence of Virginia’s feminist nature.

George Orwell, particularly known as a novelist was an avid follower of politics who voiced his intense dislike against totalitarianism through his most famed works Animal farm (1945) and 1984 (1949).

Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens on November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri. He was the sixth child of John Marshall Clemens, a judge and Jane Lampton who had no idea they had become parents to what would be one of the most famous personalities in America.

Fyodor Dostoevsky is one of the most famous names in world literature. Author of eleven novels, some of which are among the most acclaimed in history, Dostoevsky has been praised for his superb grasp of psychology and his interest in both philosophical and religious themes.

Oscar Wilde Biography - The Irish writer and poet, Oscar Wilde is best known for writing The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), a dark and sardonic novel which was the topic of much controversy at its time.

Leo Tolstoy Biography - Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian author best known for his novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina which are considered to be the greatest novels of realist fiction. Tolstoy is also regarded as world’s best novelist by many. In addition to writing novels, Tolstoy also authored short stories, essays and plays.

Jane Austen was a major English novelist and an iconic figure of the world literature. She is best known for portraying the romantic lives of the middle class English people. Her excellence in writing social commentary and realistic situations earned her the privilege of being the most widely read authors of English literature.

J. R. R. Tolkien Biography - J. R. R. Tolkien is the wildly imaginative author of The Lord of The Rings fame. One of the greatest writers of the 20th century, Tolkien’s talents were not limited to writing novels, he was also a poet, philologist, scholar and university professor.

Agatha Christie is reputably known throughout the world as the “Queen of Crime”. The Guinness Book of Records cites her as the second best-selling author of all time, after William Shakespeare. She also has the honor of being the most widely translated author.

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (known as F. Scott Fitzgerald) was a short story writer and novelist considered one of the pre-eminent authors in the history of American literature due almost entirely to the enormous posthumous success of his third book, The Great Gatsby.

GEORGE R.R. MARTIN. ... In 2014, Saunders—one of the most famous short story writers of our time—detailed some of his favorite books for Oprah Winfrey's O magazine.

Herman Melville Biography - In addition to writing many sea novels, Herman Melville is the best known author of the highly acclaimed American novel, Moby Dick (1851). It is quite unfortunate how the masterpiece was given due recognition 30 years after the death of its author. However, during his lifetime, Herman Melville became popular for

Susan Shillinglaw is professor of English at San Jose State, former director of the SJSU Steinbeck Center, Scholar in Residence at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, and author of the recently published On Reading “The Grapes of Wrath” (Penguin 2014) and Carol and John Steinbeck: Portrait of a Marriage (Nevada, 2013).

He considers C. S. Lewis a negative influence and has accused Lewis of featuring religious propaganda, misogyny, racism, and emotional sadism in his books. Authors of adult fantasy literature such as Tim Powers have also testified to being influenced by Lewis's work.

Franz Kafka Biography - Franz Kafka is ranked by many critics as one of the best and culturally influential author of 20th century. Born on July the 3rd in the year 1883 Kafka belonged to a German speaking Jewish middle class family. His birth house in Prague, Bohemia, now the Czech Republic; holds permanent exhibition dedicated to Kafka.

Roald Dahl was a British novelist, writer of short stories, screen writer and fighter pilot. He was born in Wales in 13th September 1916. Before writing he also served in the Air Force and fought in the World War two.

Theodor Seuss Geisel, known to the world as Dr. Seuss was born on 2nd of March 1904 in Howard Street, Springfield, Massachusetts. He is widely recognized for his contribution as a writer, poet and cartoonist. He wrote 46 books for children mainly based on imaginative characters and rhymes. His work has also been adopted into many television specials, feature films and television series.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born on January 29th in the year 1860, in the small seaport of Taganrog, Ukraine. He is regarded as one of Russia’s most cherished story tellers. He has produced some hilarious one-acts, but his tragic stories have gained him the name of being one of the major dramatists.

Kurt Vonnegut Biography - One of the most influential American writers and novelists of the 20th century, Kurt Vonnegut is best known for writing Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), Cat's Cradle (1963), and Breakfast of Champions (1973).

The scientific author, Jules Verne is still remembered for his much celebrated works such as Around the World in Eighty Days (1873), Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1869). Jules Gabriel Verne was born in Nantes, Pays de la Loire, France on February 8, 1828.

Vladimir Nabokov The Russian born Vladimir Nabokov was one of the most ingenious authors of the 20th century who is known for his originality and accomplishment as a writer. An experimental novelist, Nabokov often played with various forms of novel composition.

Lewis Carroll Biography - Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was the exceptionally talented creator of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. In addition to being an author, Dodgson also possessed qualities of a logician, mathematician, Anglican deacon and photographer.

Edgar Allan Poe Biography - Edgar Allan Poe regarded as the father of modern detective story, was an American poet, author and literary critic. He was born on 19th January 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. His contribution in the genre of science fiction and horror won him great recognition and appreciation during his lifetime and after his death.

Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust, known as Marcel Proust, was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental novel À la recherche du temps perdu, published in seven parts between 1913 and 1927. He is considered by critics and writers to be one of the most influential authors of the 20th century.

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri was born in Florence in the year of 1265. He is regarded as one of the most significant Italian poets and also one of the most brilliant writers of ancient European medieval times.

H. G. Wells Biography - The English author, Herbert George Wells, also commonly referred to as the father of science fiction. In addition to writing a lot of science fiction works, Wells also produced other numerous literary works under many other genres including history, social commentary, politics and contemporary novels and text books.

Miguel De Cervantes Biography - One of the most famous figures in Spanish literature, Miguel De Cervantes was a poet, playwright, novelist and the creator of Don Quixote from Don Quixote de la Mancha, an unforgettable character of Spanish literature.

Mary Anne Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively "Mary Ann" or "Marian"), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era.

Albert Camus was born in 1913 and was a chief literary figure in non-metropolitan French Literature. In addition, he was also a journalist and regarded as a keen philosopher of the 20th century. His origins lied in Algeria, and there are major influences in his thoughts and work from there.

J.D. Salinger Famous not only for his writing but also for his private nature, J.D. Salinger is the author of the famous 1951 novel, The Catcher in the Rye. The autobiographic nature of the novel became the voice of a whole generation of young men wedged in frustration over the conventions of society.

Gustave Flaubert was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. He is known especially for his debut novel Madame Bovary, his Correspondence, and his scrupulous devotion to his style and aesthetics. The celebrated short story writer Guy de Maupassant was a protégé of Flaubert.

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe An iconic figure of the German Romanticism, Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany on August 28, 1749. The multi talented Goethe, in addition to being a writer was also a theoretical physicist, biologist, polymath, pictorial artist and statesman.

Gabriel García Márquez Biography - Gabriel García Márquez is a Columbian novelist, screenwriter and journalist, born on 6th March 1927 in a small town called Aracataca, Columbia. He was mainly raised by his grandfather ‘papalelo’ who was a retired army Colonel whom Marquez called his ‘umbilical cord with history and reality’. The Colonel was a big

Although there has been a great deal of controversy about the question whether Homer alone wrote the two famous poems, much of the evidence points towards Homer being the author due to the consistent style of writing. Also some analysts argue that Homer may have written one of the poems but not the other since both differ greatly in style.

John Grisham A lawyer by profession and an author by fame, John Grisham is the brilliant American writer of numerous novels best known for his legal thrillers. He was born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas to parents who were never formally educated but encouraged their son to pursue an education and prepare himself for college.

The creator of the famous character of psychologist Alex Cross, James Patterson is the accomplished American author of not only thriller novels but also romance and non-fiction works. Patterson spent most of his working life in advertising before establishing a career in writing.

Stephenie Meyer is the author of the most popular vampire-inspired series of books – the Twilight Saga. The series consists of a total of 4 books; “Twilight”, “New Moon”, “Eclipse” and “Breaking Dawn” which have sold more than a 100 million copies worldwide.

Toni Morrison Biography - The Noble Prize winning Toni Morrison is an American author, editor and professor who is best known for writing novels with epic themes, detailed characters and brilliant dialogue.

Riordan is author to five series which include Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, The 39 Clues Series, Tres Navarre Series and The Kane Chronicles. He is also written a standalone novel entitled Cold Springs which was published in 2004. Rick Riordan currently resides in San Antonio with his wife and their two sons.

Poet Geoffrey Chaucer was born circa 1340, most likely at his parents’ house on Thames Street in London, England. Chaucer’s family was of the bourgeois class, descended from an affluent family who made their money in the London wine trade. According to some sources, Chaucer’s father, John, carried on the family wine business.

Mary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, 1925 – August 3, 1964) was an American writer and essayist. She wrote two novels and thirty-two short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries. She was a Southern writer who often wrote in a sardonic Southern Gothic style and relied heavily on regional settings and supposedly grotesque characters, often in violent situations.

Robert Louis Stevenson Biography - The Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer, Robert Louis Stevenson was born on November 13, 1850 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is best known for his evergreen works Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Born to respectable middle class parents, Stevenson was an only child.

Michael Gorra's new critical biography, Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of an American Masterpiece, tells the story of how James' most popular and enduring novel, The Portrait of a Lady, came to be written; and of what happened to him because of it.

Other authors sometimes suggest additional influences—for instance, ... The Doctor and the Detective: A Biography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Minotaur Books.