Literary Biography

Previo al enorme éxito internacional de sus libros, antes de que su nombre apareciera en el horizonte de lo que cierta crítica ahora llama “literatura mundial”, Roberto Bolaño perpetraba pequeños actos de subversión simbólica. Tras presenciar uno de éstos en la feria del libro de París en 2003, donde Bolaño pasaba como anónimo entre varios editores franceses, Oswaldo Zavala — autor de La guerra en las palabras — decidió hacer una exploración de la obra del autor chileno como un gran proyecto literario, donde lo “marginal” se oponía a la producción cultural “hegemónica”.

Written seven years before The Town and the City officially launched his writing career, The Sea Is My Brother marks the pivotal point at which Kerouac began laying the foundations for his pioneering method and signature style. The novel chronicles the misadventures of two seamen who at first seem different but are really two sides of the same coin: 27-year-old Wesley Martin, who “loved the sea with a strange, lonely love,” and William Everhart, an assistant professor of English at Columbia College.

Dylan Thomas wrote "A Child's Christmas in Wales" in 1955, in which he recreated the atmosphere of Christmas Past as he remembered it. Each one of us will have similar memories of the glitter and the emotions of this time of innocence, plenty, fun, anticipation, and excitement.

What if the world’s most beloved children’s author was quietly teaching millions of kids to question everything? Behind the Hat isn’t a takedown. It’s a deep dive. Into the life, legacy, and low-key rebellion of Dr. Seuss — a man who went from drawing war propaganda to writing bedtime stories about revolution, empathy, and resistance. From Horton to Yertle, Sneetches to the Cat, this book explores the hidden messages, strange contradictions, and unexpected fire hiding in the stripes. If you grew up on Seuss, this might rewire how you see him. If you didn’t — buckle in.

In 1995, on a four-hour-delayed train from Manchester to London, J. K. Rowling conceived of the idea of a boy wizard named Harry Potter. Upon arriving in London, she began immediately writing the first book in the saga. Rowling's true-life, rags-to-riches story is as compelling as the world of Hogwarts that she created. This biography details not only Rowling's life and her love of literature but the story behind the creation of a modern classic.

"We are all travelers in the 'wilderness of the world' - travelers with a donkey." So Robert Louis Stevenson wrote to a friend on completing this enchanting account of a journey in rural France in 1878. Alone with his pack-donkey Modestine, and showing total disregard for discomfort, Stevenson relishes to the full his walking tour of the Cevennes.

Every great author started out as a kid. Before the best sellers, fan clubs, and beloved stories we know today, the world's most celebrated writers had regular-kid problems just like you. Sam Clemens (aka Mark Twain) loved to skip school and make mischief, with his best friend Tom, of course! A young J. R. R. Tolkien was bitten by a huge tarantula - or as he called it, "a spider as big as a dragon." Toddler Zora Neale Hurston took her first steps when a wild hog entered her house and started chasing her!

حكاياتٌ عن أعظم شعراء العربية، وقصص يسردها الأديب الكبير طه حسين كأنه يجلس أمامك. مناقشة الجانب الفني لشعراء الجاهلية، مع شرح وتحليل قصائدهم. ويختتم كتابه بمراسلات جرت بينه وبين عدد من أدباء عصره حول قضايا أدبية ونقدية كثيرة. فاستمع الآن

This highly enjoyable account of the life of Jane Austen is regarded as the classic biography of one of the greatest English novelists. It illustrates not only the character and opinions of an unusually perceptive and gifted woman, but also the social life amonst the county gentry of Georgian England. Outside her writing, Jane Austen's main interest was her large and affectionate family and their circle of friends.

James Baldwin (1924–1987) was a pivotal figure of the twentieth century, an influential author, intellectual, and activist who led a celebrated public life—and whose words and image and persona remain current in our culture. Baldwin's many incarnations have reemerged in the digital age as Baldwin's work becomes a touchstone for a new generation. It is the private, vulnerable, and messier Baldwin—the man behind the prophet and the online meme—who is the focus of this book.

Tess Chakkalakal gives listeners the first comprehensive biography of Charles W. Chesnutt. A complex and talented man, Chesnutt was born in 1858 in Cleveland to parents who were considered "mixed race." Though light-skinned, Chesnutt remained a member of the black community throughout his life. He studied among students at the State Colored Normal School who were formerly enslaved. He became a teacher in rural North Carolina during Reconstruction. His life in the South of those years, the issue of race, and how he himself identified as Black informed much of his later writing.

"We all need a hero or two to help us stand fast and think right," says William J. Bennett, author of The Book of Virtues, the #1 best seller that millions of American families turn to for moral inspiration. A new treasury chosen for young children, presents splendid tales of the valor and indomitable spirit.

Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl is more than a historical document—it is a timeless exploration of the human spirit, capturing resilience, hope, and the complexities of identity in the face of unimaginable adversity. This in-depth analysis examines Anne’s personal journey during her two years in hiding, revealing the universal struggles of adolescence, the moral implications of war, and the enduring power of her words. Through her vivid reflections, Anne grapples with themes of self-discovery, family dynamics, and the search for meaning in a world torn apart by hatred and intolerance.

John Clellon Holmes met Jack Kerouac on a hot New York City weekend in 1948, and until the end of Kerouac's life they were—in Holmes's words—"Brother Souls." Late one night as they sat talking, Kerouac spontaneously created the term "Beat Generation" to describe this new attitude they felt stirring around them. Brother-Souls: John Clellon Holmes, Jack Kerouac, and the Beat Generation is the remarkable chronicle of this cornerstone friendship and the life of John Clellon Holmes.

In 1914 collisions between motor cars and horse-drawn carriages are an everyday occurrence on the streets of Paterson, New Jersey. But when an out-of-control driver smashes into a buggy driven by Constance, Norma, and Fleurette Kopp, their lives change forever. Constance, the oldest, demands payment for the damages but quickly realizes that she is dealing with a madman.

This new edition provides extensive commentary on the literary figures, such as Baudelaire, Swinburne, J.K. Huysmans, Mallarmé, Arthur Symons and Théophile Gautier, who formed Wilde's literary circle and, in some senses, underpinned his overconfidence in the shield of Art to protect him from the sword of social morality. Returning to this contemporary account of such an infamous trial allows the modern listener a broader historical perspective. Grolleau’s words are, in fact, part of the history surrounding the immediate literary and social aftermath of Wilde’s death.

Moody and restless, teenage Louisa longed for freedom. Faced with the expectations of her loving but hapless family, the Alcotts, and of 19th-century New England society, she struggled to find her place. On long meandering runs through the woods behind Orchard House, she thought about a future where she could write and think and dream. Undaunted by periods of abject poverty and enriched by friendships with some of the greatest minds of her time and place, she was determined to have this future, no matter the cost.

Presented here is Volume III of our Feminist Literary Classics series, featuring three of the most important feminist novels ever written: Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf, O Pioneers! by Willa Cather and So Big by Edna Ferber. The first book in this collection is Orlando: A Biography, a groundbreaking English novel by Virginia Woolf that explores English history, gender roles and sexual politics in a way few books have before or since.

In this unusual biography Krystal gives us not only the peripatetic and turbulent life of a cultural icon but also the intellectual sweep of a period in history that created our modern America. Some Unfinished Chaos delivers a nuanced portrait of a man whose various sides embodied the trends, passions, and pursuits of the imperfect society that both glorified and dismissed him.

Roald Dahl, el gran autor de literatura infantil, narra en Volando solo los acontecimientos más fascinantes de su vida. La vida de Roald Dahl estuvo siempre marcada por las ansias de aventuras, en este libro recogió algunos de los acontecimientos más emocionantes de su vida: las increíbles experiencias como piloto de combate en la Segunda Guerra Mundial, el placer de volar, la camaradería en tiempos difíciles y la exótica belleza de sus viajes por África.