Writer Biographies

John Updike was born on March 18th, 1932 in Reading, Pennsylvania. His family later moved to Massachusetts. Updike attended Harvard University on a full scholarship; graduating magna cum laude in 1954 with a degree in English. While at Harvard, he wrote for the Harvard Lampoon. After graduating from Harvard, Updike attended the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art at Oxford University with dreams of becoming a cartoonist. However, writing seemed to be more attractive to him.

John Updike married Mary E. Pennington in 1953; she was a student at Radcliffe College. Their first child, Elizabeth, was born in 1955. They went on to have one more girl and two sons before divorcing in 1974. In 1977, Updike married Martha Ruggles Bernhard.

In 1954, Updike became writing for the New Yorker magazine. He was responsible for the Talk of the Town column; he also wrote poetry and short stories for the magazine. His first collection of poems (The Carpentered Hen) was published in 1958, followed by The Same Door in 1959. His first novel was Rabbit Run (1960). He went on to write five more Rabbit novels. Rabbit Run was chosen as one of Time Magazine’s All-time 100 greatest novels. The last two novels in the Rabbit series (Rabbit is Rich and Rabbit at Rest) won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature.

John Updike won many awards for his writing including; The National Book Award in 1964 and in 1982, the O Henry Prize in 1966 and 1991, and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction in 2004. He is one of the most celebrated American’s authors in history. Updike’s last novel was The Widows of Eastwick in 2008, a sequel to The Witches of Eastwick (1984).

John Updike died on January 27th, 2009 of lung cancer.

Louisa May Alcott / Wikipedia

Louisa May Alcott was born on November 29, 1832 in Germantown, Pennsylvania. She was the second oldest of the four daughters of Amos Bronson Alcott and Abigail May Alcott. The family moved to Boston, Massachusetts in 1834 where her father opened an experimental school based on his beliefs in Transcendentalism. The family later moved again, this time to Concord, Mass.

During her early years Alcott was exposed to and taught by such famous Massachusetts figures such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Nathaniel Hawthorne, who were all friends of her family.

Louisa May Alcott held many different jobs in her life to help support her family, including teacher, governess, maid and writer. Her first book of short stories, Flower Fables, was published in 1855. By 1860, she was a regular contributor to the Atlantic Monthly.

Little Women, the book Louisa May Alcott is most identified with, was published in 1868. It was originally published in two volumes and is a semi-autobiographical novel based on her childhood in Concord. She published two sequels to the work; Little Men (1871) and Jo’s Boys (1886). Alcott also published novels under the pseudonym of A. M. Barnard.

Louisa May Alcott never married; she died on March 6, 1888. She was buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts.

Princeton Press

Albert Camus was born on November 7, 1913 in Mondovi, Algeria. His father was killed in the Battle of the Marne less than a year later. While he grew up in poverty, Camus eventually made it to the University of Algiers. His studies were interrupted by a bout of tuberculosis which made him attend school on a part-time basis. Nevertheless, he graduated with his BA in 1935 and received the equivalent of his MA the next year. In 1934, he married Simone Hie, but the marriage was very short-lived. In 1940, he married Francine Faure; the couple had twins, Catherine and Jean. Camus did not believe in the concept of marriage and had many affairs.

Throughout his life, Camus was always deeply interested in politics. This led him to join the French Communist Party in 1935; he was eventually ousted in 1937 when he joined the Algerian People’s Party. He also began writing for many anarchist publications. During World War II, Camus joined the French Resistance. He had tried to join the army but was refused because of his tuberculosis. He wrote for the underground newspaper, Combat under the pen-name of Beauchard.

In 1947, Camus met and became friends with philosopher Jean Paul Sartre. The two had a falling out after Camus began criticizing Communism. Camus’ writing and philosophy have often been described as Existentialist but he did not accept such a label. However, his novel L’Etranger is often cited as an example of existentialist belief.

Albert Camus’ first novel, The Stranger (L’Etranger,) was published in 1942. That same year he also published a book of essays entitled The Myth of Sisyphus. His next two novels were The Plague (1947) and The Fall (1956). In addition to novels and essays, Camus also wrote plays and short stories.

Lourimarin Cemetery

In 1957, Camus was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature “”for his important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times.” His acceptance speech gives a good background into his beliefs about literature and society.

Albert Camus died on January 4th, 1960 in an automobile accident.

Kate Greenaway is one of the most popular children’s illustrators of all time. Her books still continue to sell and one of the most prestigious awards for illustrator’s is named after her.

Kate Greenaway was born on March 17, 1846 in London, England. She is best-known for writing and illustrating children’s books. Her father was a successful engraver and architect. She started her art education in 1858 and showed an early talent for drawing. In 1868, she had the first showing of her artworks.

Kate Greenaway illustrated her first book, The Fairy Gift by Katherine Knox in 1874. In 1877, she sold several pieces of her artwork. Her first solo project was Under the Window, published in 1879. It became a best-selling book. That was quickly followed by The Birthday Book. From 1883 to 1987 she published a series of Kate Greenaway Almanacs. She continued to illustrate the work of others and write her own.

In 1890, Kate Greenaway became a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours. Her last work, April Baby’s Book of Tunes was published in 1900. She remains a popular author today and one of the most prestigious literary awards for children’s book illustrators, the Kate Greenaway Award, is named after her.

Kate Greenaway died on November 6, 1901 of breast cancer. She was buried in Hampstead.

This article originally appeared on Bookstove, with illustrations from her books.

Beatrix Potter remains one of the most popular female children’s writers and illustrators. Her Peter Rabbit is an icon of childhood.

Beatrix Potter was born on July 28, 1866 in London, England. She is best-known as the writer and illustrator of children’s stories. She was home schooled by governesses yet became a well-known naturalist in her early years. She wrote and published several technical papers about lichens. The fact that she was a woman in Victorian England held her back from truly being recognized for her nature studies and drawings.

In 1900, Beatrix Potter wrote a letter to her former governess’ child that was profusely illustrated and contained the story of Peter Rabbit.  The letter got such positive praise from her governess that she re-wrote it in book form. It was published in 1902 as The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Mr. McGregor’s Garden. The book sold thousands of copies. This was followed by 22 more books such as The Tale of Tom Kitten and The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse which were similarly illustrated. Her last book, Wag by Wall, was published after her death.

In 1913, Beatrix Potter married William Heelis. They moved to the Lake District of England and settled at Hill Top Farm. She eventually became a well-respected farmer and breeder of Herdwich Sheep. She died on December 22, 1943 and left her lands to the National Trust. Her books and colourful illustrations remain popular with children and parents to this day.

This article, with illustrations from her work, was previously published on Socyberty