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  • It is 152 years today since Bertrand Russell was born.

    The British philosopher and author Bertrand Arthur William Russel was born in Trelleck, Monmouthshire, Wales, to an aristocratic family that included the former Prime Minister Lord John Russell. His parents were liberal and advocated, among other things, the emancipation of women. Although his godfather was John Stuart Mill, the boy was brought up by his Presbyterian grandmother after he was...

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  • It is 80 years today since W.G. Sebald was born.

    Winfried Georg (W.G.) Sebald was born near the end of the Second World War in the Bavarian mountain village of Wertach where his mother had moved to get away from the bombing of the town of Bamberg. His parents, Rosa and Georg, had three children. His father, an officer of the Wehrmacht who had participated in the invasion of Poland, was a prisoner of war until 1947, but mentioning the war was...

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Sample of Authors

Författarporträtt av Seifert, Jaroslav

Seifert, Jaroslav
1901 - 1986

The Czech poet Jaroslav Seifert was born in the deprived working class district of Zizkov in Prague. He joined the...

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Författarporträtt av Gautier, Théophile

Gautier, Théophile
1811 - 1872

French author and critic born in Tarbes, Hautes-Pyrénées, to a family originally from Provence. His father was a minor g...

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Portrait of Seamus Heaney

Heaney, Seamus
1939 - 2013

The Irish poet, essayist and translator Seamus Justin Heaney was born at Mossbawn Farm near Castledawson, County Derry,...

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Portrait image of Deborah Levy

Levy, Deborah
1959 -

The British playwright and novelist Deborah Levy was born in South Africa. Her father, a Jewish historian who was a friend...

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