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It is 184 years today since Thomas Hardy was born.
The English author Thomas Hardy was born in Stinsford near Dorchester in Dorset, the son of a stonemason and local builder. Hardy trained as an architect before moving to London when he was twenty-two years old. He returned to Dorset where he began to write his first novel. Hardy was interested in the writings of Charles Darwin and in naturalism. During his long life he became famous for his...
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It is 111 years today since Barbara Pym was born.
Barbara Mary Crampton Pym was born in Oswestry, Shropshire, near the Welsh border where she grew up with her younger sister Hilary. Her father was a lawyer and her mother the organist in the local church. Many of the vicars and lay clergy that visited their home later turned up in Pym's books. She was privately educated, first at a girl's school and later at boarding school. After reading...
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It is 75 years today since Ingrid Hedström was born.
TThe Swedish journalist and author Ingrid Hedström were born in Söderhamn in the central Swedish province of Hälsingland, and then moved to Avesta in nearby Dalarna when she was five years old. She is said to be one of the 1960’s so-called "welfare-state princesses", meaning that she was the first in her family to graduate from high school. She completed her final exam at Avesta Grammar School in...
Sample of Authors
Hawkins, Paula
1972 -
Paula Hawkins grew up in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe). Her father was an economics professor and journalist....
Further reading
Villar, Domingo
1971 -
Domingo Villar is a Spanish novelist born in Vigo, Galicia. He now lives in Madrid where hosts a radio show about food....
Further reading
Kemal, Yasar
1923 - 2015
The Turkish novelist and short story writer Yasar Kemal was born as Kemal Sadik Gökceli in the village of Hemite near Adana ...
Further reading
Lenz, Siegfried
1926 - 2014
Siegfried Lenz, known for his strong social critique, is among the foremost German post-war authors alongside Heinrich...
Further reading