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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
O'Neill, Eugene
1888 - 1953
The American playwright Eugene O'Neill, the son of actors James O'Neill and Ella Quinlan, was born in a Manhattan hotel....
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Dürrenmatt, Friedrich
1921 - 1990
Friedrich Dürrenmatt was a German-language, Swiss author, playwright and social critic. He was born in the town of Stalden ...
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Ball, Hugo
1886 - 1927
Hugo Ball was born in Pirmasens, Germany, to Catholic parents who were as poor as they were pious. He wanted to study, but...
Further reading
Dexter, Colin
1930 - 2017
The British crime writer Colin Dexter grew up in Stamford, Lincolnshire. After completing his military service in 1950, he...
Further reading