Anniversaries - April 2, 2020
It is 215 years today since H.C. Andersen was born.
Hans Christian Andersen is Denmark’s best-known author. Born in Odense on the island of Funen, he had an extraordinary writing career that went from working class boy to famous writer. His father was a "free" cobbler, that is to say he was not a member of the cobblers' guild. He fought against Napoleon, and when he returned a broken man Andersen's mother, a washing woman, was forced to provide f...
It is 180 years today since Émile Zola was born.
French author, born in Paris and raised in Aix-en-Provence. His father, who was Italian and a successful site engineer, died from pneumonia when Émile was only seven years old. His mother was then cheated of her inheritance and had to make great sacrifices for her son to get a good education. Émile, however, was not very successful in school. Nevertheless, during his early school years he beame f...
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Maeterlinck, Maurice
1862 - 1949
Maurice Maeterlinck was a playwright, poet and essayist born in Gent, Belgium. His father was a successful lawyer and Maeterlinck was destined to... Further reading
Gercke, Doris
1937 -
Doris Gercke is a German author of crime fiction born in Greifswald in the former East Germany. She grew up in a working class family that fled to... Further reading
Høeg, Peter
1957 -
The Danish author Peter Høeg was born in Copenhagen and grew up in the inner-city district of Christianshavn. His mother taught Greek and Latin in ... Further reading
Eriksson, Kjell
1953 -
The Swedish author and gardener Kjell Eriksson was born in Uppsala, Sweden and grew up in a working-class family on Ymergatan in the district of... Further reading