As an editor for St. Nicholas Magazine, Mrs. Mapes was in charge of it becoming one of the most successful children magazines in the late 1800s

Alexander Woollcott (19 January, 1887 – 23 January, 1943) was a critic and commentator, as well as a member of the Algonquin Round Table. The Algonquin Round Table was a group of writers and actors from New York City which met for lunch at the Algonquin Hotel from 1919 until 1929 or so and inspired each other creatively. 1) The author was born in Colts Neck Township, NJ to a father who drifted through several jobs spending a long time away from his family. 2) He attended high school in Philadelphia, PA. 3) At college Mr. Woollcott founded a drama group, and was the editor of the student literary magazine. 4) In 1909 Mr. Woollcott joined the New York Times as a cub reporter. 5) A day after World War I was declared, Mr. Woollcott volunteered as a private to the medical corps. The intelligence section of the American Expeditionary Forces chose, by now, Sgt. Woollcott to be among the other six or so men who will create the Stars and Stripes. 6) As the chief reporter, Mr. Woollcott did not just write propaganda, but also the horrors of the Great War. 7) After the war, Mr. Woollcott returned to the Times, then to the New York Herald…

Jack London (12 January, 1876 – 22 November 1916) was an American writer and journalist. Some of his most famous works are White Fang and The Call of the Wild. Books by Jack London* 1) He was born as John Griffith London in San Francisco, to Flora Wellman, an unwedded woman of wealthy means. Flora later married John London, a disabled Civil War Veteran. 2) Young Jack was raised by Virginia Prentiss, an ex-slave who was a major maternal figure throughout his life. 3) After moving around and working a bunch of jobs, Jack, a prolific reader, decided that writing would be his best chance to escape the miserable future of being a factory worker. 4) Mr. London became a very disciplined writer, producing over fifty volumes of novels, essays, and short stories. 5) London’s stories about Polynesian and Melanesian cultures were instrumental in popularizing Hawaii as a tourist spot by breaking the taboo over leprosy. 6) As a famous writer, Mr. London used his celebrity to endorse social causes dear to him which included women’s suffrage, socialism, and prohibition. Later he used his celebrity to endorse commercial products. 7) As a supporter of women’s suffrage and prohibition, it is ironic that a caricature of the author…

Mr. Eco said that social media “gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community […] but now they

Robert Ruark (29 December, 1915 – 1 July, 1965) was an American author, columnist and hunter who wrote about his experiences. Image from https://www.africahunting.com/ Books by Robert Ruark* 1) Born in Wilmington, NC the family was hit hard by the Great Depression, but still managed to send the author to college, at age 15. 2) Contrary to popular belief, the author did not graduate with a degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He did take a lot of journalism classes, and did graduate. 3) In 1936 Mr. Ruark moved to Washington DC and was hired as a copy boy for The Washington Daily News. Within a few months, he became the paper’s top sports reporter. 4) Serving in the US Navy during World War II, Mr. Ruark was an ensign and served ten months as a gunnery officer. 5) Mr. Ruark’s newspaper columns were collected into two books, I Didn’t Know It Was Loaded (1948) and One for the Road (1949). 6) Being a successful writer allowed the author to fulfill a lifelong wish and go on a safari to Africa. During his trip he was paired with a guide named Harry Selby because…

Charles Stuart Calverley (22 December 1831 – 27 February, 1884) was an English poet and writer, considered one of the most brilliant man of his time. 1) He was born as Charles Stuart Blayds in Worcestershire. 2) When he went to Oxford, Mr. Calverley was known as a daring and high-spirited student. 3) He was also known for concentrating more on his social life than academic career. 4) A story is told about Mr. Calverley winning Oxford’s Chancellor’s prize for Latin verse. It is said he was locked in his rooms for an entire afternoon, not letting him out until he write a poem they all agreed would win the prize. 5) Eventually though, this favorite student and a brilliant scholar was expelled from Oxford. 6) After his expulsion, he changed his last name to Calverley (his grandfather changed it to Blayds, but Charles and his father changed it back) to avoid consequences and finished his schooling at Christ’s College, Cambridge. 7) To this day, Mr. Calverley is the only undergraduate to win the Chancellor’s prize for Latin verse in both universities. 8) He won the Craven scholarship in 1854, the Camden medal in 1853 and 1855, the Browne medal (Greek ode) in 1855, and the members’ prize…

Betty Smith (15 December, 1896 – 17 January, 1972) was an American author best known for her book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Books by Betty Smith* 1) The author was born in Brooklyn, NY as the eldest of three children as Elisabeth Wehner. 2) As a child, she loved the public library on Leonard Street. 3) Mrs. Smith was made to quit school to help support her family. 4) She met her husband, George H. E. Smith, a debate team coach, when working at a social service center on Jackson Street called the School Settlement Association. 5) The couple moved to Queens, and eventually to Ann Arbor, MI. 6) After raising their two girls, Mrs. Smith attended the University of Michigan even though she never finished high school. 7) At the university, she won the Avery Hopwood Award. 8) In 1938, the divorced author moved to Chapel Hill, NC and in 1943 married her second husband, Joseph Jones. 9) Her famous book, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, was published in 1943 as well. 10) During her long career, Mrs. Smith received many awards and fellowships for her work in drama. Books by Betty Smith* Zohar – Man of LA…

Rex Stout (1 December, 1886 – 27 October, 1975) was an American writer, most notable for detective fiction. Mr. Stout’s books about Nero Wolf and Archie Goodwin (Wolf’s assistant), were his biggest sellers. Books by Rex Stout* 1) Born in Noblesville, IN to a family of Quakers with nine children. The family moved to Kansas shortly after his birth. 2) At age 13, Mr. Stout became the state spelling bee champion. 3) From 1906 to 1908 Mr. Stout served in the US Army, including a stint as a yeoman on the presidential yacht of Theodore Roosevelt. 4) Between 1912 and 1918, Mr. Stout published approximately 40 fictional stories in various magazines (mostly pulp). 5) He helped to found Vanguard Press, a publishing company, which published his first book How Like A God. 6) The book which introduced Nero Wolf to the world, Fer-de-Lance, was originally published in 1934 in The American Magazine (in an abridged version). 7) Another contribution of Mr. Stout to detective fiction was Theodolinda “Dol” Bonner, a female PI and a fictional literary protagonist. 8) Mr. Stout received the Mystery Writers of America’s Grand Master award in 1959. 9) At Bouchercon XXXI, the world’s largest mystery convention, Mr. Stout was nominated as Best Mystery Writer of the Century and…

The book is much darker than the 1940 Disney adaptation, in the novel Pinocchio gets hanged and stabbed by assassins – and that’s before you reach the half way mark. Mr. Collodi intended to finish the novel with the characters miserable death, the happy ending seems like and afterthought.

Shelby Foote (17 November, 1916 – 27 June, 2005) was an American historian and novelist known for his landmark work on the American Civil War.