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.

John P. Marquand (10 November, 1893 – 15 July, 1960 was an American writer and Pulitzer Prize winner. He is known for his spy stories featuring Mr. Moto. Books by John P. Marquand* 1) Mr. Marquand was born in Wilmington, DE but grew up in the Massachusetts. 2) He was the great-nephew of Margaret Fuller, a writer from the early 1800s who was an early advocate of women’s rights. She wrote the Woman in the Nineteenth Century which is considered the first major feminist work in the United States. 3) Mr. Marquand went to Newburyport High School in Massachusetts, living in town with his aunt in a crumbling mansion. 4) In high school, the future author was awarded a scholarship which allowed him attend Harvard College. 5) As a graduate of the public school system, he was an outsider during his college years. He was turned down by the Harvard Crimson, the college paper, but was on the editorial board for the Harvard Lampoon. After college he was hired by The Boston Evening Transcript. 6) During World War I, while in college, Mr. Marquand joined the Massachusetts National Guard, Battery A. 7) Mr. Marquand’s writings focused on American society and the class dilemma of New England. A satire of Boston’s…

Gustaf Tenggren (3 November, 1896 – 9 April, 1970) was an illustrator born in Sweden, but lived most of his life in the United States. 1) Born in Sweden, Mr. Tenggren got a painting scholarship to the art school in Gothenburg. 2) He was a successful illustrator specializing in Swedish folklore and fairy tales. 3) By 1920, after a successful first exhibition, Mr. Tenggren moved to Cleveland, Ohio with his sister. In 1922 he moved to New York City. 4) The early 1920s were the heyday of illustrated books and the talented Mr. Tenggren’s work was already appearing in published books. 5) He also did a lot of advertising work until the great depression. 6) In 1936, Mr. Tenggren was hired by Walt Disney Productions as chief illustrator on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. 7) As a concept artist he worked closely with the animators. He also illustrated many of the tie-ins to the film such as the serialized version of Snow White which was featured in two successive issues of Good Housekeeping Magazine before the film was released. He also worked on Bambi, Pinocchio, The Ugly Duckling and The Old Mill (backgrounds on the last two). 8) After…

Dylan Thomas (27 October, 1914 – 9 November, 1953) was a Welsh writer who is mainly known as a poet, including the famous “Do not go gentle into that good night”. Books by Dylan Thomas* 1) Born in Swansea, Wales as Dylan Marlais Thomas, he was an average student until the age of 16, when he left school to become a journalist. 2) The poet’s father was an teacher and called his son Dylan after the character Dylan ail Don, a character in The Mabinogion (12th – 13th century prose stories written in Middle Welsh). 3) During his time as a freelance journalist, Mr. Thomas wrote 200 poems (1930 – 1934). Of his 90 published poems, half were from that time. 4) He published many of his works while still in his teens. In 1934, the publication of “Light breaks where no sun shines” granted him literary attention. 5) Dylan Thomas married Caitlin Macnamara in 1937. Their relationship, defined and fueled by alcoholism, was mutually destructive. 6) Mr. Thomas was not able to join the British Army during World War II due to health issues., he fought to be classified as “grade III”, meaning he’ll be of the last ones to be called for service. He did however write scripts…

Art Buchwald (20 October, 1925 – 17 January, 2007) was an American writer best known for his humorist column in the Washington Post, which was syndicated in many other newspapers and a published more than 30 books. Books by Art Buchwald* 1) Mr. Buchwald was born in New York City and had a pretty rough childhood. The family’s curtain manufacturing business failed during the Great Depression and he was put in the Hebrew Orphan Asylum before moving through several foster homes. 2) The family eventually reunited but it seemed that the young man still had a tough time, he ran away from home at age 17, never finishing high-school. 3) He wanted join the Marines when World War II started, but was too young. Never to be underestimated, he bribed a drunk with half a pint of whiskey to sign as his legal guardian. He served for three years, two of them in the Pacific and was honorably discharged as a sergeant. 4) Even though he didn’t have a high school diploma, Mr. Buchwald was still enrolled in the University of Southern California, Los Angeles upon his return from the war on the G.I. Bill. Because he had not graduated high school he was…

By the age of 19, Mr. Richter was already working as the editor of a weekly newspaper. Among his other jobs were a private secretary, jobs in publishing, starting a magazine for young people and as a screen writer for MGM.