Synopses & Reviews
Shakespeare wrote with a feather quill and ink; Emily Dickinson wrote with a fountain pen; Isaac Bashevis Singer wrote on a Yiddish typewriter. But what did such writers do when they weren't writing? What did Jane Austen eat for breakfast? What could make Mark Twain throw his shirts out the window? Why would Zora Neale Hurston punch a fellow elevator passenger? Lives of the Writers tells all that and more, including plenty about writing, how these writers viewed the world of literature--and how their neighbors viewed them. In this offering from the highly praised Lives Of . . . series, Kathleen Krull and Kathryn Hewitt offer the inside schoop on twenty literary luminaries. Even famous writers are real people with odd habits, secret hopes, dismal failures, and wild successes; Lives of the Writers reveals it all with wit and style.
Review
* and#8220;Thereand#8217;s enough substance here for a quick report or to enliven a longer one. . . . An irresistible package.and#8221;and#8212;School Library Journal, starred review
and#160;
and#8220;The stories Krull tells will be enough to whet readersand#8217; appetites for more biography and for the writersand#8217; actual works.and#8221;and#8212;Booklist
and#160;
"This compendium of brief biographies of literary luminaries is as much fun as a tete-a-tete with a gossipy friend. Krull knows exactly how to captivate her audience; she goes right for the juicy stuff, adding to historical fact the kind of chatty incidentals and amusing anecdotes that put flesh and blood on dry literary bones. . . .These exuberant thumbnail sketches are ably matched by Hewittand#8217;s sophisticated caricatures, which will delight sharp-eyed readers with their many visual references to particulars and oddities about each of the subjects. A must-have for the reference shelf.and#8221;and#8212;Publishers Weekly
and#160;
and#8220;Another colorful, enthralling excursion into our cultural heritage.and#8221;and#8212;Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
In a dynamic offering from the Lives of . . . series, Krull and Hewitt tell all in an assortment of brief biographies of some of literature's most famous and intriguing personas. Read all about the ins and outs of the daily lives of such characters as William Shakespeare, Louisa May Alcott, and Mark Twain in this irresistible installment of a much-loved series.
Synopsis
Shakespeare wrote with a feather quill and ink; Emily Dickinson wrote with a fountain pen; Isaac Bashevis Singer wrote on a Yiddish typewriter. But what did such writers do when they weren't writing? What did Jane Austen eat for breakfast? What could make Mark Twain throw his shirts out the window? Why would Zora Neale Hurston punch a fellow elevator passenger? Lives of the Writers tells all that and more.