Nevil Shute Norway was born on the 17th of January, 1899 and died on the 12th of January, 1960. He was an English-Australian novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in Australia. He used his full name in his engineering career and ‘Nevil Shute’ as his pen name for his novels including On the Beach and A Town Like Alice.
Three of his novels were featured in the ‘Modern Library 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century’: A Town Like Alice at number 17, Trustee from the Toolroom at 27, and On the Beach at 56. Other notable dedications to Shute are two streets in Hampshire, UK that were named for him, as was one in Victoria, Australia.
After studying French for his degree at Oxford, Fowles taught English, first at The University of Poitiers in France and then on the Greek island of Spetsai. It was his time on this island that gave him the inspiration for his first novel “The Magus”. Read More
Chandler is considered the founder for his type of American detective genre, and is still an inspirational and influential author.
Novelist and Commentator Ahdaf Soueif was born in Egypt on 23rd March 1950. She has since spent her life living between England and Egypt.
When Soueif first came to England at the age of four, it was with her Mother who was studying for her PHD in English Literature. She spent these early years surrounded by her Mother’s extensive library of English classics and world literature in translation. She believes this early introduction to reading, is why she writes her novels in English.
Ahdaf Soueif was the first Muslim woman to be shortlisted for the Booker prize for her novel “The Map of Love” (US – UK). Her work has been translated into 21 languages and sold over a million copies worldwide. Read More
Roth’s work, influenced by the likes of John Updike, William Faulkner and Franz Kafka, is mainly semi-autobiographical and set in his birthplace, Newark, New Jersey.
One of the most awarded novelists of his generation, Roth won the Pulitzer Prize in 1997 for his novel American Pastoral (US – UK). This has since been made in to a film starring Ewan McGregor, Jennifer Connelly and Dakota Fanning, joining the list of seven of his other works that have also been adapted for the big screen. Read More
