Famous Writers
William Shakespeare (1564- 1616) English poet and playwright. Famous works include Macbeth,
Romeo and Juliet, Merchant of Venice and Hamlet
George Orwell (1903 – 1950) - English author. Famous works include Animal Farm, and 1984. Both
stark warnings about the dangers of totalitarian states.
J.R.R. Tolkien (1892 – 1973) Best selling English author who wrote the Lord of the Rings, The
Hobbit and The Silmarillion.
Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870) English writer and social critic. Best known works include novels
such as Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and A Christmas Carol
Ernest Hemingway ( 1899 – 1961) Ground breaking modernist American writer. Famous works
include For Whom The Bell Tolls and A Farewell to Arms.
Jane Austen (1775 – 1817) English author who wrote romantic fiction combined with social realism.
Her novels include: Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Emma (1816),
John Steinbeck (1902 – 1968) American writer, who captured the social change experience in the
US around the time of the Great Depression. Famous works include - Of Mice and Men, The
Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden.
Mark Twain. American writer and humourist, considered the 'father of American literature'.
Famous works include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
(1885)
Virginia Woolf (1882 – 28 March 1941) English modernist writer, member of Bloomsbury group.
Famous novels include: Mrs Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927) and Orlando (1928),
Emily Bronte (1818 – 1848) One of the Bronte sisters, Emily is best known for her novel
Wuthering Heights, and her poetry.
Agatha Christie (1890 – 1976) British crime writer. Many of books focused on series featuring
detectives 'Poirot' and Mrs Marple.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 – 7 July 1930) Author of historical novels and plays. But, famous for
his short stories about Sherlock Holmes, such as The Hound of the Baskervilles.
George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950) Irish playwright and wit. Famous works include: Pygmalion
(1912), Man and Superman (1903) and Back to Methuselah (1921)
J.K.Rowling (1965 - ) British author of the Harry Potter Series - one of best selling books of all time.
C.S. Lewis ( 1898 – 1963) Irish / English author, best known for The Chronicles of
Narnia, a children's fantasy series. Also well known as a Christian apologist.
Roald Dahl (1916 – 1990) English author, best known for his children's books, such as Willy Wonka
and the Chocolate Factory, James and The Giant Peach and The BFG
Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) Oxford mathematician and author. Famous for Alice in Wonderland,
Through the Looking Glass, and poems like The Snark
John Keats (1795 – 1821) English Romantic Poet, best known for his Odes, such as Ode to a
Nightingale, Endymion
Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886) American female poet. Led secluded lifestyle, and left legacy of many
short vivid poems, often on themes of death and immortality.
William Blake (1757 –1827) English romantic poet, wrote Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience
William Wordsworth (1770 – 1850) English romantic poet from Lake District, many poems related to
natures, such as his Lyrical Ballads
Lord Byron (1788 – 1824) English romantic poet. Works include Don Juan
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 – 8 July 1822) English romantic poet. Famous works include Queen Mab
and Prometheus Unbound
Robert Burns (1759 – 1796) Scottish romantic poet often based on traditional folk songs.
Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900) - Irish writer and poet. Wilde wrote humorous satirical plays, such as The
Importance of Being Earnest' and 'The Picture of Dorian Grey'.
Geoffrey Chaucer (1343 - 1400) Considered the Father of English Literature. Best known for
Canterbury Tales