Anniversaries, 2 April
H.C. Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen is Denmark’s best-known author. Born in Odense on the island of Funen, he had an extraordinary writing career that went from working class boy to famous writer. His father was a "free" cobbler, that is to say he was not a member of the cobblers' guild. He fought against Napoleon, and when he returned a broken man Andersen's mother, a washing woman, was forced to provide for the family as best she could until she died an alcoholic in 1833. There were few opportunities f...
Anniversaries, 2 April
Émile Zola
French author, born in Paris and raised in Aix-en-Provence. His father, who was Italian and a successful site engineer, died from pneumonia when Émile was only seven years old. His mother was then cheated of her inheritance and had to make great sacrifices for her son to get a good education. Émile, however, was not very successful in school. Nevertheless, during his early school years he beame friends with Paul Cézanne, the later on so famous artist. Their friendship would last many years.
As...
Photo: Peter Peitsch (2007) / www.peitschphoto.com
Sample of authors
Sendker, Jan-Philipp
Jan-Philipp Sendker is a German journalist and author. From 1990 to 1995, he was the correspondent in America for the German magazine Stern. From 1995 to 1999 he was the magazine’s Asian correspondent and from 1999 he has worked full-time as an author. He lives in Potsdam outside Berlin with his wife and three children. Jan-Philipp Sendker is fascinated by Asia and has made several journeys in C...