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: Marc Femenia / TT (2008)
Sample of authors
Follett, Ken
British author and journalist born in Cardiff, Wales. Kenneth "Ken" Follett’s parents were active members of the church of the Plymouth Brethren, and as a child he was not allowed to watch television. Instead he read profusely; his first favourite author was Shakespeare. Follett graduated from University College London in 1970 and began to write about rock music for the Cardiff-based South Wales E...