ALEXANDRE DUMAS(1802–1870) The French novelist and dramatist Alexandre Dumas was born in 1802, the son of a general in Napoleon Bonaparte’s army. Although the plots of his novels have been criticized as melodramatic and his writing style as careless, readers still enjoy the colorful characters and exciting action in his stories. Because of his tremendous … Continue reading Alexandre Dumas – The Three Musketeers (Novel Summary)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn : U. S. Fiction may be said to have truly arrived with the emergence of Mark Twain (1835-1910), the pseudonym for Samuel Langhorne Clemens. His work symbolised a breaking-away from the hitherto dominant influence of the eastern U.S. and transcendentalist philosophy, and thereby provided the impetus for the further development … Continue reading Mark Twain – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Novel Summary)
The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was the first American author to make extensive use of historical material. Like his predecessor, James Fenimore Cooper, he was attempting to find and utilise distinctively American material, and in going back to the past, had appeared to have done it in a more genuine way, for American history … Continue reading Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Scarlet Letter (Novel Summary)
Short Biography of George Eliot: Mary Ann Evans, better known as George Eliot, was born in Warwickshire, in 1819 and spent the early years of her life with her father an estate agent, and her brother, Isaac. From childhood, she showed an unusual aptitude for study and was far ahead of her brother in academic … Continue reading George Eliot – Middlemarch (Novel Summary)
Short Biography of E M Forster: E. M. Forster was born in 1879 and died in 1970, his life spanning almost an entire century. His father died when he was an infant, and his mother moved with him to Hertfordshire, where he spent some unforgettable days of his childhood. He studied at Tonbridge public school … Continue reading E M Forster – A Passage to India (Novel Summary)
Short Biography of Charles Dickens: Born on 7 February 1812 in the south of England, Charles Dickens was the second of eight children in the family of John Dickens, a Navy clerk. Though he was a warm-hearted person, John Dickens had no sense of responsibility, and was often in debt. Being short of money, the … Continue reading Charles Dickens – David Copperfield (Novel Summary)
Short Biography of D. H. Lawrence: David Herbert Lawrence was born in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, in 1885, to a coal-miner named John Lawrence and his middle class wife Lydia. The two were incompatible for various reasons, but particularly because of their cultural disparity. The father was scarcely able to write his name, and read the newspaper … Continue reading D H Lawrence – Sons and Lovers (Novel Summary)
While Animal Farm contains broad themes about leadership, power and corruption that can be applied to many political circumstances and historical events, there are direct parallels to the Russian Revolution. To better understand the links between Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution, we have included a brief description of the historical figure or concept each … Continue reading George Orwell – Animal Farm (Novel Summary)
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