Petik.net - Who are the best authors of all time? This is a question that has been debated for centuries by readers, critics, scholars, and writers themselves.
There is no definitive answer, as different criteria can be used to measure an author's greatness. However, some factors that are commonly considered are:
- Popularity: How many copies of their books have been sold, how widely they have been read and translated, and how loyal their fan base is.
- Influence: How much they have shaped the literary landscape, inspired other writers, and contributed to the culture and society of their time and beyond.
- Literary merit: How well they have mastered the craft of writing, how original and creative their ideas and style are, and how they have explored universal themes and human emotions.
Based on these factors, we have compiled a ranking of the best authors of all time. This ranking is not meant to be definitive or objective, but rather a subjective and personal opinion based on our research and analysis.
We have also included some examples of their most famous works and some interesting facts about their lives and careers. Here is our list:
Mark Twain (1835-1910)
Mark Twain is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers and humorists of all time. He is best known for his novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), which are considered classics of American literature and culture.
Twain was also a prolific writer of short stories, essays, travel books, and speeches. He used his wit, satire, and social commentary to criticize the hypocrisy and injustice of his society, especially on issues such as slavery, racism, imperialism, and religion.
He also invented new words and phrases that are still used today, such as “gilded age”, “the damned human race”, and “there is no such thing as a free lunch”. Some interesting facts about Mark Twain are:
- His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He adopted the pen name Mark Twain from a riverboat term meaning “two fathoms deep”.
- He was born two weeks after Halley's Comet appeared in 1835 and died one day after it reappeared in 1910. He predicted this coincidence in 1909, saying “I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it.”
- He was a friend of Nikola Tesla and visited his laboratory often. He also patented three inventions of his own: a self-pasting scrapbook, an improvement in adjustable and detachable straps for garments, and a history trivia game.
- He was an avid traveler and visited Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and South America. He wrote about his experiences in books such as The Innocents Abroad (1869), A Tramp Abroad (1880), Following the Equator (1897), and The Mysterious Stranger (1916).
Jane Austen (1775-1817)
Jane Austen is one of the most influential and beloved English novelists of all time. She is best known for her six novels: Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815), Northanger Abbey (1818), and Persuasion (1818).
These novels are renowned for their realism, wit, irony, social criticism, moral insight, and romantic comedy. Austen created memorable characters such as Elizabeth Bennet, Mr. Darcy, Emma Woodhouse, Mr. Knightley, Anne Elliot, Captain Wentworth, and many others.
She also depicted the life and manners of the landed gentry and the middle class in England during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Some interesting facts about Jane Austen are:
- She never married or had children. She had several suitors in her life, but none of them resulted in a lasting relationship. She was once engaged to a wealthy man named Harris Bigg-Wither for one night but changed her mind the next morning.
- She wrote most of her novels in secret at a small table in the family sitting room. She would hide her manuscripts under a piece of blotting paper whenever someone entered the room.
- She died at the age of 41 from an unknown illness. Some scholars have speculated that she might have suffered from Addison's disease, Hodgkin's lymphoma, or arsenic poisoning.
- She was not famous during her lifetime. Her novels were published anonymously or under a pseudonym. Her identity as an author was revealed only after her death by her brother Henry. She became more popular and respected in the 19th and 20th centuries, especially after the publication of her nephew's biography A Memoir of Jane Austen (1869).
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