1901 in literature
Encyclopedia
The year 1901 in literature involved some significant new books.
Events
- First Nobel Prize for Literature awarded, to French poet Sully PrudhommeSully PrudhommeRené François Armand Prudhomme was a French poet and essayist, winner of the first Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1901....
; many are outraged when Leo TolstoyLeo TolstoyLev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
does not win - October 23 - Mark TwainMark TwainSamuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
receives an honorary doctor of literature degree from Yale UniversityYale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. In the same month, he moves to Riverdale, New York - December 2 - the RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n literary review SămănătorulSămănătorulSămănătorul or Semănătorul was a literary and political magazine published in Romania between 1901 and 1910. Founded by poets Alexandru Vlahuţă and George Coşbuc, it is primarily remembered as a tribune for early 20th century traditionalism, neoromanticism and ethnic nationalism...
is founded - G. K. ChestertonG. K. ChestertonGilbert Keith Chesterton, KC*SG was an English writer. His prolific and diverse output included philosophy, ontology, poetry, plays, journalism, public lectures and debates, literary and art criticism, biography, Christian apologetics, and fiction, including fantasy and detective fiction....
marries Frances Blogg. - Anton ChekhovAnton ChekhovAnton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
marries Olga Leonardovna Knipper - Collapse of the Irish Literary TheatreIrish Literary TheatreThe Irish Literary Theatre was a precursor to the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Founded by W. B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, George Moore and Edward Martyn in 1899, this theatre presented a number of plays by the founders and other writers, including Padraic Colum....
New books
- John Kendrick BangsJohn Kendrick BangsJohn Kendrick Bangs was an American author, editor and satirist.-Biography:He was born in Yonkers, New York. His father was a lawyer in New York City....
- Mr. MunchausenMr. MunchausenMr. Munchausen: Being a True Account of Some of the Recent Adventures Beyond the Styx of the Late Hieronymus Carl Friedrich, Sometime Baron Munchausen of Bodenwerder, as originally reported for the Sunday Edition of the Gehenna Gazette by its special interviewer the late Mr. Ananias formerly of... - L. Frank BaumL. Frank BaumLyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
- American Fairy TalesAmerican Fairy TalesAmerican Fairy Tales is the title of a collection of twelve fantasy stories by L. Frank Baum, published in 1901 by the George M. Hill Company, the firm that issued The Wonderful Wizard of Oz the previous year...
- - The Master KeyThe Master Key (novel)The Master Key: An Electrical Fairy Tale, Founded Upon the Mysteries of Electricity and the Optimism of Its Devotees is a 1901 novel by L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It was illustrated by F. Y. Cory.-Plot summary:...
- - Dot and Tot of MerrylandDot and Tot of MerrylandDot and Tot of Merryland is a 1901 novel by L. Frank Baum. After Baum wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, he wrote this story about the adventures of a little girl named Dot and a little boy named Tot in a land reached by floating on a river that flowed through a tunnel. The land was called Merryland...
- - The Master Key
- René BoylesveRené BoylesveRené Boylesve , born René Marie Auguste Tardiveau, was a French author.-Works:* Le Médecin des Dames de Néans ,* Mademoiselle Cloque ,* La Becquée ,...
- La Becquée - Samuel ButlerSamuel Butler (novelist)Samuel Butler was an iconoclastic Victorian author who published a variety of works. Two of his most famous pieces are the Utopian satire Erewhon and a semi-autobiographical novel published posthumously, The Way of All Flesh...
- Erewhon RevisitedErewhon RevisitedErewhon Revisited Twenty Years Later, Both by the Original Discoverer of the Country and by His Son is a satirical novel by Samuel Butler, forming a belated sequel to his Erewhon... - Hall CaineHall CaineSir Thomas Henry Hall Caine CH, KBE , usually known as Hall Caine, was a Manx author. He is best known as a novelist and playwright of the late Victorian and the Edwardian eras. In his time he was exceedingly popular, and at the peak of his success his novels outsold those of his...
- The Eternal CityThe Eternal CityThe Eternal City is a nickname for the city of Rome.The Eternal City may also refer to:* The city of Kyoto, Japan, specifically the historical Heian-kyō, dubbed Yorozuyo no Miya *The Eternal City, a 1901 novel by Hall Caine... - ColetteColetteColette was the surname of the French novelist and performer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette . She is best known for her novel Gigi, upon which Lerner and Loewe based the stage and film musical comedies of the same title.-Early life and marriage:Colette was born to retired military officer Jules-Joseph...
- Claudine à Paris - Joseph ConradJoseph ConradJoseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
& Ford Madox FordFord Madox FordFord Madox Ford was an English novelist, poet, critic and editor whose journals, The English Review and The Transatlantic Review, were instrumental in the development of early 20th-century English literature...
- The Inheritors - Victoria CrossAnnie Sophie CoryAnnie Sophie Cory was the author of popular, racy, exotic novels under the pseudonyms Victoria Cross, Vivian Cory and V.C. Griffin.-Life:...
- Anna LombardAnna LombardAnna Lombard is a New Woman novel by Annie Sophie Cory writing as Victoria Cross. First published in 1901, it is based on the idea that it takes a New Man as well to form a perfect union of the sexes.-Plot summary:... - George DouglasGeorge DouglasGeorge Douglas may refer to:*George Douglas, 1st Earl of Angus , Scottish magnate*George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus , Scottish magnate*George Douglas, Master of Angus , Scottish nobleman*George Douglas of Pittendreich George Douglas may refer to:*George Douglas, 1st Earl of Angus (1378–1402),...
- The House with the Green ShuttersThe House with the Green ShuttersThe House with the Green Shutters is a novel by the Scottish writer George Douglas Brown, first published in 1901 by John MacQueen. Set in mid-19th century Ayrshire, in the fictitious town of Barbie which is based on his native Ochiltree, it consciously violates the conventions of the sentimental... - Miles FranklinMiles FranklinStella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin, known as Miles Franklin was an Australian writer and feminist who is best known for her novel My Brilliant Career, published in 1901...
- My Brilliant CareerMy Brilliant CareerMy Brilliant Career is a 1901 novel written by Miles Franklin.It is the first of many novels by Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin , one of the major Australian writers of her time. It was written while she was still a teenager, as a romance to amuse her friends... - Géza GárdonyiGéza GárdonyiGéza Gárdonyi, born Géza Ziegler was a Hungarian writer and journalist. Although he wrote a range of works, he had his greatest success as a historical novelist, particularly with Eclipse of the Crescent Moon and Slave of the Huns.-Life:Gárdonyi was born in Agárdpuszta, Austria-Hungary, the son of...
- A láthatatlan ember - Henry JamesHenry JamesHenry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
- The Sacred FountThe Sacred FountThe Sacred Fount is a novel by Henry James, first published in 1901. This strange, often baffling book concerns an unnamed narrator who attempts to discover the truth about the love lives of his fellow-guests at a weekend party in the English countryside... - Rudyard KiplingRudyard KiplingJoseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
- KimKim (novel)Kim is a picaresque novel by Rudyard Kipling. It was first published serially in McClure's Magazine from December 1900 to October 1901 as well as in Cassell's Magazine from January to November 1901, and first published in book form by Macmillan & Co. Ltd in October 1901... - Thomas MannThomas MannThomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
- BuddenbrooksBuddenbrooksBuddenbrooks was Thomas Mann's first novel, published in 1901 when he was twenty-six years old. The publication of the 2nd edition in 1903 confirmed that Buddenbrooks was a major literary success in Germany.... - George MooreGeorge Moore (novelist)George Augustus Moore was an Irish novelist, short-story writer, poet, art critic, memoirist and dramatist. Moore came from a Roman Catholic landed family who lived at Moore Hall in Carra, County Mayo. He originally wanted to be a painter, and studied art in Paris during the 1870s...
- Sister Theresa - Frank NorrisFrank NorrisBenjamin Franklin Norris, Jr. was an American novelist, during the Progressive Era, writing predominantly in the naturalist genre. His notable works include McTeague , The Octopus: A Story of California , and The Pit .-Life:Frank Norris was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1870...
- The OctopusThe Octopus (Frank Norris)The Octopus: A Story of California is a 1901 novel by Frank Norris and the first part of a planned but uncompleted trilogy, The Epic of Wheat. It describes the raising of wheat in California, and conflicts between the wheat growers and a railway company. Norris was inspired by the role of the... - Charles-Louis PhilippeCharles-Louis PhilippeCharles-Louis Philippe, French novelist, was born in Cérilly, Allier, Auvergne, on 4 August 1874, and died in Paris on 21 December 1909.- Life :...
- Bubu de Montparnasse - Luigi PirandelloLuigi PirandelloLuigi Pirandello was an Italian dramatist, novelist, and short story writer awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1934, for his "bold and brilliant renovation of the drama and the stage." Pirandello's works include novels, hundreds of short stories, and about 40 plays, some of which are written...
- L'EsclusaL'EsclusaL'Esclusa was Luigi Pirandello's first novel. Written in 1893 with the title Marta Ajala, it was originally published in episodes in the Roman newspaper La Tribuna from the 29th of June to the 16th of August 1901 with the definitive title L'Esclusa. It was finally republished in single volume in... - Beatrix PotterBeatrix PotterHelen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children’s books featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit which celebrated the British landscape and country life.Born into a privileged Unitarian...
- The Tale of Peter RabbitThe Tale of Peter RabbitThe Tale of Peter Rabbit is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter that follows mischievous and disobedient young Peter Rabbit as he is chased about the garden of Mr. McGregor. He escapes and returns home to his mother who puts him to bed after dosing him with camomile tea... - José Maria de Eça de Queiroz - A Cidade e as Serras
- Rabindranath TagoreRabindranath TagoreRabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
- NastanirhNastanirhNastanirh , , is a Bengali novella by Rabindranath Tagore... - Jules VerneJules VerneJules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
- The Sea SerpentThe Sea SerpentThe Sea Serpent: The Yarns of Jean Marie Cabidoulin is an adventure novel by Jules Verne first published in 1901.-Publication history:*1967, UK, London, Arco, 191 pp., 60 illus., First English translation-External links:* available at...
- - The Village in the TreetopsThe Village in the TreetopsThe Village in the Treetops is a 1901 novel by Jules Verne. The book, one of Verne's "Voyages Extraordinaires", is his take on Darwinism and human development.-References:...
- - The Village in the Treetops
- H. G. WellsH. G. WellsHerbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
- The First Men in the MoonThe First Men in the MoonThe First Men in the Moon is a 1901 scientific romance novel by the English author H. G. Wells. The novel tells the story of a journey to the moon undertaken by the two protagonists, the impoverished businessman Mr Bedford and the brilliant but eccentric scientist Dr. Cavor... - Emile ZolaÉmile ZolaÉmile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
- TravailTravailTravail was a Christian nu metal / rapcore band based in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in Texas. Fronted by Matt Leslie, it had an intense following at Club 412, a local church-sponsored lounge and music venue located in southwest Fort Worth. Stylistic comparisons were often drawn between their sound...
New drama
- Gabriele D'AnnunzioGabriele D'AnnunzioGabriele D'Annunzio or d'Annunzio was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist, and dramatist...
- Francesca da RiminiFrancesca da RiminiFrancesca da Rimini or Francesca da Polenta was the daughter of Guido da Polenta, lord of Ravenna. She was a historical contemporary of Dante Alighieri, who portrayed her as a character in the Divine Comedy.-Arranged marriage:... - Anton ChekhovAnton ChekhovAnton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
- Three SistersThree Sisters (play)Three Sisters is a play by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, perhaps partially inspired by the situation of the three Brontë sisters, but most probably by the three Zimmermann sisters in Perm... - August StrindbergAugust StrindbergJohan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography,...
- A Dream PlayA Dream PlayA Dream Play was written in 1901 by the Swedish playwright August Strindberg. It was first performed in Stockholm on 17 April 1907. It remains one of Strindberg's most admired and influential dramas, seen as an important precursor to both dramatic Expressionism and Surrealism.-Plot:The primary...
Poetry
- Henry Ames BloodHenry Ames BloodHenry Ames Blood was an American civil servant, poet, playwright and historian. He is chiefly remembered for The History of Temple, N. H.-Life:...
- Selected Poems of Henry Ames BloodSelected Poems of Henry Ames BloodSelected Poems of Henry Ames Blood is a collection of poetry by American poet Henry Ames Blood. While his verse had been widely anthologized during his lifetime, this volume was the only book devoted solely to his verse. It was published in hardcover in Washington, D.C. by The Neale Publishing... - Maxim GorkyMaxim GorkyAlexei Maximovich Peshkov , primarily known as Maxim Gorky , was a Russian and Soviet author, a founder of the Socialist Realism literary method and a political activist.-Early years:...
- The Song of the Stormy PetrelThe Song of the Stormy Petrel"The Song of the Stormy Petrel" is a short piece of revolutionary literature written by the Russian writer Maxim Gorky in 1901. Written in a variation of unrhymed trochaic tetrameter with occasional Pyrrhic substitutions, it is considered poetry.-History:...
Non-fiction
- Winston ChurchillWinston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
- The Crisis - Sigmund FreudSigmund FreudSigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
- The Psychopathology of Everyday LifeThe Psychopathology of Everyday LifeThe Psychopathology of Everyday Life is the eighth album by avant-garde band King Missile, and the band's second in its incarnation as "King Missile III." It was released on January 21, 2003... - Edith Helen SichelEdith Helen SichelEdith Helen Sichel was an English author, sister of Walter Sichel. She was born in London and educated at home by private teachers...
- Women and Men of the French Renaissance - Booker T. WashingtonBooker T. WashingtonBooker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
- Up from SlaveryUp From SlaveryUp from Slavery is the 1901 autobiography of Booker T. Washington detailing his slow and steady rise from a slave child during the Civil War, to the difficulties and obstacles he overcame to get an education at the new Hampton University, to his work establishing vocational schools—most notably the...
Births
- January 31 - Marie Luise KaschnitzMarie Luise KaschnitzMarie Luise Kaschnitz was a German short story writer, novelist, essayist and poet. She is considered to be one of the leading post-war German poets...
, German writer (d. 1974) - February 13 - Lewis Grassic GibbonLewis Grassic GibbonLewis Grassic Gibbon was the pseudonym of James Leslie Mitchell , a Scottish writer.-Biography:...
, novelist (d. 1974) - February 23 - Ivar Lo-JohanssonIvar Lo-JohanssonIvar Lo-Johansson was a Swedish writer of the proletarian school.He described the situation of the Swedish land-workers, statare, in his novels, short stories and journalism, which encouraged the adoption of certain land reforms in Sweden...
, Swedish writer (d. 1990) - April 10 - Anna KavanAnna KavanAnna Kavan was a British novelist, short story writer and painter.-Biography:...
, author (d. 1968) - June 1 - John Van Druten, dramatist (d. 1957)
- July 20 - Dilys PowellDilys PowellElizabeth Dilys Powell was a British journalist, author and film critic.She was born into a middle class family in Bridgnorth, Shropshire. Her mother was Mary Jane Lloyd; her father, Thomas Powell, a bank manager...
, film critic (d. 1995) - July 25 - Ruth KraussRuth KraussRuth Krauss was an author of children's books, one of the most well known being The Carrot Seed, and an author of theatrical poems for an adult audience. Many of her books are still in print....
, children's book author and poet (d. 1993) - August 10 - Sergio FrusoniSergio FrusoniSergio Frusoni was a poet and promoter of the Cape Verdean Creole language.-Biography:...
, poet (d. 1975) - August 20 - Salvatore QuasimodoSalvatore QuasimodoSalvatore Quasimodo was an Italian author and poet. In 1959 he won the Nobel Prize for Literature "for his lyrical poetry, which with classical fire expresses the tragic experience of life in our own times". Along with Giuseppe Ungaretti and Eugenio Montale, he is one of the foremost Italian poets...
, Italian author (d. 1968) - November 3 - André MalrauxAndré MalrauxAndré Malraux DSO was a French adventurer, award-winning author, and statesman. Having traveled extensively in Indochina and China, Malraux was noted especially for his novel entitled La Condition Humaine , which won the Prix Goncourt...
, French author (d. 1976) - December 9 - Ödön von HorváthÖdön von HorváthEdmund Josef von Horváth was a German-writing Austro-Hungarian-born playwright and novelist...
, dramatist and novelist (d. 1938) - December 16 - Margaret MeadMargaret MeadMargaret Mead was an American cultural anthropologist, who was frequently a featured writer and speaker in the mass media throughout the 1960s and 1970s....
, cultural anthropologist and author (d. 19781978 in literatureThe year 1978 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year, a humorous award given annually to books with unusual titles is created. The first winner was Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude...
)
Deaths
- February 15 - Maurice ThompsonMaurice ThompsonJames Maurice Thompson was an American novelist.-Biography:Raised on a Georgia plantation, Thompson first pursued a career as a lawyer. In 1871 he opened a law practice with his brother, William Henry Thompson...
, novelist - March 24 - Charlotte Mary YongeCharlotte Mary YongeCharlotte Mary Yonge , was an English novelist, known for her huge output, now mostly out of print.- Life :Charlotte Mary Yonge was born in Otterbourne, Hampshire, England, on 11 August 1823 to William Yonge and Fanny Yonge, née Bargus. She was educated at home by her father, studying Latin, Greek,...
, novelist - April 12 - Louis Auguste SabatierLouis Auguste SabatierLouis Auguste Sabatier , French Protestant theologian, was born at Vallon-Pont-d'Arc , in the Cévennes, and was educated at the Protestant theological faculty of Montauban and the universities of Tübingen and Heidelberg.After holding the pastorate at Aubenas in the Ardèche from 1864 to 1868 he was...
, theologian - June 9 - Walter BesantWalter BesantSir Walter Besant , was a novelist and historian who lived largely in London.His sister-in-law was Annie Besant.-Biography:...
, novelist - June 10 - Robert Williams BuchananRobert Williams BuchananRobert Williams Buchanan was a Scottish poet, novelist and dramatist.- Early life and education :He was the son of Robert Buchanan , Owenite lecturer and journalist, and was born at Caverswall, Staffordshire, England...
, writer - July 7 - Johanna SpyriJohanna SpyriJohanna Spyri was an author of children's stories, and is best known for her book Heidi. Born Johanna Louise Heusser in the rural area of Hirzel, Switzerland, as a child she spent several summers in the area around Chur in Graubünden, the setting she later would use in her novels.-Biography:In...
, author - July 20 - William Cosmo MonkhouseWilliam Cosmo MonkhouseWilliam Cosmo Monkhouse , English poet and critic.-Biography:Monkhouse was born in London. His father, Cyril John Monkhouse, was a solicitor; his mother's maiden name was Delafosse...
, poet and critic - July 27 - Brooke Foss WestcottBrooke Foss WestcottBrooke Foss Westcott was a British bishop, Biblical scholar and theologian, serving as Bishop of Durham from 1890 until his death.-Early life and education:...
, theologian - October 31 - Julien LeclercqJulien LeclercqJulien Leclercq was a French poet and art critic, devoted to Symbolism. Like his close friend Albert Aurier, he contributed regularly to the Mercure de France, for example in September 1890 an obituary of Vincent van Gogh...
, poet and art critic - date unknown - Victor BalaguerVictor BalaguerVíctor Balaguer , Catalan Spanish politician and author, was born at Barcelona on 11 December 1824, and was educated at the university of his native city....
, dramatist and poet