1939 in literature
Encyclopedia
The year 1939 in literature involved some significant events and new books.
Events
- December 25 - A Christmas CarolA Christmas CarolA Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
is read before a radioRadioRadio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
audienceAudienceAn audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature , theatre, music or academics in any medium...
for the first time. - Frank HerbertFrank HerbertFranklin Patrick Herbert, Jr. was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. Although a short story author, he is best known for his novels, most notably Dune and its five sequels...
lies about his age to get his first job as a local newspaperNewspaperA newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
reporter. - Jean-Paul SartreJean-Paul SartreJean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
is draftedConscriptionConscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
into the French ArmyFrench ArmyThe French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
. - Robert A. HeinleinRobert A. HeinleinRobert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
's first published short storyShort storyA short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
appears in Astounding Magazine. - Captain MarvelCaptain Marvel (DC Comics)Captain Marvel is a fictional comic book superhero, originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. Created in 1939 by artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, the character first appeared in Whiz Comics #2...
debuts in Whiz Comics #2 (cover date February 1940).
New books
- Eric AmblerEric AmblerEric Clifford Ambler OBE was an influential British author of spy novels who introduced a new realism to the genre. Ambler also used the pseudonym Eliot Reed for books co-written with Charles Rodda.-Life:...
- The Mask of DimitriosThe Mask of DimitriosThe Mask of Dimitrios is an American film noir directed by Jean Negulesco and written by Frank Gruber, based on the 1939 novel of the same name written by Eric Ambler . Ambler is known as a major influence on writers and an inventor of the modern thriller genre... - Sholem AschSholem AschSholem Asch, born Szalom Asz , also written Shalom Asch was a Polish-born American Jewish novelist, dramatist, and essayist in the Yiddish language.-Life and work:...
- The Nazarene - William AttawayWilliam AttawayWilliam Alexander Attaway was an African American novelist, short story writer, essayist, songwriter, playwright, and screenwriter.-Early Life:...
- Let Me Breathe Thunder - Arna Wendell Bontemps - Drums at Dusk
- Pearl S. BuckPearl S. BuckPearl Sydenstricker Buck also known by her Chinese name Sai Zhenzhu , was an American writer who spent most of her time until 1934 in China. Her novel The Good Earth was the best-selling fiction book in the U.S. in 1931 and 1932, and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932...
- The Patriot - Edgar Rice BurroughsEdgar Rice BurroughsEdgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...
- Tarzan the MagnificentTarzan the Magnificent (novel)Tarzan the Magnificent is a book written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the twenty-first in his series of books about the title character Tarzan... - John Dickson CarrJohn Dickson CarrJohn Dickson Carr was an American author of detective stories, who also published under the pen names Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson and Roger Fairbairn....
- The Black SpectaclesThe Black SpectaclesThe Black Spectacles , first published in 1939, is a detective story by John Dickson Carr featuring his series detective Gideon Fell...
- The Problem of the Wire CageThe Problem of the Wire CageThe Problem of the Wire Cage, first published in 1939, is a detective story by John Dickson Carr featuring his series detective Gideon Fell...
- The Reader is WarnedThe Reader is WarnedThe Reader is Warned is a mystery novel by the American writer John Dickson Carr , who published it under the name of Carter Dickson...
(as by Carter Dickson) - Drop to His DeathDrop to His DeathDrop To His Death is a mystery novel by the American writer John Dickson Carr , who published it under the name of Carter Dickson, in collaboration with John Rhode...
(in collaboration with John Rhode)
- The Black Spectacles
- Aimé CésaireAimé CésaireAimé Fernand David Césaire was a French poet, author and politician from Martinique. He was "one of the founders of the négritude movement in Francophone literature".-Student, educator, and poet:...
- Cahier d'un Retour au Pays Natal - Raymond ChandlerRaymond ChandlerRaymond Thornton Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter.In 1932, at age forty-five, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in...
- The Big SleepThe Big SleepThe Big Sleep is a hardboiled crime novel by Raymond Chandler, the first in his acclaimed series about detective Philip Marlowe. The work has been adapted twice into film, once in 1946 and again in 1978... - Agatha ChristieAgatha ChristieDame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
- And Then There Were NoneAnd Then There Were NoneAnd Then There Were None is a detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1939 under the title Ten Little Niggers which was changed by Dodd, Mead and Company in January 1940 because of the presence of a racial...
- Murder is EasyMurder is EasyMurder is Easy is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on June 5, 1939 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in September of the same year under the title of Easy to Kill...
- The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories
- And Then There Were None
- Jeffrey DellJeffrey DellJeffrey Dell was a British screenwriter and film director. He is also known for his 1939 novel Nobody Ordered Wolves which was based on the British film industry.-Selected filmography:Director* The Flemish Farm...
- Nobody Ordered WolvesNobody Ordered WolvesNobody Ordered Wolves is a 1939 comic novel by the British-born writer and film director Jeffrey Dell. The book is a satire on the British film industry. It focuses on the fictional company Paradox Film Productions headed by the mogul Napoleon Bott who is modelled on the real-life Alexander Korda... - John FanteJohn FanteJohn Fante was an American novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Italian descent. He is perhaps best known for his work, Ask the Dust, a semi-autobiograpical novel about life in and around Los Angeles, California, which was the third in a series of four novels, published between 1938...
- Ask the DustAsk the DustAsk the Dust is the most popular novel of Italian-American author John Fante, first published in 1939 and set during the Great Depression-era in Los Angeles. It is one of a series of novels featuring the character Arturo Bandini as Fante's alter ego, a young Italian-American from Colorado... - William FaulknerWilliam FaulknerWilliam Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
- If I Forget Thee Jerusalem (The Wild Palms/Old Man)If I Forget Thee Jerusalem (The Wild Palms/Old Man)If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem is a novel by the American author William Faulkner published in 1939. The novel was originally published under the title The Wild Palms, which is the title of one of the two interwoven stories. This title was chosen by the publishers, Random House, over the objections of... - Vardis FisherVardis FisherVardis Alvero Fisher was a well-respected writer best known for historical novels of the old West and the monumental 12-volume Testament of Man series of novels, depicting the history of humans from cave to civilization....
- Children of God - Zona GaleZona GaleZona Gale was an American author and playwright. She became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama, in 1921.-Biography:Gale was born in Portage, Wisconsin, which she often used as a setting in her writing...
- MagnaMagna-Companies, products and institutions:* Magna , an American bicycle brand* Magna International, Canada's largest automobile parts manufacturer** Magna Steyr, a subsidiary* Magna Natural Stone, Germanys biggest producer of natural stones... - Henry GreenHenry GreenHenry Green was the nom de plume of Henry Vincent Yorke , an English author best remembered for the novel Loving, which was featured by Time in its list of the 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005.- Biography :Green was born near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, into an educated family...
- Party GoingParty Going (novel)Party Going is a 1939 novel by British writer Henry Green .It tells the story of a group of wealthy people travelling by train to a house party. Due to fog, however, the train is much delayed and the group takes rooms in the adjacent large railway hotel... - Ernest HemingwayErnest HemingwayErnest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
- The Snows of KilimanjaroThe Snows of Kilimanjaro"The Snows of Kilimanjaro" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway. It was first published in Esquire magazine in 1936. It was republished in The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories in 1938, The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories in 1961, and is included in The Complete Short Stories of... - Zora Neale HurstonZora Neale HurstonZora Neale Hurston was an American folklorist, anthropologist, and author during the time of the Harlem Renaissance...
- Moses, Man Of The Mountain - Aldous HuxleyAldous HuxleyAldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...
- After Many a SummerAfter Many a SummerAfter Many a Summer is a novel by Aldous Huxley that tells the story of a Hollywood millionaire who fears his impending death; it was published in the United States as After Many a Summer Dies the Swan... - Christopher IsherwoodChristopher IsherwoodChristopher William Bradshaw Isherwood was an English-American novelist.-Early life and work:Born at Wyberslegh Hall, High Lane, Cheshire in North West England, Isherwood spent his childhood in various towns where his father, a Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army, was stationed...
- Goodbye to BerlinGoodbye to BerlinGoodbye to Berlin is a 1939 short novel by Christopher Isherwood set in pre-Nazi Germany. It is often published together with Mr Norris Changes Trains in a collection called The Berlin Stories.-Details:... - James JoyceJames JoyceJames Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
- Finnegans WakeFinnegans WakeFinnegans Wake is a novel by Irish author James Joyce, significant for its experimental style and resulting reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the English language. Written in Paris over a period of seventeen years, and published in 1939, two years before the author's... - Arthur KoestlerArthur KoestlerArthur Koestler CBE was a Hungarian author and journalist. Koestler was born in Budapest and, apart from his early school years, was educated in Austria...
- The Gladiators - Richard LlewellynRichard LlewellynRichard Dafydd Vivian Llewellyn Lloyd , better known by his pen name Richard Llewellyn, was a Welsh novelist.Llewellyn Richard Dafydd Vivian Llewellyn Lloyd (8 December 1906 – 30 November 1983), better known by his pen name Richard Llewellyn, was a Welsh novelist.Llewellyn Richard Dafydd...
- How Green Was My ValleyHow Green Was My ValleyHow Green Was My Valley is a 1939 novel by Richard Llewellyn, telling the story through narration of the main character, of his Welsh family and the mining community in which they live. The author had claimed to have based the book on his own knowledge of the Gilfach Goch area, but this was proven... - H. P. LovecraftH. P. LovecraftHoward Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
- The Outsider and OthersThe Outsider and OthersThe Outsider and Others is a collection of stories by author H. P. Lovecraft. It was released in 1939 and was the first book published by Arkham House. 1,268 copies were printed. The volume is named for the Lovecraft short story "The Outsider".... - Lucy Maud MontgomeryLucy Maud MontgomeryLucy Maud Montgomery OBE , called "Maud" by family and friends and publicly known as L.M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a series of novels beginning with Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908. Anne of Green Gables was an immediate success...
- Anne of InglesideAnne of InglesideAnne of Ingleside is a children's novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. It was first published in August 1939 by George G. Harrap & Co Ltd. It is the sixth book in the chronology and the final book to be published.... - Flann O'Brien - At Swim-Two-BirdsAt Swim-Two-BirdsAt Swim-Two-Birds is a 1939 novel by Irish author Brian O'Nolan, writing under the pseudonym Flann O'Brien. It is widely considered to be O'Brien's masterpiece, and one of the most sophisticated examples of metafiction....
. - John O'HaraJohn O'HaraJohn Henry O'Hara was an American writer. He initially became known for his short stories and later became a best-selling novelist whose works include Appointment in Samarra and BUtterfield 8. He was particularly known for an uncannily accurate ear for dialogue...
- Files on Parade - George OrwellGeorge OrwellEric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
- Coming Up for AirComing Up for AirComing Up for Air is a novel by George Orwell, first published in June 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World War II. It combines premonitions of the impending war with images of an idyllic Thames-side Edwardian era childhood... - Elliot PaulElliot PaulElliot Harold Paul , was an American journalist and author.-Biography:Born in Linden, a part of Malden, Massachusetts, Elliot Paul graduated from Malden High School then worked in the U.S...
- The Mysterious Mickey Finn - Ellery QueenEllery QueenEllery Queen is both a fictional character and a pseudonym used by two American cousins from Brooklyn, New York: Daniel Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay and Manford Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee , to write, edit, and anthologize detective fiction.The fictional Ellery Queen created by...
- The Dragon's TeethThe Dragon's TeethThe Dragon's Teeth, also published as The Virgin Heiresses, is a novel that was published in 1939 by Ellery Queen. It is a mystery novel primarily set in New York City, United States.-Plot summary:... - Katherine Anne PorterKatherine Anne PorterKatherine Anne Porter was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist, essayist, short story writer, novelist, and political activist. Her 1962 novel Ship of Fools was the best-selling novel in America that year, but her short stories received much more critical acclaim...
- Pale Horse, Pale RiderPale Horse, Pale RiderPale Horse, Pale Rider is a collection of three short novels by American author Katherine Anne Porter published in 1939.... - Arthur RansomeArthur RansomeArthur Michell Ransome was an English author and journalist, best known for writing the Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. These tell of school-holiday adventures of children, mostly in the Lake District and the Norfolk Broads. Many of the books involve sailing; other common subjects...
- We Didn't Mean To Go To SeaWe Didn't Mean To Go To SeaWe Didn't Mean to Go to Sea is the seventh book in Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. It was published in 1937. In this book, the Swallows are the only recurring characters... - Clayton RawsonClayton RawsonClayton Rawson was an American mystery writer, editor, and amateur magician. His four novels frequently invoke his great knowledge of stage magic and feature as their fictional detective The Great Merlini, a professional magician who runs a shop selling magic supplies...
- The Footprints on the CeilingThe Footprints on the CeilingThe Footprints on the Ceiling is a locked-room mystery novel written by Clayton Rawson.It is the second of four mysteries featuring The Great Merlini, a stage magician and Rawson's favorite protagonist.-Plot summary:... - Seymour ReitSeymour ReitSeymour Victory Reit was the author of over 80 children's books as well as several works for adults. Reit was the creator, with cartoonist Joe Oriolo, of the character Casper the Friendly Ghost...
- The Friendly GhostThe Friendly GhostThe Friendly Ghost is a cartoon released by Paramount Pictures on 16 November 1945 under its Noveltoons series of animated shorts. It is the first cartoon to feature Casper the Friendly Ghost.- Plot :... - Dorothy L. SayersDorothy L. SayersDorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...
- In the Teeth of the EvidenceIn the Teeth of the EvidenceIn the Teeth of the Evidence is a collection of short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers first published by Victor Gollancz in 1939. .The book's title is taken from the first story in the collection.-Contents:*Lord Peter Wimsey stories:... - John SteinbeckJohn SteinbeckJohn Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
- The Grapes of WrathThe Grapes of WrathThe Grapes of Wrath is a novel published in 1939 and written by John Steinbeck, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1940 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962.... - Rex StoutRex StoutRex Todhunter Stout was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. Stout is best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe, described by reviewer Will Cuppy as "that Falstaff of detectives." Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin recorded the cases of the...
- Some Buried CaesarSome Buried CaesarSome Buried Caesar is the sixth Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout. The story first appeared in abridged form in The American Magazine , under the title "The Red Bull." It was first published in book form by Farrar & Rinehart in 1939... - Phoebe Atwood TaylorPhoebe Atwood TaylorPhoebe Atwood Taylor was an American mystery author.Phoebe Atwood Taylor wrote mystery novels under her own name, and as Freeman Dana and Alice Tilton. Her first novel, The Cape Cod Mystery, introduced the "Codfish Sherlock", Asey Mayo, who became a series character appearing in 24 novels...
- Spring Harrowing
- Cold StealCold StealCold Steal is a novel that was published in 1939 by Phoebe Atwood Taylor writing as Alice Tilton. It is the third of the eight Leonidas Witherall mysteries.-Plot summary:...
(as by Alice Tilton)
- Dalton TrumboDalton TrumboJames Dalton Trumbo was an American screenwriter and novelist, and one of the Hollywood Ten, a group of film professionals who refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947 during the committee's investigation of Communist influences in the motion picture industry...
- Johnny Got His GunJohnny Got His GunJohnny Got His Gun is an anti-war novel written in 1938 by American novelist and screenwriter Dalton Trumboand published by J. B. Lippincott company.-Plot:... - S. S. Van DineS. S. Van DineS. S. Van Dine was the pseudonym of Willard Huntington Wright , a U.S art critic and author. He created the once immensely popular fictional detective Philo Vance, who first appeared in books in the 1920s, then in movies and on the radio.-Early life and career:Willard Huntington Wright was born...
- The Winter Murder CaseThe Winter Murder CaseThe Winter Murder Case is a Philo Vance novella that S. S. Van Dine intended to expand into his twelfth full length book, a project cut short by his death. The Winter Murder Case seems especially similar to the B mystery movies of the 1930s, a cross between Van Dine's usual style and the film style... - Elio VittoriniElio VittoriniElio Vittorini was an Italian writer and novelist. He was a contemporary of Cesare Pavese and an influential voice in the modernist school of novel writing. His best-known work is the anti-fascist novel Conversations in Sicily, for which he was jailed when it was published in 1941. The first U.S...
- Conversations in SicilyConversations in SicilyConversazione in Sicilia first appeared in serial form in Letteratura in 1938, and was first published as the novel Nome e Lagrime in 1941. The story concerns Silvestro Ferrauto and his return to Sicily after a long absence. The work contains a foreword & afterword by Ernest Hemingway...
(Conversazione in Sicilia) - Nathanael WestNathanael WestNathanael West was a US author, screenwriter and satirist.- Early life :...
- The Day of the LocustThe Day of the LocustThe Day of the Locust is a 1939 novel by American author Nathanael West, set in Hollywood, California during the Great Depression, its overarching themes deal with the alienation and desperation of a broad group of odd individuals who exist at the fringes of the Hollywood movie industry.In 1998,... - Ernest Vincent WrightErnest Vincent WrightErnest Vincent Wright was an American author known for his book Gadsby, a 50,000 word novel which, except for the introduction and a note at the end, did not use the letter "e".-Biography:...
- GadsbyGadsby (novel)Gadsby: A Story of Over 50,000 Words Without Using the Letter "E" is a 1939 novel by Ernest Vincent Wright. The plot revolves around the dying fictional city of Branton Hills, which is revitalized thanks to the efforts of protagonist John Gadsby and a youth group he organizes.The novel is written... - Pierre SchaefferPierre SchaefferPierre Henri Marie Schaeffer was a French composer, writer, broadcaster, engineer, musicologist and acoustician of the 20th century. His innovative work in both the sciences —particularly communications and acoustics— and the various arts of music, literature and radio presentation after the end...
- Chlothar Nicole (Clotaire Nicole)
New drama
- Philip BarryPhilip BarryPhilip James Quinn Barry was an American playwright born in Rochester, New York.-Early life:Philip Barry was born on June 18, 1896 in Rochester, New York to James Corbett Barry and Mary Agnes Quinn Barry. James would die from appendicitis a year after Philip's birth, and his father's marble and...
- The Philadelphia StoryThe Philadelphia Story (play)The Philadelphia Story is a 1939 American comic play by Philip Barry. It tells the story of a socialite whose wedding plans are complicated by the simultaneous arrival of her ex-husband and an attractive journalist.-Production:... - Bertolt BrechtBertolt BrechtBertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
- Mother Courage and Her ChildrenMother Courage and Her ChildrenMother Courage and Her Children is a play written in 1939 by the German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht with significant contributions from Margarete Steffin...
(written) - T. S. EliotT. S. EliotThomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
- The Family ReunionThe Family ReunionThe Family Reunion is a play by T. S. Eliot. Written mostly in blank verse, it incorporates elements from Greek drama and mid-twentieth-century detective plays to portray the hero's journey from guilt to redemption. The play was unsuccessful when first presented in 1939, and was later regarded as... - Lillian HellmanLillian HellmanLillian Florence "Lily" Hellman was an American playwright, linked throughout her life with many left-wing causes...
- The Little FoxesThe Little FoxesThe Little Foxes is a 1939 play by Lillian Hellman. Its title comes from Chapter 2, Verse 15 in the Song of Solomon in the King James version of the Bible, which reads, "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes." Set in a small town in Alabama in... - George S. KaufmanGeorge S. KaufmanGeorge Simon Kaufman was an American playwright, theatre director and producer, humorist, and drama critic. In addition to comedies and political satire, he wrote several musicals, notably for the Marx Brothers...
and Moss HartMoss HartMoss Hart was an American playwright and theatre director, best known for his interpretations of musical theater on Broadway.-Early years:...
-The Man Who Came to DinnerThe Man Who Came to DinnerThe Man Who Came to Dinner is a comedy in three acts by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It debuted on October 16, 1939 at the Music Box Theatre in New York City. It then enjoyed a number of New York and London revivals. The first London production was staged at The Savoy Theatre starring Robert... - Joseph KesselringJoseph KesselringJoseph Otto Kesselring was an American writer and playwright known best for his play Arsenic and Old Lace, written in 1939 and originally entitled "Bodies in Our Cellar." He was born in New York City to Henry and Frances Kesselring. His father's parents were immigrants from Germany. His mother was...
- Arsenic and Old LaceArsenic and Old Lace (play)Arsenic and Old Lace is a play by American playwright Joseph Kesselring, written in 1939. It has become best known through the film adaptation starring Cary Grant and directed by Frank Capra. The play was directed by Bretaigne Windust, and opened on January 10, 1941. On September 25, 1943, the... - Jean GiraudouxJean GiraudouxHippolyte Jean Giraudoux was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His work is noted for its stylistic elegance and poetic fantasy...
- OndineOndine (play)Ondine is a play written in 1938 by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux that tells the story of Hans and Ondine. Hans is a knight-errant who has been sent off on a quest by his betrothed. In the forest he meets and falls in love with Ondine, a water-sprite who is attracted to the world of mortal man.... - Clare Boothe LuceClare Boothe LuceClare Boothe Luce was an American playwright, editor, journalist, ambassador, socialite and U.S. Congresswoman, representing the state of Connecticut.-Early life:...
- Margin of Error
Poetry
- T. S. EliotT. S. EliotThomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
- Old Possum's Book of Practical CatsOld Possum's Book of Practical CatsOld Possum's Book of Practical Cats is a collection of whimsical poems by T. S. Eliot about feline psychology and sociology, published by Faber and Faber. It is the basis for the record-setting musical Cats.... - Javier del GranadoJavier del GranadoFrancisco Javier del Granado y Granado , was a poet laureate and favorite son of Bolivia.Born into a distinguished aristocratic family with a rich literary pedigree, he spent most of his youth on his family's hacienda near Arani, in the department of Cochabamba, Colpa-Ciacu, a colonial-era estate...
- Rosas Pálidas (Pale Roses)
Non-fiction
- Lord David CecilLord David CecilEdward Christian David Gascoyne-Cecil, CH , was a British biographer, historian and academic. He held the style of 'Lord' by courtesy, as a younger son of a marquess.-Early life and studies:...
- The Young Melbourne and the Story of his Marriage with Caroline Lamb - Savitri Devi - A Warning to the HindusA Warning to the HindusA Warning to the Hindus is a 1939 booklet by the pro-Nazi intellectual and mystic Savitri Devi. It was written in an attempt to "...make both those Hindus who are not nationalists and those Indian nationalists who do not care to call themselves Hindus into Hindu nationalists." The author projected...
- Erwin PanofskyErwin PanofskyErwin Panofsky was a German art historian, whose academic career was pursued mostly in the U.S. after the rise of the Nazi regime. Panofsky's work remains highly influential in the modern academic study of iconography...
- Studies in Iconology - Ed RickettsEd RickettsEdward Flanders Robb Ricketts commonly known as Ed Ricketts, was an American marine biologist, ecologist, and philosopher...
- Between Pacific TidesBetween Pacific TidesBetween Pacific Tides is a 1939 book by Ed Ricketts and Jack Calvin that explores the intertidal ecology of the Pacific coast of the United States... - Antoine de Saint-ExupéryAntoine de Saint-ExupéryAntoine de Saint-Exupéry , officially Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint Exupéry , was a French writer, poet and pioneering aviator. He became a laureate of France's highest literary awards, and in 1939 was the winner of the U.S. National Book Award...
- Wind, Sand and StarsWind, Sand and StarsWind, Sand and Stars is a memoir by Antoine de Saint Exupéry published in 1939. It was translated from the French by Lewis Galantière, and published in the US in November 1945....
(Terre des hommes) - Ronald SymeRonald SymeSir Ronald Syme, OM, FBA was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. Long associated with Oxford University, he is widely regarded as the 20th century's greatest historian of ancient Rome...
- The Roman RevolutionThe Roman RevolutionThe Roman Revolution is an enormously influential scholarly study of the final years of the ancient Roman Republic and the creation of the Roman Empire by Caesar Augustus. The book was the work of Sir Ronald Syme , a noted Tacitean scholar, and was published by the Oxford University Press. It was... - Bill W.Bill W.William Griffith Wilson , also known as Bill Wilson or Bill W., was the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous , an international mutual aid fellowship with over two million members belonging to 100,800 groups of alcoholics helping other alcoholics achieve and maintain sobriety...
& Dr. BobBob Smith (doctor)Robert Holbrook Smith was an American physician and surgeon who co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous with Bill Wilson, more commonly known as Bill W. He was also known as Dr. Bob. He was born in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, where he was raised, to Susan A. Holbrook and Walter Perrin Smith...
- The Big BookThe Big Book (Alcoholics Anonymous)Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism is a 1939 self-help text on alcoholism, written by the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill W. & Dr. Bob...
Births
- January 29 - Germaine GreerGermaine GreerGermaine Greer is an Australian writer, academic, journalist and scholar of early modern English literature, widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the later 20th century....
, feministFeminismFeminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
author - April 12 - Alan AyckbournAlan AyckbournSir Alan Ayckbourn CBE is a prolific English playwright. He has written and produced seventy-three full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where all but four of his plays have received their...
, dramatist - June 5 - Margaret Drabble, novelNovelA novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ist - July 2 - Ferdinand MountFerdinand MountSir William Robert Ferdinand Mount, 3rd Baronet , usually known as Ferdinand Mount, is a British writer and novelist, columnist for The Sunday Times and commentator on politics, and Conservative Party politician...
, journalist and novelist - August 1 - Robert James WallerRobert James WallerRobert James Waller is an American author, also known for his work as a photographer and musician.-Life:Waller received his B.A. and M.A. from University of Northern Iowa . He received his Ph.D...
, AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novelist - October 6 - Melvyn BraggMelvyn BraggMelvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg FRSL FRTS FBA, FRS FRSA is an English broadcaster and author best known for his work with the BBC and for presenting the The South Bank Show...
, novelist, critic and television presenter - October 9 - John PilgerJohn PilgerJohn Richard Pilger is an Australian journalist and documentary maker, based in London. He has twice won Britain's Journalist of the Year Award, and his documentaries have received academy awards in Britain and the US....
, journalistJournalistA journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A... - October 10 - Clive JamesClive JamesClive James, AM is an Australian author, critic, broadcaster, poet and memoirist, best known for his autobiographical series Unreliable Memoirs, for his chat shows and documentaries on British television and for his prolific journalism...
, writer, humorist and television personality - November 17 - Auberon WaughAuberon WaughAuberon Alexander Waugh was a British author and journalist, son of the novelist Evelyn Waugh. He was known to his family and friends as Bron Waugh.-Life and career:...
, journalist and son of Evelyn WaughEvelyn WaughArthur Evelyn St. John Waugh , known as Evelyn Waugh, was an English writer of novels, travel books and biographies. He was also a prolific journalist and reviewer... - November 18 - Margaret AtwoodMargaret AtwoodMargaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...
, novelist and poetPoetA poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary... - November 25 - Shelagh DelaneyShelagh DelaneyShelagh Delaney, FRSL was an English dramatist and screenwriter, best-known for her debut work, A Taste of Honey ....
, dramatist (d. 2011) - December 18 - Michael MoorcockMichael MoorcockMichael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
, science fictionScience fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
authorAuthorAn author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:... - date unknown - Iris GowerIris GowerIris Davies was a novelist, noted for her many historical romances, most of which are set in the British seaport of Swansea and the Gower Peninsula, from which she took her nom-de-plume.-Biography:...
, romantic novelistRomance novelThe romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
Deaths
- January 28 - William Butler YeatsWilliam Butler YeatsWilliam Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
, poet (b. 1865) - February 18 - Okamoto KanokoOkamoto Kanokowas the pen-name of a Japanese author, tanka poet, and Buddhism scholar active during the Taishō and early Shōwa periods of Japan.-Early life:Kanoko's maiden name was Ohnuki Kano. She was born in Aoyama, Akasaka-ku was the pen-name of a Japanese author, tanka poet, and Buddhism scholar active...
, tankaWaka (poetry)Waka or Yamato uta is a genre of classical Japanese verse and one of the major genres of Japanese literature...
poet - February 22 - Antonio MachadoAntonio MachadoAntonio Cipriano José María y Francisco de Santa Ana Machado y Ruiz, known as Antonio Machado was a Spanish poet and one of the leading figures of the Spanish literary movement known as the Generation of '98....
, poet - March 7 - Ludwig FuldaLudwig Fuldathumb|200px|Ludwig FuldaLudwig Anton Salomon Fulda was a German writer and a poet with a strong social commitment.-Biography:...
- March 23 - Richard HalliburtonRichard HalliburtonRichard Halliburton was an American traveler, adventurer, and author. Best known today for having swum the length of the Panama Canal and paying the lowest toll in its history—thirty-six cents—Halliburton was headline news for most of his brief career...
, travel writer - April 11 - S. S. Van DineS. S. Van DineS. S. Van Dine was the pseudonym of Willard Huntington Wright , a U.S art critic and author. He created the once immensely popular fictional detective Philo Vance, who first appeared in books in the 1920s, then in movies and on the radio.-Early life and career:Willard Huntington Wright was born...
, crime fictionCrime fictionCrime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
writer - May 23 - Margarete BöhmeMargarete BöhmeMargarete Böhme was, arguably, one of the most widely read German writers of the early 20th century. Böhme authored 40 novels – as well as short stories, autobiographical sketches, and articles. The Diary of a Lost Girl, first published in 1905 as Tagebuch einer Verlorenen, is her best known and...
, German novelist - May 27 - Joseph RothJoseph RothJoseph Roth, born Moses Joseph Roth , was an Austrian journalist and novelist, best known for his family saga Radetzky March about the decline and fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and for his novel of Jewish life, Job as well as the seminal essay 'Juden auf Wanderschaft' translated in...
, novelist - June 26 - 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...
, novelist (b. 1873) - July 8 - Havelock EllisHavelock EllisHenry Havelock Ellis, known as Havelock Ellis , was a British physician and psychologist, writer, and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He was co-author of the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality in 1897, and also published works on a variety of sexual practices and...
, sexual psychologistPsychologistPsychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
and controversial writer (b. 1859) - September - Ethel M. DellEthel M. DellEthel May Dell or Ethel Mary Dell was an English writer of popular romance novels.-Overview:Ethel Dell's married name is recorded as Ethel Mary Savage. She was born in Streatham, a suburb of London. Her father was a clerk in the City of London and she had an older sister and brother. Her family...
, romantic novelist - September 6 - Arthur RackhamArthur RackhamArthur Rackham was an English book illustrator.-Biography:Rackham was born in London as one of 12 children. At the age of 18, he worked as a clerk at the Westminster Fire Office and began studying part-time at the Lambeth School of Art.In 1892 he left his job and started working for The...
, bookBookA book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
illustratorIllustratorAn Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text... - October 23 - Zane GreyZane GreyZane Grey was an American author best known for his popular adventure novels and stories that presented an idealized image of the Old West. Riders of the Purple Sage was his bestselling book. In addition to the success of his printed works, they later had second lives and continuing influence...
, popular author of westernsWestern (genre)The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
(b. 1872) - December 2 - Llewelyn PowysLlewelyn PowysLlewelyn Powys was a British writer and younger brother of John Cowper Powys and T. F. Powys.-Life:Powys was born in Dorchester, the son of a clergyman, and was educated at Sherborne School and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. While lecturing in the United States he contracted tuberculosis...
, biographer and autobiographerAutobiographyAn autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:... - Unknown Date - Solomon CleaverSolomon CleaverSolomon Cleaver was a Winnipeg minister and storyteller best known for his adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, published in 1935 as Jean Val Jean...
, storyteller and novelist
Awards
- Carnegie MedalCarnegie MedalThe Carnegie Medal is a literary award established in 1936 in honour of Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and given annually to an outstanding book for children and young adults. It is awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals...
for children's literatureChildren's literatureChildren's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
: Eleanor DoorlyEleanor DoorlyVictoria Eleanor Louise Doorly was an award-winning British writer of children's books. She was born in Jamaica as the daughter of William Anton Doorly and Louise Brown, but moved to England upon the premature death of her father in 1887...
, The Radium WomanThe Radium WomanThe Radium Woman is a biography of the scientist Marie Curie written for children by Eleanor Doorly. It was published in 1939 and was the first non-fiction book to be awarded the Carnegie Medal. Woodcuts by Robert Gibbings illustrated each chapter... - James Tait Black Memorial PrizeJames Tait Black Memorial PrizeFounded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English language and are Britain's oldest literary awards...
for fiction: Aldous HuxleyAldous HuxleyAldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...
After Many a Summer Dies the SwanAfter Many a SummerAfter Many a Summer is a novel by Aldous Huxley that tells the story of a Hollywood millionaire who fears his impending death; it was published in the United States as After Many a Summer Dies the Swan... - James Tait Black Memorial PrizeJames Tait Black Memorial PrizeFounded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English language and are Britain's oldest literary awards...
for biography: David C. DouglasDavid C. DouglasDavid Charles Douglas was a historian of the Norman period at the University of Cambridge and University of Oxford. He joined Oxford University in 1963 as Ford's Lecturer in English History, and was the 1939 winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.-Works:* William the Conqueror: The Norman...
, English Scholars - Newbery MedalNewbery MedalThe John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...
for children's literatureChildren's literatureChildren's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
: Elizabeth EnrightElizabeth EnrightElizabeth Enright was an American children's author and illustrator. She was born in Oak Park, Illinois.-Life:Her father, Walter J...
, Thimble SummerThimble SummerThimble Summer is a novel by Elizabeth Enright that won the 1939 Newbery Medal. It is set in Depression-era rural Wisconsin.-old Garnet Linden finds a silver thimble in a dried-up riverbed near the farm where she lives, the drought that has threatened her family's financial future is broken with a... - Nobel Prize for literature: Frans Eemil SillanpääFrans Eemil SillanpääFrans Eemil Sillanpää was one of the most famous Finnish writers.He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939 "for his deep understanding of his country's peasantry and the exquisite art with which he has portrayed their way of life and their relationship with Nature."Frans Eemil...
- Pulitzer Prize for DramaPulitzer Prize for DramaThe Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
: Robert E. SherwoodRobert E. SherwoodRobert Emmet Sherwood was an American playwright, editor, and screenwriter.-Biography:Born in New Rochelle, New York, he was a son of Arthur Murray Sherwood, a rich stockbroker, and his wife, the former Rosina Emmet, a well-known illustrator and portrait painter known as Rosina E. Sherwood...
, Abe Lincoln in IllinoisAbe Lincoln in Illinois (play)Abe Lincoln in Illinois is a play written by the American playwright Robert E. Sherwood in 1938. The play, in three acts, covers the life of President Abraham Lincoln from his childhood through his final speech in Illinois before he left for Washington. The play also covers his romance with Mary... - Pulitzer Prize for PoetryPulitzer Prize for PoetryThe Pulitzer Prize in Poetry has been presented since 1922 for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author. However, special citations for poetry were presented in 1918 and 1919.-Winners:...
: John Gould FletcherJohn Gould FletcherJohn Gould Fletcher was an Imagist poet and author. He was born in Little Rock, Arkansas to a socially prominent family. After attending Phillips Academy, Andover Fletcher went on to Harvard University from 1903 to 1907, when he dropped out shortly after his father's death.Fletcher lived in...
: Selected Poems - Pulitzer Prize for the Novel: Marjorie Kinnan RawlingsMarjorie Kinnan RawlingsMarjorie Kinnan Rawlings was an American author who lived in rural Florida and wrote novels with rural themes and settings. Her best known work, The Yearling, about a boy who adopts an orphaned fawn, won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1939 and was later made into a movie, also known as The...
- The YearlingThe YearlingThe Yearling is a 1946 Technicolor family film drama made by MGM. It was directed by Clarence Brown and produced by Sidney Franklin. The screenplay was by Paul Osborn and John Lee Mahin , adapted from the novel of the same name by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings...