Famous American writers of our time. American Writers. famous American writers. American Classical Writers. Other Important McCarthy Books

American writers are the authors who created American literature, the youngest literature in the world. Appearing at the end of the 18th century, it began to develop intensively in the 19th and 20th centuries. This literature is fanned by the romanticism of creating a new world, a new person and new relationships. The list of the most famous American writers and their works is far from complete, but we are working... If you have read any work and liked it very much, then let us know and we will publish it on the site.

Their best books, stories and stories can be read in Russian and English. We also offer to watch the best film adaptations of works. For English learners, there are short adapted stories, subtitled films and cartoons in English, as well as free English lessons online.

American Writers and Their Works (classics)

Washington Irving (1783-1859)

Full of mysticism and adventurism, stories about American pioneers from the founder of American literature, author of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, in English and Russian.

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)

Read best stories representative of American romanticism and the founder of the modern detective story - Edgar Allan Poe, author Raven Poems(). The most famous stories of the writer - Black Cat, Gold Beetle, Murder in the Rue Morgue.

O. Henry / O. Henry (1862-1910)

American Don Quixote, a sad storyteller of the 20th century, a master of an unexpected denouement and certainly a good end - O. Henry. His most famous stories are Gifts of the Magi, The Last Leaf.

Jack London (1876-1916)

Famous American writers and their work is an example of successful literary achievements.

Notable American Writers

Famous American writers include: Mark Twain, Jack London, Ernest Hemingway, O. Henry, Blanche Barton, Edgar Poe, John Steinbeck, Theodore Dreiser, William Faulkner, Ray Bradbury, Stephen King, Dan Brown and others.

(1876-1916) - American writer, public figure, socialist. He is best known as the author of adventure stories and novels. The creative heritage includes many works, these include: "Sea Wolf" (1904), "White Fang" (1906), "Interstellar Traveler" (1915), etc.

(1835-1910) - American writer, humorist, satirist, publicist, publisher. The most famous works are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
William Faulkner wrote that he was "the first truly American writer, and since then we have all been his heirs", and Ernest Hemingway wrote that "all modern American literature came out of one book by Mark Twain called The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn "".

(1862-1910) - American writer, master of the short story genre. O. Henry occupies an exceptional place in American literature as a master of the short story genre. Before his death, O. Henry expressed his intention to move on to a more complex genre - to the novel: "Everything that I have written so far is just pampering, pen tests, compared to what I will write in a year." Henry's heroes are diverse: millionaires, cowboys, speculators, clerks, laundresses, bandits, financiers, politicians, writers, artists, artists, workers, engineers, firefighters. The originality of O. Henry consisted in the brilliant use of jargon, sharp words and expressions, and in the general colorfulness of the dialogues.
Creative heritage: "The Roads We Choose" (1904), "Gifts of the Magi" (1905), "The Last Leaf" (1907).

(1899-1961) - American writer and journalist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1953.
He became widely known for his novels and short stories, as well as for his active and adventurous life. His laconic and rich style of narration played a significant role in the literature of the 20th century. In 1993, the minor planet 3656 Hemingway was named after him. During his life he wrote and published 7 short stories, 6 collections of short stories and 2 documentary works. Additional works, which include 3 short stories, 4 short story collections, 3 nonfictions, published posthumously. Many of his works are considered classics of American literature.

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Despite its relatively short history, American literature has made an invaluable contribution to world culture. Although already in the 19th century all of Europe was reading the gloomy detective stories of Edgar Allan Poe and the beautiful historical poems of Henry Longfellow, these were only the first steps; It was in the 20th century that American literature flourished. Against the backdrop of the Great Depression, two world wars and the struggle against racial discrimination in America, classics of world literature, Nobel Prize winners, writers are born who characterize an entire era with their works.

The radical economic and social changes in American life in the 1920s and 1930s provided the perfect breeding ground for realism, which reflected the desire to capture the new realities of America. Now, along with books whose purpose was to entertain the reader and make him forget about the surrounding social problems, works appear on the shelves that clearly show the need to change the existing social order. The work of the realists was distinguished by a great interest in various kinds of social conflicts, attacks on socially accepted values ​​and criticism of the American way of life.

Among the most prominent realists were Theodore Dreiser, Francis Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway. In their immortal works, they reflected the true life of America, sympathized with the tragic fate of young Americans who went through the First World War, supported the struggle against fascism, spoke openly in defense of workers, and unashamedly portrayed the depravity and spiritual emptiness of American society.

THEODORE DREISER

(1871-1945)

Theodore Dreiser was born in a small town in Indiana to a bankrupt small business owner. Writer from childhood he knew hunger, poverty and need, which was later reflected in the themes of his works, as well as in a brilliant description of the life of the ordinary working class. His father was a strict Catholic, limited and despotic, which made Dreiser hate religion till the end of one's days.

At the age of sixteen, Dreiser had to leave school and work part-time in order to somehow earn his living. Later, he was still enrolled in the university, but he could only study there for a year, again because of money problems. In 1892, Dreiser began working as a reporter for various newspapers, and eventually moved to New York, where he became editor of the magazine.

His first significant work is the novel "Sister Kerry"- comes out in 1900. Dreiser tells the story of a poor country girl, close to his own life, who recovers in search of work in Chicago. As soon as the book barely made it to print, it immediately was called contrary to morality and withdrawn from sale. Seven years later, when it became too difficult to hide the work from the public, the novel nevertheless appeared on store shelves. Writer's second book "Jenny Gerhard" published in 1911 was also crushed by critics.

Further, Dreiser begins to write a cycle of novels "Trilogy of Desires": "Financier" (1912), "Titanium"(1914) and unfinished novel "Stoic"(1947). Its purpose was to show how, at the end of the 19th century, America was "big business".

In 1915, a semi-autobiographical novel was published. "Genius", in which Dreiser describes the tragic fate of a young artist whose life was broken by the cruel injustice of American society. Myself the writer considered the novel his best work, but critics and readers greeted the book negatively and it is practically not for sale.

Dreiser's most famous work is the immortal novel. "American tragedy"(1925). This is a story about a young American who is corrupted by the false morals of the United States, which leads him to become a criminal and a murderer. novel reflects american lifestyle, in which the poverty of workers from the outskirts stands out against the backdrop of the wealth of the privileged class.

In 1927, Dreiser visited the USSR and published a book the following year. "Dreiser looks at Russia", which became one of the first books about the Soviet Union, published by a writer from America.

Dreiser also supported the movement of the American working class and wrote several non-fiction works on this topic - "Tragic America"(1931) and "America Worth Saving"(1941). With tireless strength and the skill of a true realist, he depicted the social order around him. However, despite how harsh the world appeared before his eyes, the writer never did not lose faith to the dignity and greatness of man and his beloved country.

In addition to critical realism, Dreiser worked in the genre naturalism. He scrupulously depicted seemingly insignificant details of the everyday life of his heroes, cited real documents, sometimes very long in size, clearly described actions related to business, etc. Because of this style of writing, criticism is often accused Dreiser in the absence of style and fantasy. By the way, despite such condemnations, Dreiser was a candidate for the Nobel Prize in 1930, so you yourself can judge their veracity.

I do not argue, maybe sometimes the abundance of small details is confusing, but it is their ubiquitous presence that allows the reader to most clearly imagine the action and, as it were, become a direct participant in it. The writer's novels are large in size and can be quite difficult to read, but they are undoubtedly masterpieces american literature, worth spending time on. It is highly recommended to fans of Dostoevsky's work, who will certainly be able to appreciate Dreiser's talent.

Francis Scott Fitzgerald

(1896-1940)

Francis Scott Fitzgerald is one of America's most famous writers. lost generation(these are young people called to the front, sometimes who have not finished school yet and start killing early; after the war they often could not adapt to civilian life, drank too much, committed suicide, some went crazy). They were devastated people who had no strength left to fight the corrupt world of wealth. They try to fill their spiritual emptiness with endless pleasures and entertainment.

The writer was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in a wealthy family, so he got the opportunity to study in prestigious Princeton University. At that time, the university was dominated by a competitive spirit, under the influence of which Fitzgerald also fell. He tried with all his might to become a member of the most fashionable and famous clubs, which attracted with their atmosphere of sophistication and aristocracy. Money for the writer was synonymous with independence, privilege, style and beauty, and poverty was associated with avarice and narrow-mindedness. Later Fitzgerald realized the falsity of their views.

He never finished his studies at Princeton, but it was there that his literary career(he wrote for the university magazine). In 1917, the writer volunteered for the army, but he never took part in real military operations in Europe. At the same time he falls in love with Zelda Sayre who came from a wealthy family. They married only in 1920, two years later, after the resounding success of Fitzgerald's first serious work. "On the Other Side of Paradise" because Zelda didn't want to marry a poor unknown man. The fact that beautiful girls are attracted only by wealth made the writer think about social injustice, and Zelda was later often called the prototype of the heroines his novels.

Fitzgerald's wealth grows in direct proportion to the popularity of his novel, and soon the spouses become epitome of luxury lifestyle they even came to be called the king and queen of their generation. They lived chic and ostentatious, enjoying a fashionable life in Paris, expensive rooms in prestigious hotels, endless parties and receptions. They constantly threw out various eccentric antics, scandals and became addicted to alcohol, and Fitzgerald even began to write articles for glossy magazines of that time. All this is undoubtedly destroyed the talent of the writer, although even then he managed to write several serious novels and stories.

His major novels appeared between 1920 and 1934: "On the Other Side of Paradise" (1920), "The Beautiful and the Damned" (1922), "The Great Gatsby", which is the writer's most famous work and is considered a masterpiece of American literature, and "Night is tender" (1934).

The Best Fitzgerald Stories Included in Collections "Tales of the Jazz Age"(1922) and "All those sad young people" (1926).

Shortly before his death, in an autobiographical article, Fitzgerald compared himself to a broken plate. He died of a heart attack on December 21, 1940 in Hollywood.

The main theme of almost all of Fitzgerald's works was the corrupting power of money, which leads to spiritual decay. He considered the rich to be a special class, and only over time began to realize that it was based on inhumanity, his own uselessness and lack of morality. He realized this along with his characters, who were mostly autobiographical characters.

Fitzgerald's novels are written in beautiful language, understandable and refined at the same time, so the reader can hardly tear himself away from his books. Although after reading the works of Fitzgerald, despite the amazing imagination a journey into the luxurious Jazz Age, there remains a feeling of emptiness and futility of being, he is rightfully considered one of the most prominent writers of the 20th century.

WILLIAM FAULKNER

(1897-1962)

William Cuthbert Faulkner is one of the leading novelists of the mid-twentieth century, in New Albany, Mississippi, in an impoverished aristocratic family. He studied at Oxford when the First World War began. The experience of the writer, received at this time, played an important role in shaping his character. He entered military flight school, but the war ended before he could complete the course. After that, Faulkner returned to Oxford and worked head of the post office at the University of Mississippi. At the same time, he began taking courses at the university and trying to write.

His first published book, a collection of poems "Marble Faun"(1924), was not successful. In 1925, Faulkner met the writer Sherwood Anderson which had a great influence on his work. He recommended Faulkner engage in poetry, prose, and gave advice to write about American South, about the place Faulkner grew up in and knows best. It is in Mississippi, namely in the fictional district Yoknapatofa most of his novels will take place.

In 1926 Faulkner wrote the novel "Soldier Award" who was close in spirit to the lost generation. The writer showed tragedy of people who returned to civilian life crippled both physically and mentally. The novel was also not a great success, but Faulkner was recognized as an inventive writer.

From 1925 to 1929 he worked carpenter and painter and successfully combines this with writing work.

In 1927, the novel "Mosquitoes" and in 1929 - "Sartoris". In the same year, Faulkner published the novel "Sound and Fury" which brings him fame in literary circles. After that, he decides to devote all his time to writing. His work "Sanctuary"(1931), a story about violence and murder, became a sensation and the author finally gained financial independence.

In the 1930s, Faulner wrote several gothic novels: "When I was dying"(1930), "Light in August"(1932) and "Absalom, Absalom!"(1936).

In 1942, the writer publishes a collection of short stories "Come down, Moses", which includes one of his most famous works - the story "Bear".In 1948 Faulkner writes "The Defiler of Ashes", one of the most important social novels associated with racism.

In the 40s and 50s, his best work, a trilogy of novels, was published. "Village", "City" and "Mansion" dedicated the tragic fate of the aristocracy of the American South. Faulkner's last novel "The Kidnappers" coming out in 1962, it also enters the Yoknapatof saga and depicts the story of the beautiful but dying South. For this novel, and for "Parable"(1954), whose themes are humanity and war, Faulkner received Pulitzer Prizes. In 1949, the writer was awarded "for his significant and artistically unique contribution to the development of the modern American novel".

William Faulkner was one of the most important writers of his time. He belonged to Southern School of American Writers. In his writings, he turned to the history of the American South, especially during the Civil War.

In his books, he tried to deal with racism, knowing full well that it is not so much social as psychological. Faulkner saw African Americans and whites as inextricably linked to each other by a common history. He condemned racism and cruelty, but was sure that both whites and African Americans were not ready for legislative action, so Faulkner mainly criticized the moral side of the issue.

Faulkner was proficient with the pen, although he often claimed to have little interest in writing technique. He was a bold experimenter and had an original style. He wrote psychological novels, in which great attention was paid to the replicas of the characters, for example, the novel "When I was dying" built like a chain of characters' monologues, sometimes long, sometimes one or two sentences. Faulkner fearlessly combined opposing epithets to great effect, and his writings often have ambiguous, indefinite endings. Of course, Faulkner knew how to write in such a way that excite the soul even the pickiest reader.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY

(1899-1961)

Ernest Hemingway - one of the most widely read writers of the 20th century. He is a classic of American and world literature.

He was born in Oak Park, Illinois, the son of a provincial doctor. His father was fond of hunting and fishing, he taught his son shoot and fish and also instilled a love for sports and nature. Ernest's mother was a religious woman who was entirely devoted to the affairs of the church. On the basis of different views on life, quarrels often broke out between the writer's parents, because of which Hemingway couldn't feel at home.

Ernest's favorite place was a house in northern Michigan, where the family usually spent their summers. The boy always accompanied his father on various trips to the forest or fishing.

Ernest's school gifted, energetic, successful student and excellent athlete. He played football, was a member of the swim team and boxed. Hemingway also loved literature, writing weekly reviews, poetry and prose for school magazines. However, the school years were not calm for Ernest. The atmosphere created in the family by his demanding mother put a lot of pressure on the boy, so that he ran away from home twice and worked on farms as a laborer.

In 1917, when America entered World War I, Hemingway wanted to join the army, but due to poor eyesight, he was refused. He moved to Kansas to live with his uncle and started working as a reporter for the local newspaper. The Kansas City star. Journalistic experience clearly visible in the distinctive style of Hemingway's writing, laconic, but at the same time clear and precise language. In the spring of 1918, he learned that the Red Cross needed volunteers for Italian front. It was his long-awaited chance to be at the center of the battles. After a short stop in France, Hemingway arrived in Italy. Two months later, while rescuing a wounded Italian sniper, the writer came under fire from machine guns and mortars and was badly injured. He was taken to a hospital in Milan, where, after 12 operations, 26 fragments were removed from his body.

Experience Hemingway received in war, was very important for the young man and influenced not only his life, but also his writing. In 1919 Hemingway returns as a hero to America. Soon he travels to Toronto, where he begins working as a reporter for a newspaper. The Toronto star. In 1921, Hemingway married the young pianist Hadley Richardson, and the couple moves to Paris, the city that the writer has long dreamed of. To collect material for his future stories, Hemingway travels around the world, visiting Germany, Spain, Switzerland and other countries. His first job "Three Stories and Ten Poems"(1923) was not successful, but the next collection of short stories "Nowadays", published in 1925, achieved public recognition.

Hemingway's first novel "And the Sun Rises"(or "Fiesta") published in 1926. "A Farewell to Arms!", a novel depicting World War I and its aftermath, comes out in 1929 and brings great popularity to the author. In the late 20s and into the 30s, Hemingway released two collections of short stories: "Men Without Women"(1927) and "Winner Gets Nothing" (1933).

The most outstanding works written in the first half of the 30s are "Death in the Afternoon"(1932) and "Green Hills of Africa" (1935). "Death in the Afternoon" narrates about the Spanish bullfight, "Green Hills of Africa" and the well-known collection "Snows of Kilimanjaro"(1936) describe Hemingway's hunting in Africa. nature lover, the writer skillfully draws African landscapes for readers.

When in 1936 began Spanish Civil War Hemingway hastened to the theater of war, but this time as an anti-fascist correspondent and writer. The next three years of his life are closely connected with the struggle of the Spanish people against fascism.

He took part in the filming of the documentary "Land of Spain". Hemingway wrote the script and read the text himself. The impression of the war in Spain reflected in the novel "For whom the Bell Tolls"(1940), which the writer himself considered his best job.

A deep hatred of fascism made Hemingway active participant in World War II. He organized counterintelligence against Nazi spies and hunted German submarines in the Caribbean on his boat, after which he served as a war correspondent in Europe. In 1944, Hemingway took part in combat flights over Germany and even, standing at the head of a detachment of French partisans, was one of the first to liberate Paris from German occupation.

After the war Hemingway moved to Cuba, occasionally visited Spain and Africa. He ardently supported the Cuban revolutionaries in their struggle against the dictatorship that had developed in the country. He talked a lot with ordinary Cubans and worked hard on a new story. "The Old Man and the Sea", which is considered the pinnacle of the writer's work. In 1953 Ernest Hemingway received Pulitzer Prize for this brilliant story, and in 1954 Hemingway was awarded Nobel Prize in Literature "for storytelling once again demonstrated in The Old Man and the Sea."

During his trip to Africa in 1953, the writer was in a serious plane crash.

In the last years of his life he was seriously ill. In November 1960, Hemingway returned to America in the town of Ketchum, Idaho. Writer suffered from a number of diseases, because of which he was admitted to the clinic. He was in deep depression, because he believed that FBI agents were watching him, listening to telephone conversations, checking mail and bank accounts. In the clinic, this was taken as a symptom of mental illness and the great writer was treated with electric shock. After 13 Hemingway sessions I lost my memory and ability to create. He was depressed, suffered from bouts of paranoia, and increasingly thought about suicide.

Two days after his release from the psychiatric hospital, on July 2, 1961, Ernest Hemingway shot himself with his favorite hunting rifle at his home in Ketchum, leaving no suicide note.

In the early 80s, the Hemingway case at the FBI was declassified, and the fact of surveillance of the writer in his last years was confirmed.

Ernest Hemingway was by far the greatest writer of his generation, with an amazing and tragic fate. He was freedom fighter, vehemently opposed wars and fascism, and not only through literary works. He was incredible master of writing. His style is distinguished by conciseness, accuracy, restraint in describing emotional situations, and concrete details. The technique he developed was included in the literature under the name "iceberg principle", because the writer gave the main meaning to the subtext. The main feature of his work was truthfulness, he was always honest and sincere with his readers. While reading his works, there is confidence in the reliability of events, the effect of presence is created.

Ernest Hemingway is the writer whose works are recognized as real masterpieces of world literature and whose works, no doubt, should be read by everyone.

MARGARET MITCHELL

(1900-1949)

Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta, Georgia. She was the daughter of a lawyer who was chairman of the Atlanta Historical Society. The whole family loved and was interested in history, and the girl grew up in atmosphere of stories about the Civil War.

At first, Mitchell studied at the Washington Seminary, and then entered the prestigious Smith College for Women in Massachusetts. After graduation, she began working in The Atlanta Journal. She wrote hundreds of essays, articles and reviews for the newspaper, and in four years she has grown to reporter, but in 1926 she suffered an ankle injury that made her work impossible.

The energy and liveliness of the character of the writer were traced in everything she did or wrote. Margaret Mitchell married John Marsh in 1925. From that moment on, she began to write down all the stories about the Civil War that she heard as a child. This resulted in a novel "Gone With the Wind", which was first published in 1936. The writer has been working on it for ten years. This is a novel about the American Civil War, told from the point of view of the North. The main character is, of course, a beautiful girl named Scarlett O'Hara, the whole story revolves around her life, family plantation, love relationships.

After the release of the novel, the American classic bestseller, Margaret Mitchell quickly became a world-famous writer. Over 8 million copies have been sold in 40 countries. The novel has been translated into 18 languages. He won Pultzer Prize in 1937. The very successful movie with Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable and Leslie Howard.

Despite numerous fan requests for a continuation of O'Hara's story, Mitchell did not write more. not a single novel. But the name of the writer, like her magnificent work, will forever remain in the history of world literature.

"Sinlessness" became a real sensation last year: it is called the most scandalous and most Russian novel by Franzen. Reflections on acute social problems, the totalitarian nature of the Internet, feminism and politics are intertwined with a deep, very personal story of one family.

The life of a young girl named Pip is a complete mess: she does not know her father, she cannot pay off her student debt, she does not know how to build relationships, she goes to boring work. But her life changes dramatically when she becomes an assistant to the hacker Andreas Wulff, who most of all loves to publicly reveal other people's secrets.

2. The Secret History, Donna Tartt

Richard Papen reminisces about his student years at a boarding college in Vermont: he and a few of his comrades attended a boarding course for an eccentric professor of ancient culture. One trick of an elite circle of students ended in a murder that only at first glance went unpunished.

After the incident, other secrets of the heroes are revealed, which lead to new tragedies in their lives.

3. "American Psycho", Bret Easton Ellis

Ellis' most famous novel is already considered a modern classic. The protagonist is Patrick Bateman, a handsome, wealthy and seemingly intelligent young man from Wall Street. But behind the good looks and expensive costumes lies greed, hatred and rage. At night, he tortures and kills people in the most sophisticated ways, without a system and without a plan.

4. "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer

A touching story from the face of a 9-year-old boy Oscar. His father died in one of the twin towers on September 11, 2001. Looking around his father's pantry, Oscar finds a vase, and in it is a small envelope with the inscription "Black" and a key inside. Encouraged and filled with curiosity, Oscar is ready to go around all the Blacks in New York to find the answer to the riddle. This is a story about overcoming a bereavement, New York after a disaster, and human kindness.

5. "It's Good to Be Quiet" by Stephen Chbosky

"The Catcher in the Rye" about modern teenagers - this is how critics dubbed the book by Stephen Chbosky, which sold a million copies and was filmed by the author himself.

Charlie - a typical quiet, silent observer of what is happening, goes to high school. After a recent nervous breakdown, he withdrew into himself. To overcome inner feelings, he begins to write letters. Letters to a friend, an unknown person - the reader of this book. On the advice of a new comrade, Pete, he tries to become "not a sponge, but a filter" - to live life to the fullest, and not to watch it from the side.

6. The Clock, Michael Cunningham

The story of one day in the life of three women from different eras from the Pulitzer Prize winner. The fate of the British writer Virginia Woolf, the American housewife Laura from Los Angeles and the editor of the publishing house Clarissa Vaughan, at first glance, are connected only by the book - the novel Mrs. Dalloway. But by the end it becomes clear that the lives and problems of the heroines, despite all the external differences, are the same.

7 Gone Girl Gillian Flynn

Nick and Amazing Amy are the perfect couple. But on the day of the fifth anniversary, Amy disappears from the house - there are all traces of a kidnapping. The whole city goes in search of the missing person and sympathizes with Nick, until Amy's diary falls into the hands of the police, because of which her husband becomes the main suspect in the murder. The main intrigue of the novel is who in this situation turned out to be the real victim.

Roman Flynn attracts with a non-standard view of modern marriage: partners marry beautiful projections of each other and then are very surprised when a living person whom they do not know at all is discovered behind the invented image.

8. "Slaughterhouse Five, or the Children's Crusade" by Kurt Vonnegut

The hard military experience of the writer is reflected in this novel. Memories of the bombing in Dresden are shown through the eyes of the ridiculous timid soldier Billy Pilgrim - one of those foolish children who were thrown into a terrible war. But Vonnegut would not be himself if he had not also introduced an element of fantasy into the novel: either due to post-traumatic stress syndrome, or due to the intervention of aliens, Pilgrim learned to travel in time.

Despite the fantastic nature of what is happening, the message of the novel is quite real and clear: Vonnegut ridicules stereotypes about “real men” and demonstrates the senselessness of wars.

9. Beloved, Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison received the Nobel Prize in Literature for bringing to life an important aspect of American reality in "her dreamy and poetic novels." And the novel "Beloved" was named one of the 100 best books in the English language by Time magazine.

The main character is the slave Seti, who, together with her children, escaped from cruel masters and stayed free for only 28 days. When the chase overtakes Sethe, she kills her daughter with her own hands - so that she does not know slavery and does not experience the same as her mother. The memory of the past and this terrible choice haunts Seti all her life.

10. A Song of Ice and Fire, George Martin

A fantasy epic about the magical world of the Seven Kingdoms, where the struggle for the Iron Throne does not stop, while a terrible winter approaches the entire continent. So far, five novels out of a planned seven have been published. The remaining two parts are waiting for both fans of the writer's work and fans of "" - a series based on the saga that breaks all popularity records.

If we consider Luhrmann's version, then « Great Gatsby » filmed five times already. Another famous novel by Fitzgerald is « Night is tender » - transferred to the screen twice. Is it a lot or a little?
Ranking of American authors, modern and classic, whose works are most often made into films:

1. Edgar Allan Poe
70 stories
1 story
51 poems
Screen adaptations: 212 (major - 94)
The recognized master of mysticism and the creator of the modern detective Edgar Allan Poe takes the first place in the list and leaves behind all possible competitors. It is surprising that during his lifetime the writer was very poor. Recognition came to him only after death, but what! His stories and poems are an inexhaustible source for the director's fantasy. In 1968, Roger Vadim, Louis Malle and Federico Fellini filmed the legendary three-part film "Three Steps Delirious" based on Poe's works. And in 2012, James McTeague staged the film "The Raven", in which he fantasized about how the writer would investigate the crimes that he himself inspired the maniac.

2. Jack London
Over 200 stories (16 collections)
21 novels and short stories
3 pieces
Screen adaptations: 124 (major - 78)For 17 years of literary activity, the author has achieved great popularity. His fees amounted to 50 thousand dollars per book - a lot of money for those times. In 1913, Jack London himself played a cameo role in the film adaptation of his novel The Sea Wolf directed by Hobart Bosworth. His books were very successful in the USSR, enough films were made on them. Recall at least the "Hearts of Three" in 1992.

3. O. Henry
252 stories
1 novel
Screen adaptations: 184 (major - 72)
Short films based on the stories of O. Henry began to be filmed during his lifetime, in 1909. And one of the most famous film adaptations of the author is the 1952 film "The Leader of the Redskins and Others." It includes five different short stories filmed by five different directors: Pharaoh and the Choral, Trumpet, The Last Leaf, The Leader of the Redskins and Gifts of the Magi. In the first, Marilyn Monroe appears in one of the roles. The voice-over is read by writer John Steinbeck. He also appears at the beginning of each part, and this is the only hit on the movie screen in his entire life.

4. Mark Twain
57 stories
8 novels and short stories (+ 1 co-authored)
9 articles
1 autobiography
Screen adaptations: 105 (large - 51)
William Faulkner called Mark Twain the first truly American writer. And Ernest Hemingway believed that all subsequent literature came out of the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This work has been repeatedly filmed in the States, but local critics consider the Soviet version, which was filmed in 1973 by Georgy Danelia, to be the best. His "Completely Lost" was even nominated at Cannes for the Palme d'Or.

5. Howard Phillips Lovecraft
59 stories (+ 38 co-authored)
6 novels and short stories (+ 2 co-authored)
1 sonnet cycle
Screen adaptations: 109 (large - 49)
This man did not publish a single book during his lifetime, his work was not popular. And this is a paradox, because without Lovecraft, modern horror, as we know it, would not exist. His works are even singled out as a separate genre of Lovecraftian horror. It’s enough that he invented the myths of Cthulhu and the Necronomicon. Yes, exactly the one that managed to be read to the guys from the Evil Dead.

6. Lyman Frank Baum
60 novels and short stories (+ 4 that are lost)
68 stories (+ 3 lost)
5 Poetic works
12 plays (+ 4 lost)
Screen adaptations: 105 (large - 31)
Baum was one of the most talented children's writers of his era. But he remained in history mainly as "the court historian of Oz" - he called himself that. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of fantasies about this magical world, and a significant part of them have been embodied in cinema. Baum's most famous film adaptation can be considered Victor Fleming's The Wizard of Oz (in the same 1939 he directed Gone with the Wind) with Jude Garland as Dorothy. And recently, the director of "Spider-Man" and "Evil Dead" Sam Raimi turned to the history of Oz, filming the film "Oz the Great and Powerful", a kind of prequel to Fleming's film.



7. Francis Scott Fitzgerald
About 70 stories
5 novels
1 piece
1 collection of journalism
Screen adaptations: 40 (large - 27)
The king of the Jazz Age, Fitzgerald coined the term himself, referring to the period of American history from the end of World War I to the onset of the Great Depression. Almost all of his heroes are representatives of the "lost generation", people who believed in the American dream, but did not find in it what they were looking for. So was Jay Gatsby, a book about which was filmed five times. The last to do so was Baz Luhrmann, who took on the lead role of Leonardo DiCaprio. Before him, the most famous Gatsby can be considered Robert Redford. And in 2008, David Fincher directed the three-hour film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, based on Fitzgerald's short story, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett.


8. James Fenimore Cooper
33 novels
5 stories
6 Historical works and biographies
2 political essays
6 travel stories
1 memoir
Screen adaptations: 38 (large - 22)This classic of American literature is known for his adventure novels. According to legend, Cooper wrote his first work on a bet, promising his wife that he could surpass the book that she was reading at that moment. In 1909, the first short film "Leather Stockings" based on his novels was filmed. And in 1992, Eikl Mann directed the film The Last of the Mohicans, starring Daniel Day-Lewis. The film won an Oscar for Best Sound.


9. Ernest Hemingway
10 collections of short stories
11 novels and short stories
13 works of non-fiction
Screen adaptations: 55 (major - 19) Handsome one!
Hemingway was famous for his concise and concise style, so it is very difficult to count the stories he wrote. Suffice it to recall that it is he who owns one of the most famous short works, which in the original consists of only six words (and when translated it can be reduced to three): “For sale: baby shoes, never worn” ). The first time Hemingway's novel was filmed was in 1932 ("Farewell to Arms"). And in 1999, Russian artist Alexander Petrov created the short animated film The Old Man and the Sea, for which he received an Oscar.


And, finally, just an amusing picture of who influenced whom and how.)