#classicsincontext

Have you ever wanted to know more about your favorite classic authors? Each month, we share various facts about the lives and works of our Author of the Month.

During December, we honored Louisa May Alcott as our Author of the Month to tie in with the latest adaptation of #LittleWomen, released last month in theatres. Alcott was born on November 29th 1832 in Pennsylvania and some of the most interesting things we learned about her this month were…

Louisa May Alcott was the daughter of transcendentalists, abolitionists, and early feminists. While growing up in poverty, the author worked as a seamstress, servant, governess, and anonymous writer in order to help support the family.

She was neighbours with the Hawthorne’s, the Emerson’s, and Henry David Thoreau.

Alcott had her breakthrough after publishing 'Hospital Sketches' in 1863, working as a nurse for the Civil War. The collection of letters depicted her experiences as a wartime nurse and later several abolitionist interracial romances and war stories.

Her most notable novel, ‘Little Women’ remains as a popular piece for women's lives throughout the centuries. Revolving around female characters that aspire to achieve successful careers and loving families, Alcott's revolutionary novel shows the complications of trying to maintain professional dreams and societal norms.

Aside from her literary career, Alcott was one of the founders of the Women's Educational and Industrial Union in Boston. It was March 6, 1888 when Alcott passed away from a stroke at the early age of 55, just two days after her father's death.

Have you ever wanted to know more about your favorite classic authors? Each month, we share various facts about the lives and works of our Author of the Month.

During December, we honored Charles Dickens as our Author of the Month. Dickens created some of the best-known fictional characters, ones we have all come to know and love. He was born in Portsmouth on February 7, 1812. Some of the most interesting things we learned about him this month were…

Dickens’s father was imprisoned for debt in the Marshalsea, and Charles himself at the age of 12 worked in a blacking warehouse. This inspired much of his fiction, particularly in the early chapters of David Copperfield.

With the publication of ‘A Christmas Carol’ in 1843, Dickens had successfully established a connection between himself and the popular celebration of a religious festival.

Dickens died suddenly in 1870, leaving his last novel ‘The Mystery of Edwin Drood’ unfinished.

Charles Dickens’s is buried in a tomb in Poets’ Corner of Westminster Abbey, this went against his wish to be buried in a small graveyard ‘in an inexpensive, unostentatious and strictly private manner’.

For the month of January, we are exploring the life and work of Edith Wharton. Be sure to follow the #ClassicsInContext hashtag on Twitter to learn more!

Have you ever wanted to know more about your favorite classic authors? Each month, we share various facts about the lives and works of our Author of the Month.

During October, we honored Mary Shelley as our Author of the Month. The author of the most famous and disturbing literary work of the Romantic period, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin was born on August 30, 1797. Some of the most interesting things we learned about her this month were…

On June 16, 1816 Mary Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, Clair Clairmont, and John Polidori decide to have a contest in which each would compete to write the most frightening story

The relationship between Mary and Percy Bysshe Shelley, begun at the graveside of Mary Wollstonecraft, spanned only eight years of Mary Shelley's life, yet from the moment of their elopement in 1814 its intensity informed the central events of her experience

Frankenstein is also a political argument. Mary was convinced that a political goal did not justify the use of violent means. Frankenstein's creature embodies the French Revolution: originally “good” in his intentions, the creature becomes increasingly violent

After Percy Bysshe Shelley's death by drowning in 1822, Mary Shelley returned to England and continued to write fiction and nonfiction while devoting herself to the editing and publication of her husband's works. Her editions are still used by modern scholars

For the month of November, we are exploring the life and work of Edgar Allan Poe. Be sure to follow the #ClassicsInContext hashtag on Twitter to learn more!

Have you ever wanted to know more about your favorite classic authors? Each month, we share various facts about the lives and works of our Author of the Month.

During November, we honored Edgar Allan Poe as our Author of the Month. Poe’s contribution to Gothic literature was his use of the genre to explore the psychology of humans under abnormal conditions. Edgar Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809. Some of the most interesting things we learned about him this month were…

After the death of his mother, Poe was taken in by John Allan, adopting his foster-father’s name as his middle name.

He was educated in London and for a brief period, at the University of Virginia. In 1827 Poe entered the U.S Army.

After dropping out from West Point, Poe lived with his aunt, Maria Clemm and her young daughter Virginia. In 1836 Poe married his thirteen-year-old cousin, Virginia is thought to be the inspiration behind his poem ‘Annabel Lee’.

Poe evidently believed that ‘Eureka’ published in 1848, was his greatest achievement. He had written to his mother-in-law: “I have no desire to live since I have done ‘Eureka’…I could accomplish nothing more.”

For the month of December, we are exploring the life and work of Charles Dickens. Be sure to follow the #ClassicsInContext hashtag on Twitter to learn more!

Have you ever wanted to know more about your favorite classic authors? The Oxford World's Classics Team is excited to announce the launch of our #ClassicsInContext series! Each month, we will have a new Author of the Month who we will share various facts about their lives and their works over on Twitter.

For October, we’ve been focusing on Oscar Wilde. We’ve learned about his family, his time at Oxford, and more. Some of the most interesting things were…

Both of Oscar Wilde's parents wrote Celtic folklore. His father, of the Irish Sidhe and his mother, of fairies.

In 1877, while at Oxford, Wilde had the idea for his play Salome. However, the play wouldn't be performed until 1896.

Wilde was prosecuted for homosexual offences and sentenced to two years' hard labor in May 1895.

Oscar Wilde lived out the remaining years of his life in Europe under the assumed name of Sebastian Melmoth.

Feeling confident about your Wilde knowledge now? Test yourself with a quiz!

Next month, we’ll move from Ireland to Russia with a focus on Fyodor Dostoevsky. Be sure to follow the #ClassicsInContext hashtag on Twitter to learn all about this 19th century novelist.