Bookish birthdays for the week of July 14, 2019

Here are the literary birthdays to celebrate over the week of July 14, 2019.

Irving Stone (July 14, 1903): The subjects of Stone’s “bio-histories” — fictionalized biographies — include Vincent Van Gogh (Lust for Life), Jessie and John Fremont (Immortal Wife), Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln (Love Is Eternal), and Michelangelo (The Agony and the Ecstasy).

Iris Murdoch (July 15, 1919): Murdoch came to prominence with her third novel, The Bell, went on to win the 1978 Booker Prize for The Sea, the Sea, and became a dame of the British Empire for her work.

Clive Cussler (July 15, 1931): Cussler’s five adventure series — the Fargo Adventures, the Isaac Bell novels, The Oregon Files, the Dirk Pitt series, and The NUMA Files — have made him a New York Times bestseller many times over.

Richard Russo (July 15, 1949): Russo won a Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for Empire Falls; his other popular works include Straight Man, Nobody’s Fool (adapted into a movie), and The Risk Pool.

William Makepeace Thackeray (July 18, 1811): Thackeray’s Vanity Fair was highly celebrated by its contemporaries, who saw him as the only possible literary rival to Charles Dickens, and remains one of the English language’s classic historical novels.

Hunter S. Thompson (July 18, 1937): Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas established both the genre of gonzo journalism and his writing fame; it and another well-known work of his, The Rum Diary, were both adapted into hit movies.

Petrarch (July 20, 1304): Petrarch was considered among the greatest scholar of his age and is easily remembered for his poetry addressed to his beloved Laura, which itself heavily influenced great minds — from all disciplines — during the Renaissance.

Cormac McCarthy (July 20, 1933): McCarthy’s Blood Meridian is considered his masterpiece, though All the Pretty Horses won the National Book Award and The Road received a Pulitzer Prize; the latter two, along with No Country for Old Men, have become acclaimed movies as well.

Birthdays sourced from Calendar of Literary Facts; biographical information sourced from Encyclopedia Britannica and author websites. Did we miss someone? Email and let us know.