Bookish birthdays for the week of September 22, 2019

Here are the literary birthdays to celebrate over the week of September 22, 2019.

Rosamunde Pilcher (September 22, 1924): Pilcher’s breakthrough novel — The Shell Seekers — was her fourteenth book; it spent nearly a year on bestseller lists, sold more than 10 million copies, and was adapted for television.

F. Scott Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896): This Side of Paradise paved the way for Fitzgerald’s commercial success — in magazine writing — which in turn allowed him to write novels that earned more acclaim after his death: The Great Gatsby and Tender Is The Night.

Francine du Plessix Gray (September 25, 1930): Gray is best known for her semi-autobiographical novel Lovers and Tyrants; she continued to earn acclaim as a writer and literary critic for the next few decades, including her win of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Them: A Memoir of Parents.

Jane Smiley (September 26, 1949): Smiley’s A Thousand Acres grabbed attention from all corners, netting the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and a movie deal.

Louis Auchincloss (September 27, 1917): Auchincloss spent literally half a century writing novels (his final being The Headmaster’s Dilemma in 2007), short stories, and nonfiction (including biographies of Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt).

Birthdays sourced from Calendar of Literary Facts; biographical information sourced from Encyclopedia Britannica, the Guardian, the New York Times, and author websites. Did we miss someone? Email and let us know!