Bookish birthdays for the week of November 22, 2020

Here are the literary birthdays to celebrate over the week of November 22, 2020.

George Eliot (November 22, 1819): Eliot is best known for Silas Marner and Middlemarch, the latter of which is emblematic of the novel’s transition from entertainment to art form.

André Gide (November 22, 1869): Gide’s lifetime of work, including Fruits of the Earth, The Immoralist, and Marshlands, earned him a Nobel Prize for Literature.

William F. Buckley Jr. (November 24, 1925): Buckley founded the conservative magazine National Review, but he also wrote nonfiction such as God and Man at Yale and a series of spy novels.

John Bunyan (November 28, 1628): Bunyan’s most famous work, The Pilgrim’s Progress, was an instant hit and was found in nearly every home for centuries after it was published.

William Blake (November 28, 1757): Blake illustrated his poetry collections, including Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience; his most recognizable works today are “The Lamb,” “The Tyger,” and “London.” 

Rita Mae Brown (November 28, 1944): Though Brown is widely known for her Sneaky Pie Brown mystery series, she launched her career with a coming-of-age novel about lesbian love called Rubyfruit Jungle. 

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