Bookish birthdays for the week of September 8, 2024

Here are the literary birthdays to celebrate over the week of September 8, 2024.

Grace Metalious (September 8, 1924): Metalious’s book Peyton Place is both one of the bestselling novels of all time and one of the most criticized, for its depiction of the darker side of humanity.

Phyllis A. Whitney (September 9, 1903): In addition to her award-winning mysteries for adults (such as The Mystery of the Haunted Pool and The Mystery of the Hidden Hand), Whitney wrote books for younger readers. 

O. Henry (September 11, 1862): O. Henry’s first collection of short stories, Cabbages and Kings, was written while he was in prison; the next collection included his most famous work, “The Gift of the Magi.”

D.H. Lawrence (September 11, 1885): Lawrence’s now critically acclaimed The Rainbow was initially banned for obscenity, as was Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

H.L. Mencken (September 12, 1880): Mencken was a highly influential critic and satirist early in his career, and though he lost prominence in those areas by the 1940s, at that point his The American Language had earned him the reputation of the leading authority on American English.

Sherwood Anderson (September 13, 1876): Anderson wrote novels as well as short stories, but he’s best known and celebrated for the latter, particularly Winesburg, Ohio, a collection of interrelated tales.

Roald Dahl (September 13, 1916): Dahl is beloved for his children’s books, including Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but his first bestseller was a dark short-story collection for adults, and he also wrote the script for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

William H. Armstrong (September 14, 1914): Armstrong taught for over fifty years while also writing children’s literature, most notably the Newbery Medal-winning Sounder.