Did You Know?

[Cia]

I thought this might be an interesting topic... what do you know about authors? Share a tidbit about one of your favorite authors other readers might not know!

 

So, as a kid, I was a HUGE fan of Hans Christian Andersen. I had a book of his fairy tales. In fact, The Princess and the Pea is the first story I can remember reading to myself at 4. But... did you know that Hans Christian Andersen was apparently bisexual and expressed romantic feelings in letters to both men and women during his lifetime? And that it's believed The Little Mermaid (NOT the Disney film) was based on a love letter he wrote to another gentleman? Let's have a remake! 

[daemok]

1 hour ago, Cia said:

I thought this might be an interesting topic... what do you know about authors? Share a tidbit about one of your favorite authors other readers might not know!

 

So, as a kid, I was a HUGE fan of Hans Christian Andersen. I had a book of his fairy tales. In fact, The Princess and the Pea is the first story I can remember reading to myself at 4. But... did you know that Hans Christian Andersen was apparently bisexual and expressed romantic feelings in letters to both men and women during his lifetime? And that it's believed The Little Mermaid (NOT the Disney film) was based on a love letter he wrote to another gentleman? Let's have a remake! 

Fun topic idea, and I'd love to read that remake!

[mollyhousemouse]

4 hours ago, Cia said:

I thought this might be an interesting topic... what do you know about authors? Share a tidbit about one of your favorite authors other readers might not know!

Clive Cussler, he writes some really great adventure novels, here

he has a classic car museum that is open to private tours in Colorado

he regularly uses the cars from his museum in his stories, and writes himself into at least one chapter

[FormerMember4]

J.R.R. Tolkien was known for creating languages for his books. He actually started creating languages as a child. He was so good at languages that he was considered for code breaking in WWII.

[Timothy M.]

7 hours ago, Cia said:

I thought this might be an interesting topic... what do you know about authors? Share a tidbit about one of your favorite authors other readers might not know!

 

So, as a kid, I was a HUGE fan of Hans Christian Andersen. I had a book of his fairy tales. In fact, The Princess and the Pea is the first story I can remember reading to myself at 4. But... did you know that Hans Christian Andersen was apparently bisexual and expressed romantic feelings in letters to both men and women during his lifetime? And that it's believed The Little Mermaid (NOT the Disney film) was based on a love letter he wrote to another gentleman? Let's have a remake! 

 

  You spelled his name right. In Denmark we always call him H.C. Andersen, and many don't know his first names. The bisexuality theory and whether the small marks in his diary denoted masturbation are much discussed topics in Denmark. The fact he liked boys too even got it's own SATW comic: https://satwcomic.com/costume-party 

 

I'm trying to come up with my own fun fact about a favorite author and will return when I succeed. Great topic, Cia.

[Cia]

If we're going to talk about vehicles and war... Roald Dahl was a RAF pilot during WWII and was even appointed to the US as an attache during the pre-American involvement in the fight. I highly doubt his journey across the Atlantic would've been as adventurous as James's... he took a ship, not a peach, as he couldn't fly anymore due to blackouts (he had a fair few number of crashes during the war that nearly killed him!). The voices in his head telling him all those fantastic, yet dark, stories probably had a lot to do with all that.  

[FormerMember4]

9 minutes ago, Cia said:

If we're going to talk about vehicles and war... Roald Dahl was a RAF pilot during WWII and was even appointed to the US as an attache during the pre-American involvement in the fight. I highly doubt his journey across the Atlantic would've been as adventurous as James's... he took a ship, not a peach, as he couldn't fly anymore due to blackouts (he had a fair few number of crashes during the war that nearly killed him!). The voices in his head telling him all those fantastic, yet dark, stories probably had a lot to do with all that.  

I find it interesting just how many talented authors had troubled lives.

[William King]

Herman Hesse is a favourite author of mine, a nobel prize winner for German literature in 1946, his books, including Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game, explore spirituality and the search for self-knowledge.

 

He was often in conflict with authority, possibly due to a very strict upbringing. At fifteen he ran away from a seminary, and attempted to commit suicide, he was interred in a mental institution by his parents. When released he expressed his contempt for authority by smoking and drinking with older friends. Hesse experienced a constant melancholy his entire life around his personal views on faith, and was referred to as ‘the brooding author.’