Author chronologies

"A. M. Gibbs provides an authoritative and comprehensive account of the life, career and associations of George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), one of the most eminent and influential figures of the modern age. Drawing on a wide range of published and unpublished material, the work illuminates the complex fabric of Shaw's extraordinary career as playwright, novelist, critic, orator, political activist, social commentator, avant-garde thinker and controversialist. Images of Shaw's daily private life, and of his tangled love affairs, flirtations and friendships, are intertwined with the records of his prodigiously productive career as public figure and creative writer, in a fully documented study which is both a scholarly resource and a lively biographical portrait.". "An introductory chapter explores theoretical issues in biography raised by the chronology form, and a chapter on Shaw's ancestry and family supplies new evidence about his Irish background. A Who's Who section contains thumbnail sketches of over two hundred contemporaries of Shaw who had significant associations with him."--BOOK JACKET.

"W. B. Yeats, one of the greatest poets who wrote in English, was also a playwright, theatre director, essayist, Senator of the Irish Free State, and lifelong occultist. He knew almost every important figure in the cultural and public life of his time, including Oscar Wilde, Winston Churchill, George Bernard Shaw, James Joyce, Herbert Asquith, Ezra Pound, Sean O'Casey and Eamon de Valera. In tracing these connections, and in recording his public controversies and private concerns, as well as providing details of his hundreds of books, plays, reviews and essays, this Chronology bears vivid witness to a life which is not only of major literary and cultural importance, but also offers important insights into contemporary political, intellectual and social networks. T.S. Eliot observed that Yeats was 'one of those few whose history is the history of their own time' and this Chronology indicates just how implicated he was in that history."--Jacket.

"George Orwell is now acknowledged as one of the most significant literary figures of the twentieth century. As novelist, essayist and author of a number of outstanding works of reportage including The Road to Wigan Pier and Homage to Catalonia he has exercised an influence on modern thought which is increasingly recognised. Though he died relatively young at the age of 46, he achieved world-wide fame during his lifetime and since his death his stature as a writer of prose has grown immensely.". "Providing ready access to the main facts of Orwell's life and career, this chronology will be of service to the student, scholar or general reader who wishes to check a point quickly without referring to the detailed narratives offered by the standard biographies."--BOOK JACKET.

"This book offers a unique, easily accessible overview of key dates relevant to Marlowe's life and works. It charts the main events of his education, theatrical career, brushes with the law and apparent involvement in spying, and then continues with an account of the ongoing and indeed increasing importance of his texts after his death, keeping careful track of the points at which various pieces of information have emerged about him. Where events are difficult to date securely, it outlines the various theories and enables readers to navigate their way through the various pieces of evidence for the hotly contested dating of his plays and poems. Since Marlowe's plays often focus on real historical figures, details of their lives are also included to allow readers to see what choices and, occasionally, liberties Marlowe has taken in his dramatisation of their lives."--BOOK JACKET.

A chronology is a biography in brief. This new chronology examines relevant letters written by Elizabeth Gaskell and others written to her, as well as summarising her domestic and literary concerns, indicating the strains and stresses of her interactive lives, the family joys and sufferings (three of her children died), and insights into her relationship with her husband. It also usefully gives publication dates for her works, including the lesser known ones, and indicates the contemporary opinions of them. Gaskell's friends, philanthropic activities are also stressed, and the volume includes helpful reference features. The book provides the reader with a fascinating snapshot into the day-to-day life of one of the nineteenth century's most enduring women writers, and will appeal to any Gaskell scholar, student or general enthusiast.