By Nava Atlas | On June 7, 2013 | Updated March 29, 2026 | Comments (0)
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (March 6, 1806 – June 29, 1861), the accomplished British poet, was born in County Durham, England. She grew up in an atmosphere of privilege as the eldest daughter of Edward Moulton.
Her father changed the family name to Barrett when he inherited vast businesses, including a West Indies plantations, along with mills, and ships. Edward Barrett was a slave holder.
The eldest of twelve children, Elizabeth was schooled at the family home in Herefordshire, England. She showed much early aptitude for her future calling — she began reading novels at age six, and her first significant poem was written at about age seven. Read More→
By Hannah Wright | On August 14, 2012 | Updated February 29, 2024 | Comments (2)
Christina Stead (July 17, 1902 – March 31, 1983) was an Australian-born novelist, short story writer, and Journalist born into a Socialist family.
Her masterful writing went unrecognized for much of her life. Her most notable work is The Man Who Loved Children.
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By Nava Atlas | On July 19, 2012 | Updated August 25, 2024 | Comments (0)
Ayn Rand (February 2, 1905 – March 6, 1982), American author born in St. Petersburg, Russia. Originally named Alisa Rosenbaum, she was a bookish child who loved stories and started writing her own when still quite young.
Later, as a widely read (if not critically acclaimed) author, she became known for ponderous novels like The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, which were based on the philosophical tenets of Objectivism, which she developed.
Her novels’ leading men were mouthpieces for her objectivist views — especially Howard Roark in The Fountainhead and John Galt in Atlas Shrugged. Her philosophy, as she defined it was, “The concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.” Read More→
By Nava Atlas | On July 19, 2012 | Updated August 25, 2024 | Comments (0)
Dorothy Parker (August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967), the American journalist, author, and poet was known for her acid wit. She was one of the founding members of the Algonquin Roundtable, an exclusive group of eminent New York City writers in the early twentieth century.
Parker got her start by writing for magazines, including theatre criticism for Vanity Fair. In the 1920s, she became known for her book review column, “Constant Reader,” in the New Yorker.
Her reviews — some snarky, others sensitive, always pithy — were a pleasure to read. The magazine also published some of her short stories. Read More→
By Nava Atlas | On July 17, 2012 | Updated April 28, 2025 | Comments (0)
Lillian Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was a renowned American playwright and memoirist. Her plays dealt with complex political, social, and familial subjects. Most were well received, and from the height of her career to the present, she is considered a female pioneer in theater.
The Children’s Hour (1934) was the play that launched Hellman’s career in theater. This was followed by number of other successful productions, the best known of which are The Little Foxes, Watch on the Rhine, The Children’s Hour, and Toys in the Attic.
She was awarded the New York Drama Critics Circle Prize for best play of the year for the latter two. Though The Autumn Garden, which premiered in 1951, is one of her lesser-known works, many critics considered it her best. Read More→
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