WHAT ELSE DID THEY WRITE?

 

One of the benefits of lists such as the “1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die” is the opportunity they offer in introducing readers to new writers. By their very construct such lists cannot possibly be comprehensive chronicles of any single writer’s work, rather they are samplings o literary masters at their best. But, once a reader discovers a new favorite the list becomes a spring board to explorations of fascinating reading.

This article concerns itself with pillars of literature who are known for one or, in some cases, two master works which often are indeed their best but are hardly their only output worth reading. So here is to celebrating the forgotten works of well-known but too often dismissed as one hit wonder authors. The pity here is that in approaching individual writers in this way we miss out on the growth of a career, observe the changes over time, and the development of an artist.

There are few who have escaped this predicament. Charles Dickens is well represented in most lists with Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield and Great Expectations at least dependably making the cut. When one hears the name Mark Twain the mind instantly goes to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer but there are still may who have heard of A Yankee in King Arthur’s Court and The Prince and the Pauper. Robert Louis Stevenson is known for such diverse works as The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Treasure Island and Kidnapped. More recently John Steinbeck is well represented with the three seminal works at least (Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden) and Ernest Hemingway has been immortalized through The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Old Man and the Sea and the collection of short stories. Meanwhile, his rival F. Scott Fitzgerald presents a complex case. The Great Gatsby is required reading throughout high school curriculums but, perhaps due to the brevity of his career, his three other complete novels are widely read but his short stories (with the possible exception of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”) have largely been forgotten.

But let’s see what is overlooked form other giants:

Miguel de Cervantes (September 29, 1547-April 22, 1616):

Don Quixote (both parts written a decade apart) was one of the first masterpieces of world literature, eclipsing its predecessor La Galatea and his short story collection Novelas ejemplares, written in 1613 between the two parts of Don Quixote.

Mary Shelley (August 30, 1797-February 1, 1851):

Few know her for anything beyond Frankenstein and, truthfully, her bibliography is small but hr masterpiece launched a career including five more novels and travel writings.

Lewis Carroll (January 27, 1832-January 14, 1898):

The man who delighted children around the world with Alice in two books Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass became such a household name with those works that many have missed out on his wonderful poetry, including “The Hunting of the Snark” and the even lesser known “Phantasmagoria”. Please, however, do yourself a favor and avoid the two-part Sylvie & Bruno, a ghastly work.

Rudyard Kipling (December 30, 1865-January 18, 1936):

Who hasn’t heard of The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book? Further, Kim (often considered his masterpiece) is well known and, to a lesser extent, Captains Courageous. His Just So Stories may not be as well in their original forms but the tropes they were built form and inspired live on. Still, any lover of exhilarating, graceful and moving poetry owes it to themselves to read Kipling’s collected verse.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (May 22, 1859-July 7, 1930): Doyle is rightfully best remembered as the creator of Sherlock Holmes and the canonical works involving London’s greatest sleuth and his companion Dr. Watson. However, be sure not to miss out on his later works involving Professor Challenger (his “other” character), especially The Lost World. Additionally, his nonfiction writing on the Boer War, though admittedly dry at times, especially compared to Sir Winston Churchill’s first-hand account of the struggle, but it remains an informative record of the war in South Africa from the English point of view. However, read his stubborn and sometimes fanatical defense of spiritualism, mediums and mystics at your own risk.

L. Frank Baum (May 15, 1856-May 6, 1919):

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz brought the fairy tale to America and is a trans-generational classic. Few, however, remember (thanks in large part to the popularity of the 1939 classic film) that Baum wrote 16 novels set in the land of Oz, as well as a number of short stories and comic strips, let alone that he wrote poetry collections, short story collections, a life story of Santa Claus, and forgotten full book series set in other fantasy lands as well as throughout America.

A.A. Milne (January 18, 1882-January 31, 1956):

Milne wrote two story collections featuring Winnie-the-Pooh and his Hundred Acre Woods friends for his son Christopher Robin Milne, which were predated in 1922 by an adult mystery, The Red House Mystery, two delightful poetry books for children When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six, and a host of articles, nonfiction, short story and poetry collections.

J.D. Salinger (January 1, 1919-January 27, 2010): You wont get through high school without reading The Catcher in the Rye but, an increase in interest in Salinger not long after his death will hopefully inspire more readers to pick up his short story collections Nine Stories, Franny and Zooey and Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction.