How much do you really know about the history of literary fiction and more broadly, fiction authors? We’ve uncovered some thought-provoking facts about the genre and how authors write.
#1 Winnie-the-Pooh was banned in Russia in 2009 over Alleged Nazism
An alleged pro-Nazi owned a picture of a swastika-decorated Pooh, which to Russia was reason enough to ban Winnie altogether.
#2 Aristophanes’s “Assemblywomen” Features the Longest Greek Word
The word: Bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhoun-awnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk is 171 letters long and is a fictional food dish. The word refers to the thunderclap associated with the Fall of Adam and Eve.
#3 Danielle Steel is the Highest-Selling Living Author
American novelist Danielle Steel, or Danielle Fernandes Dominique Schuelein-Steel, is the best-selling living author of all time. She has sold over 800 million books.
#4 Ray Bradbury First dated a Bookstore Clerk
Maggie, the only woman Ray courted. The couple married in 1947 and were together until she died in 2003.
#5 Dr. Seuss wrote “Green Eggs and Ham” on a Dare
Dr. Seuss was dared by his editor, Bennett Cerf, to write a book using fewer than 50 different words. After completing The Cat in the Hat in 236 words, Benent Cerf bet Seuss couldn’t achieve an entire book by exceeding that limit.
The 50 words he used in the book were: a, am, and, anywhere, are, be, boat, box, car, could, dark, do, eat, eggs, fox, goat, good, green, ham, here, house, I, if, in, let, like, may, me, mouse, not, on, or, rain, Sam, say, see, so, thank, that, the, them, there, they, train, tree, try, will, with, would, you.
#6 Cinderella’s Slippers were Originally Fur
The fairytale was altered in the 1600s by a translator. Interestingly, it was the left shoe Cinderella lost in the stairway when the prince was following her.
#7 Charles Dickens’s Secret Room
A fake bookcase formed the entrance to his secret room, containing counterfeit titles such as nine volumes of ‘The Life of a Cat”.
#8 Erich von Stroheims “Greed”
Written in 1924 as a literal adaptation of Frank Norris‘s novel McTeague, including the motion picture Greed. The director intended to film every aspect of the book in great detail, which was 9½ hours long!
The film was shortened to two hours in the studio but regarded as a failure on the theatrical release. It was restored to just over four hours and is considered one of the grandest movies ever created. Lesson learned: only a few directors attempted to detail an entire novel into a movie again.
#9 Alexandre Dumas fought in Duels
Dumas fought his first duel at 23 years old when his trousers fell to the ground. He successfully defeated his opponent almost immediately, but only after the trouser incident, and onlookers laughed at him.
#10 John Steinbeck Writing Frenzy
The Grapes of Wrath, created in the summer of 1938, was part of a 100-day creative frenzy for John Steinbeck. Despite the furious speed of Steinbeck’s text, it is immaculate, with few corrections or rewrites.
#11 Charles Dickens was a Language Innovator
Not only did Dickens give us incredible literary works, but he also gave us some exciting words. The Oxford English Dictionary credits Charles Dickens with the first use of butter-fingers, crossfire, dustbin, fairy story, slow-coach, and whoosh. Originally credited with ‘boredom’ coined in his novel Bleak House, his credit was removed when it was traced back to 1830.
#12 Austen Lost Out to His Publisher
Austen had sold the copyright for Pride and Prejudice to the publisher, Thomas Egerton, for a one-off payment of £110 and lost all royalties. Originally published in three volumes on 28 January 1813 for 18 shillings. Egerton generated quadrupled the amount of money from the novel as Austen.
#12 The Most Expensive Book Ever
‘Codex Leicester,’ one of Leonardo Di Vinci’s scientific journals, is owned by billionaire Bill Gates, who purchased it for $30.8 million.
#11 1984 Almost had Another Title
Orwell’s timeless masterpiece was initially set to be titled “The Last Man in Europe.” Fortunately, Orwell and his editor, Frederic Warburg, both reconsidered and thought 1984 was more appealing. First published by Secker & Warburg 35 years before the date mentioned in its title.
#13 The Longest Book Ever Written
‘A la recherche du temps perdu,’ translated to Remembers of Things Past by Marcel Proust, hold the record for the longest book in the world at 9,609,000 characters. It tells the story of the narrator’s experiences growing up.
#14 Roald Dahl’s Inspiration for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
While attending school, Dahl tested chocolates Cadbury’s, paired with his service in the Royal Air Force during World War II, the classic Charlie, and the Chocolate Factory was born.
#15 J.K. Rowling is a Pen Name
One of the great authors, whom we know by initials, doesn’t have a middle name. The ‘K’ for Kathleen is her grandmothers’ name, which she added after a suggestion from her publisher.
#16 Charles Dickens’ was Superstitious
Dickens carried a compass everywhere he went, ensuring he slept north-facing believing this would improve his writing. For luck, he always touched items three times.
#17 Tolstoy Got Inspiration from His Wife
Leo Tolstoy’s wife, Sophia, copied the 1400-page novel ‘War and Peace’ seven times by hand. An exemplary display of true love.
#18 F. Scott Fitzgerald was Another Language Innovator
Fitzgerald’s novel ‘This Side of Paradise’ is infamously noted by The Oxford English Dictionary as the earliest use of the word ‘wicked’ to mean good or excellent. He’s thought to be the pioneer of the word T-shirt.
#19 Victor Hugo Wrote an 823-word Sentence
Hugo’s novel, Les Miserables, contains an 823-word sentence. We cannot confirm this to be the longest sentence; there may be others, but still an interesting fact.
#20 George Eliot was a Woman
The Victorian era was unkind to women filling any roles men should fill, so Mary Ann Evans changed her name to George Elliot to become one of the leading penmen of the era. Her various famous novels are renowned for their pragmatism and psychological insight.