Legendary Authors

Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835, this particular writer is far more recognisable by his pen name of Mark Twain. Once lauded as ‘The greatest humorist the United States has ever produced by fellow penman William Faulkner, his works include classics like Tom Sawyer and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that have truly stood the test of time. This great man produced novels that not only entertain but provide real insight into the state of the world in late 19th century America.

Whilst British writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote many other novels, it’s perhaps easiest to justify his place on our list by saying one name – Sherlock Holmes. In a series of books that changed the face of the crime-writing genre, Doyle produced a character whose name is known by old and young around the world some 90 years after his death. More than 50 books were written about Holmes and his faithful companion Dr Watson and they have been entertaining readers ever since.

Novelist, satirist and social prophet, H.G. Wells was an Englishman who was best known for being a prolific science fiction writer. So prolific was he that he went on to be dubbed as the father of the genre, rubbing shoulders with greats like Jules Verne. The man who lived between 1866 and 1946 was ahead of his time, foreseeing the invention of space travel, nuclear weapons and the concept of the world wide web. Responsible for classics like War of the Worlds and The Time Machine, he’s some that absolutely had to feature in our top 10.

What can be said that hasn’t been said already about William Shakespeare, who is widely regarded as the best writer of the English language the world has ever seen? With works including Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear and Romeo and Juliet, to name but a few, Shakespeare was even responsible for introducing words like ‘brilliant’, ‘dwindle’ and ‘dauntless’ into the English language. This is an influential writer that didn’t just change the world – he was one of the writers that helped to create it!