When did your favorite author live? Were they a contemporary among other great authors? What did they live through? This closer look at the Great American Read survey results outlines America’s top 50 favorite books, revealing which part of history these authors lived through. For instance, did you know that John Steinbeck, George Orwell, J.R.R. Tolkien, Agatha Christie, and Ayn Rand all lived through both world wars and the Great Depression?
Knowing that context can definitely put works of literature, even certain quotes, into perspective, like this one from Gandalf in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings: “... so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” See what time was given to these incredible people, who wrote some of the world’s best works. From Jane Austen to Suzanne Collins, see when these authors lived, died, and wrote their most famous work in this timeline from PlaygroundEquipment.com!
infographic by: www.playgroundequipment.com
