Satire: 10 Really Weird Literary Facts

You probbaly didn't know this stuff.

BookwormPhoto byCartoon by Lambert-King

A while back I did a post about things you didn’t know about William Shakespeare. It occurred to me there must be interesting, little-known facts about other famous writers. Then it occurred to me that I didn’t know very many famous writers. So, after researching famous writers and coming up with little-known facts about them, this is the result. I just hope this doesn’t turn out to be little read facts about little known facts about famous writers.

That last sentence is no doubt the type of crisp, easy-to-understand prose you’ve come to expect from me. And here we go:

1: Mary Shelley started writing Frankenstein when she was 18 and finished it two years later.

The proceeds from the book helped pay for her therapy. Wait, being told that’s not right. Forget that last part.

2: Nathaniel Hawthorne, of The Scarlet Letter fame, helped start a transcendental commune outside of Boston in 1841.

Hawthorne left the commune when it affected his writing. He developed blisters, in part from shoveling mature, and literally had trouble writing.

I’ve read The Scarlet Letter, and it just goes to show, you write what you know. Just kidding, you literary types. The Scarlet Letter is one of the finest books I’ve ever dozed off to.

3: Like many writers, Daniel Defoe of Robinson Caruso fame worked many odd jobs.

One job Defeo had trying was trying to sell perfume made from the secretions of cats’ butts. Can you imagine being in a department store and trying to spray women with that concoction?

4: Famous murder mystery writer, Agatha Christie, said she got ideas for her plots while eating apples and taking warm baths.

That process not only helped her be a prolific author but also helped her stay healthy and clean.

5: D H Lawrence, author of Lady Chatterley's Lover had a different writing routine.

Lawrence would climb mulberry trees in the nude. Apparently, Lawrence was England’s version of Florida Man. While Lawrence felt that method stimulated his imagination, it left little to the imagination of others.

Some considered Lawrence a pornographer, while most considered him a really bad neighbor.

6: Ernest Hemmingway stole a urinal from Sloppy Joe’s and took it home.

Hemingway figured he had peed away enough money to own a urinal from that establishment. Ernest had basically marked his territory and then claimed it.

7: Jules Verne was nearly killed by his nephew, Gaston.

Gaston shot Verne twice in the left shin, which left Verne with a permanent limp. Gaston was then hauled off to a mental institution.

It seems as though Gaston had grown tired of Verne calling him, “Gassy.” Wait, once again being told that’s not true. But it should be.

8: French novelist, Gustave Flaubert brought home an interesting souvenir from one of his trips to the Middle East.

Flaubert brought back a mummy’s foot and keep it on his desk. When asked what a mummy’s foot goes for, Flaubert said, “An arm and a leg”. Okay, not really but I’m trying to punch this stuff up.

So what is Flaubert best known for? Having a mummy’s foot on his desk.

9:” The Naked Lunch” by William S Burroughs was supposed to be called “Naked Lust”.

I wonder if a mistake was made by a hungry proofreader? The Naked Lunch kind of sounds like lunch on a casual Friday. Very casual.

10: The original draft of John Steinbeck’s classic, ‘Of Mice and Men” was eaten by his dog.

His dog was apparently a voracious reader and eater. He just devours literature.

So there are just facts about famous writers. Actually, I didn’t even know some of these guys were famous. Look for more installments on this topic.