Unbelievable Facts About Authors That Might Blow Your Mind

Every writer remains in constant search of new ideas to produce thought-provoking works. Aside from innate creative skills, they also adopt some bizarre characteristics which help them open their minds to the public by creating heart-touching characters. On trying to investigate what these authors are actually like, you can find out some shocking truths about them. From Charles Dickens’ interest in hypnotism to Stephen King’s fear from number 13, here we have discussed some weird facts about famous authors that might shock you up to the hilt:

Charles Dickens was a hypnotic expert

Charles Dickens was one of the greatest novelists and political journalists of the nineteenth century. You can assume the heights of his fame by the fact that his series of books and short stories have never been out of print. Much of his writing revolved around the Victorian class system, the autocratic government, challenges faced by rural peasants with the onset of Industrial Revolution, and the growing cities of Britain at that time. Besides this, he was also interested in paranormal activities which is evident in some of his works including “A Christmas Carol” which was published in 1843. You would be surprised to know that he was a member of the Ghost Club, a group of Cambridge scholars who used to investigate potential cases of supernatural events. Moreover, he was a regular spectator of shows hosted by John Elliotson’s, a famed hypnotist and doctor of this time. After learning the art of Hypnosis from Elliotson, Dickens started performing it on friends and family. In 1844, he used this technique to cure Augusta de la Rue who suffered from extreme anxiety. Dickens also frequently hypnotized his wife for a variety of mental conditions.

Lewis Carroll proposed real Alice

His real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, and besides being famous for children’s books, he was also known for his expertise in the areas of photography, mathematics, logic, and religious studies. Some of his most famous books include Alice Adventure in Wonderland, Through the Looking-Glass, The Hunting of the Snark, A Tangled Tale, Feeding the Find, and You are old, Father William. It is said that Carroll was famously uncomfortable around adults, and preferred the company of small children especially girls. Well, this had been perfectly okay if he had not shown special interest in marrying an 11-year-old girl Alice, who was the real-life inspiration for his books. As per evidence, Carroll made a strong friendship with the Liddell family in 1855. Liddell’s youngest daughter, Alice was then three years old. Carroll proposed Alice in 1863 when she was 11 and he was 31, after which Liddells cut off all connections with him. Although he was never allowed to meet Alice again, he gifted a copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to her in 1864.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was a drug addict

Elizabeth Barrett was a political writer and poet of Victorian Era. It is said that her early adulthood was full of struggles including a spinal injury and a controlling father who forbade her from marriage. She spent a major part of her life confined to her bed as the injuries were severe, and it took her many years to recover. But she used this time in an extensive amount of reading, research, and self-teaching. Her confinement also gave her enough time to compose poems. But her injuries didn’t bring all good things as they made her an opium addict. Actually, opium was used those days for the treatment of many ailments including bone fracture. Browning’s husband, Robert, tried a lot to help her overcome this problem, but she was not able to recover until moving to Italy. It is said that Browning acquired the addiction in response to the depression that she felt due to her father’s behavior.

Stephen King

He has composed some of the greatest horror novels of this century, including the creator of The Shining (1977), Cujo (1981), Pet Sematary (1983), IT (1986), and Misery (1987). King is often referred to as the godfather of modern horror fictions. His fans believed that he is comfortable with the darker side of literature as life and has nothing to fear him. But this came to be wrong when during an interview in 1984, he accepted his fear for number 13. Psychologist term this as triskaidekaphobia which might result in physical symptoms like panic attacks. For King, this phobia manifests itself in more impractical ways. For instance, he refuses to read the page number 13, 94, 193, 382 of any book. Apart from this, he stays away from booking a room on the thirteenth floor of a hotel and air tickets for the 13th seat. Moreover, he fears from the 13th day of each month. King also stated that he was particularly fearful on his 13th wedding anniversary.

Hope you liked reading these interesting information about some famous writers. If loads of academic writing projects are not letting you peruse the books of your interest, then seek assignment help from the experts working with our company. We have so far helped many Australian students in submitting high-quality college write-ups on time.