Francesco Petrarch

Petrarch (1304–1374) is universally regarded as the forefather of Italian humanism, and his work was an immense source of inspiration to many early English poets.

W.B. Yeats

W.B. Yeats (1865–1939) is one of the greatest poets of the twentieth century, as well as a dramatist, critic and essayist. Closely associated with the Irish Literary Revival, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923.

H.H. Stuckenschmidt

Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt (1901–88) was a foremost German composer and music critic.

Richard Strauss

Richard Georg Strauss (1864–1949) was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is best known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome.

Tom McCarthy

Known in the art world for the reports, manifestos and media interventions he has made as General Secretary of the International Necronautical Society (INS), a semi-fictitious avant-garde network, Tom McCarthy is the author of four novels: Remainder, Men in Space, C and Satin Island. The last two were shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. In 2013 he was awarded the inaugural Windham Campbell Prize for Fiction.

Read an interview with Tom McCarthy here

Daniel Defoe

A prolific journalist and pamphleteer, Daniel Defoe (1660–1731) is best remembered for his contribution to the English novel, with works such as Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders considered pioneers of their genre.

Eleanor H. Porter

American novelist Eleanor H. Porter (1868–1920) is best known for her hugely popular novel Pollyanna, which was a bestseller during her lifetime and has now become a children’s classic.

Desiderius Erasmus

Desiderius Erasmus (1469–1536) devoted his life to the study of theology and the defence of Christian ideals. He rose to a prominent position in the Church, and achieved fame for his writings. He played an important part in history by fostering the intellectual climate for the Reformation, and many of his ideas have a legacy which endures to the present day.

Luigi Pirandello

Born in Sicily, Luigi Pirandello (1867–1936) studied as a philologist before becoming an acclaimed writer of both drama and fiction. One of the most innovative and influential playwrights of the last century, he is best known for his comic masterpiece Six Characters in Search of an Author, and was the winner of the 1934 Nobel Prize for Literature.

Marcel Proust

Most famous for his seminal In Search of Lost Time, the novelist and critic Marcel Proust (1871–1922) was a forerunner of Modernism and one of the twentieth century’s most important literary figures.