On this day...

Irish writer James Joyce, died in 1941 at the age of 58. Offered a place at a Jesuit college, Joyce was meant to join the Order, but rejected Catholicism at the age of 16; a decision reflected in several of his novels. Instead he enrolled at University College Dublin, becoming heavily involved in the literary scene and producing his first piece of published work; a review of Ibsen's drama for which he received a note of thanks from the man himself. Yet his experiences over the subsequent years were far from savoury. The death of Joyce's mother induced a serious bout of drinking which never truly abated until his death, and by 1904, he was living in self-imposed exile with former chambermaid Nora Barnacle. Upon moving back to Dublin eight years later, Joyce attempted to supplement his income through several schemes, thought to include the trading of Irish tweeds, and plans to become a cinema tycoon. Yet ultimately Joyce found that his only solace, and real monetary reward, lay in the writing for which he had a remarkable talent. Considered alongside Virginia Woolf as one of the foremost modernist writers, Joyce's most famous works include 'Dubliners' and 'Ulysses'; the latter enduring a censorship for obscenity, to become one of the best known books of the 20th century.

On this day...

English short story writer and novelist E.M. Forster was born today in 1970. Unlike most writers, who usually require a profession before they can support themselves in their literary career, Forster already had an £8,000 inheritance and so was immediately able to establish himself as a writer. His passion for literature and intellect, though mocked in his younger days, found companionship in Cambridge, where he joined the 'Bloomsbury Set' alongside fellow writer Virginia Woolf. During the following years, Forster traveled widely, visiting Greece, Italy and India, later serving in Egypt with the Red Cross. Such travels were the inspiration for many of his more famous works, such as 'A Passage to India' and 'Where Angels Fear to Tread'. He also explored themes of class and gender division in novels such as 'A Room with a View' and 'Howard's End'. Forster is noted for his contribution to modernism.

On this day...

T.S. Eliot's 'The Wasteland' was published in 1922. Arguably his most famous work, the poem is often considered a benchmark for modernist literature; especially considering that Joyce's 'Ulysses' and Woolf's 'Jacob's Room' were published in the same year. It is striking for its fusion of voice, location and image; blending Shakespearian lexis with that of contemporary London. Although the initial reception was mixed, one author deeming it 'a practically meaningless collection of phrases, learned allusions, quotations, slang, and scraps in general', the poem found an unlikely admirer in the Queen Mother. During World War Two, Eliot was invited to read the poem to the Royal Family, and she said of the visit; 'We had this rather lugubrious man in a suit, and he read a poem…I think it was called The Desert. And first the girls [Elizabeth and Margaret] got the giggles and then I did and then even the King.' Eliot was recently voted the 'nation's favourite poet' in a BBC poll.

On this day...

Marcel Proust, French novelist and essayist, died in 1922. Born in 1871, just after the Franco-Prussian War, much of Proust's childhood corresponded with the rise of France's Third Republic; a theme that later found its way into many of his works. He wrote from an early age, contributing to numerous journals while he was still at school and even founding his own literary review, 'Le Banquet'. Fascinated by English social critic contemporary John Ruskin, Proust began to translate Ruskin's works into French; yet his poor command of English hampered him, and instead Proust used him to enhance his own theories on art, and the role of art within society. His most famous work, 'In Search of Lost Time', often considered the definitive modernist novel, incorporates themes of time, space and memory. He died in 1922, aged 51.