
Sample of authors
Fowles, John
John Robert Fowles was born in a middle-class family in the Essex town of Leigh-on-Sea. His father, Robert Fowles, dreamt of a career in the legal profession, but when the First World War broke out he was instead forced to take over the family's tobacco business. His mother, Gladys May, was a housewife. Fowles grew up in the security of a terraced housing estate, but later in life he confessed...

Theme article
History of crime fiction
By: Johan Wopenka
Literary figures
Kenneth Carlisle
Gender: Male
A popular and charming silent-movie star who starts a new career when the talkies make their breakthrough – even though, in contrast to many colleagues, he has a good voice. But Kenneth Carlisle is fed up with show business, of the idolatry and of not having any private life, explains author Carolyn Wells. Instead, he establishes himself as a private detective in Manhattan, and solves cases in v...