Literary Hub » Biography

On the Simple Life of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Philosophy as “Neverending Therapy”

On the Simple Life of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Philosophy as “Neverending Therapy”

Anthony Gottlieb Considers Wittgenstein’s Famous Family and His Revolutionary Approach to Philosophical Questions

By Anthony Gottlieb | October 22, 2025

Dear Bill: Letters From a Young John Updike to His Editor, William Maxwell

Dear Bill: Letters From a Young John Updike to His Editor, William Maxwell

“Elizabeth keeps falling down the steep stairs here. Send the checks. I need the money.”

By James Schiff | October 21, 2025

How Oscar Wilde finally got his library card back.

How Oscar Wilde finally got his library card back.

130 years after the British Library revoked his card-carrying privileges, Wilde's grandson got his.

By Brittany Allen | October 20, 2025

The Psychology of <em>Portnoy</em>: On the Making of Philip Roth’s Groundbreaking Novel

The Psychology of Portnoy: On the Making of Philip Roth’s Groundbreaking Novel

Steven J. Zipperstein Explores the Biographical Underpinnings of an Iconic Work of Jewish American Fiction

By Steven J. Zipperstein | October 20, 2025

The Mild Mannered Englishman Who Was the World’s Most Prolific Ghost Hunter

The Mild Mannered Englishman Who Was the World’s Most Prolific Ghost Hunter

Ben Machell on Paranormal Investigator Tony Cornell

By Ben Machell | October 20, 2025

“How Living Are His Portraits of the Dead.” Toni Morrison on the Photography of James Van Der Zee

“How Living Are His Portraits of the Dead.” Toni Morrison on the Photography of James Van Der Zee

“The narrative quality, the intimacy, the humanity of his photographs are stunning.”

By Toni Morrison | October 17, 2025

Best Reviewed
Books of the Week

Where to start with the writing of Jamaica Kincaid.

By Brittany Allen | October 16, 2025

Biography of a Biographer: Searching For My Father on Mark Twain’s Farm

By Hester Kaplan | October 16, 2025

Who Was Peter Matthiessen, Really?

By Terry McDonell | October 14, 2025

On the Mysteries, Real and Imagined, Surrounding Christopher Columbus

On the Mysteries, Real and Imagined, Surrounding Christopher Columbus

Matthew Restall on the Familiar Political Battleground of Columbus

By Matthew Restall | October 13, 2025

A Night at Max’s Kansas City: Seeing and Being Seen in the 1970s NYC Art World

A Night at Max’s Kansas City: Seeing and Being Seen in the 1970s NYC Art World

Pat Lipsky on the Rival Groups of Artists Looking for Fame in Greenwich Village

By Pat Lipsky | October 9, 2025

To Haunt and Be Haunted: On the Exhumation of Edgar Allan Poe

To Haunt and Be Haunted: On the Exhumation of Edgar Allan Poe

Ed Simon Explores the Terror of Being Buried Alive and Americanism in Poe’s Work

By Ed Simon | October 8, 2025

Inventing Gertrude Stein, Literary Cubist

Inventing Gertrude Stein, Literary Cubist

Francesca Wade on the Stylistic Innovations That Made the Expatriate Writer Famous in Her Own Country

By Francesca Wade | October 7, 2025

Ivan Klima, the best Czech novelist of his generation, has died.

Ivan Klima, the best Czech novelist of his generation, has died.

By Jonny Diamond | October 6, 2025

When Picasso Saved Matisse’s Paintings From the Nazis

When Picasso Saved Matisse’s Paintings From the Nazis

Christopher C. Gorham on Art Theft and Artistic Solidarity in Occupied France

By Christopher C. Gorham | September 29, 2025

Are We Entering a New Golden Age of Biography?

Are We Entering a New Golden Age of Biography?

Megan Marshall on a Trio of Blockbuster Books About Gertrude Stein, James Baldwin, and Peter Matthiessen

By Megan Marshall | September 25, 2025

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