Many great writers have shunned the public eye but remained popular because of their literary geniuses. But more than their writing, their enigma has also appealed to the readers of their generation and continues to do so today.
Did their hermit-like lifestyle help them focus on their writing or was the hubbub of fame or everyday life simply put them off?
Here are nine of the most reclusive authors of all time from British online magazine ShortList.com.
1. Thomas Pynchon
Because of his mysterious author persona, the American novelist was once rumored to be the other infamous reclusive author J.D. Salinger, to which he replied, Not bad. Keep trying.
… After studying at Cornell University in the early fifties, young Thomas Pynchon left to join in the Navy, soon returning to class where he was taught by the great Vladimir Nabokov. From there, he went on to publish extraordinarily complex and universally commended works such as “V” and “Gravity’s Rainbow,” shunning all interviews and seemingly disappearing into the ether, popping up only to release the odd new book …
2. J. D. Salinger
A rare 1940s interview with The Catcher in the Rye author surfaced two years after his death in 2010. Shirley Ardman, then an 18-year-old journalism student, reportedly talked with Salinger as part of a school requirement to conduct an interview with a published author. The meeting was one of the very few ones the reclusive writer agreed to have in his sixty-year writing stint. He lived a hermit life following a leaked and widely published interview he had in the 1950s.
… He’d simply grew annoyed of the limelight, which was at odds with his private life where he was believed to have been quite the man-about-town in his pomp.
3. Cormac McCarthy
The American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter had veered away from all TV interviews until 2007, almost 40 years into his celebrated writing career.
I don’t think it’s good for your head – if you spend a lot of time writing about a book, you probably shouldn’t be talking about it, you should be doing it.
4. William Faulkner
Despite having the gift of gab as evidenced by his acceptance speech as a Literature Nobel Laureate in 1949, the legendary American writer guarded his private life fiercely, spending much of his life behind his ‘Rowanoak’ mansion in Oxford, Mississippi treating his celebrity tag with disdain. He apparently wasn’t a fan of speeches, either, reportedly showing up to special cinema screenings of adaptations of his work loathe to give a talk before the film.
Get to know more reclusive authors on the sequel of this Xlibris Author Advice.
Meet featured Xlibris authors on the Xlibris Blog and the Xlibris Indie Authors Roundup. More free writing, editing, and book marketing tips are on the Xlibris Writer’s Workshop.