If you’ve ever wondered about the private lives of some of the literary world’s most famous, not-so-famous and infamous figures, this collection of anecdotes by Bill Peschel will satisfy your curiosity. Peschel painstakingly culled these delicious tidbits from a myriad of sources; what initially inspired him was a story about George Bernard Shaw’s reaction to a packet of condoms. Does that not pique your interest?
The stories in this book reveal novelists, journalists and poets who are drug addicts, sex addicts, drunks, criminals, and eccentrics. Some of the writers who appear in this book – and sometimes make multiple appearances - won’t surprise you, such as Edgar Allan Poe, Oscar Wilde, William Shakespeare and Lord Byron.
The biggest surprise of this book is to find a writer whom you wouldn’t expect. Who knew, for example, that one of England’s finest Romantic poets – who also penned what are considered to be some of the most beautiful love letters ever written - had a violent temper and loved to fight? No biography of the Brontë sisters ever mentions that one of them slapped a boy while out on a nature walk.
Writers Gone Wild offers the back story to how some great works of literature were written and might change how you think about some of your favorite writers. It is funny, witty and fascinating. Through this book, I also discovered some writers who intrigued me enough to explore their work. If you like biographies and you’re interested in writing and writers, you will find this book well worth reading.