"A Mystery of Mysteries is a brilliant biography of Edgar Allan Poe that examines the renowned author's life through the prism of his mysterious death and its many possible causes. It is a moment shrouded in horror and mystery. Edgar Allan Poe died on October 7, 1849, at just forty, in a painful, utterly bizarre manner that would not have been out of place in one of his own tales of terror. What was the cause of his untimely death, and what happened...

A black woman recalls the anguish of her childhood in Arkansas and her adolescence in northern slums.

Highlights the life and literary career of Suzanne Collins, discussing her childhood, education, work in children's television, and creation of the Hunger Games trilogy. Includes a glossary, resources for further information, text-related questions, and color photographs.

Autobiographical play by Eugene O'Neill of his explosive homelife.

In this fascinating, moving autobiography, Lois Lowry explores her rich history through personal photographs, memories, and recollections of her childhood. Lowry's writing often transports readers into other worlds. Now, we have the rare opportunity to travel into a real world that is her own-her life. This new edition features a refreshed design, an introduction by New York Times best-selling author Alice Hoffman, and original material from Lois...

Based on hundreds of hours of interviews with the author, as well as with nearly everyone who knew him, this biography follows Capote from his eccentric childhood in Alabama to the heights of New York society. It also candidly recounts a gifted and celebrated writer's descent into the life of alcohol and drugs that would ultimately consume his bulldog spirit and staggering talent--but not before he'd hobnob with the likes of Grace Paley and Lee Radziwill,...

He was Sam Clemens, steamboat pilot, before he was Mark Twain, famous author. His better-known name originated with the lingo of navigation, and much of his writing was informed by his shipboard adventures on one of the world's great rivers. In this book, Twain offered recollections ranging from his salad days as a novice pilot to views from the passenger decks in the twilight of the river culture's heyday. Under the tutelage of the most celebrated...

Margaret Wise Brown's books have sold millions of copies all over the world, but few people know that she was at the center of a children's book publishing revolution. Her whimsy and imagination fueled a steady stream of stories, songs, and poems, and she was renowned for her prolific writing and business savvy, as well as her beauty and endless thirst for adventure. Margaret started her writing career by helping to shape the curriculum for the Bank...