We have been thinking about our favourite authors and what was their first ever published story. The story that launched them into literary fame. As there are many classic authors we would love to cover, we are going to split this into a series of blog posts. We will start with some of our own literary favourites.
Ian Fleming – Casino Royale (1953)
The first of the James Bond books, Casino Royale paved the way for a further 11 novels and 2 short story collection by Ian Fleming.
Ian Fleming began to write Casino Royale at his Goldeneye estate in Jamaica on 17 February 1952, he typed 2000 words in the morning from his own experiences and imagination and finished the work in March 1952. This is the pattern he retained for future Bond books. His formula for writing consisted of writing for 3 hours in the morning and do another hour of work in the evening, he never corrected anything and never went back to read what he has written, this resulted in him writing 2000 words a day!
Casino Royale was inspired by certain events in Ian Fleming’s wartime career at the Naval Intelligence Division.
“Everyone has the revolver of resignation in his pocket.”
― Ian Fleming, Casino Royale
Beatrix Potter – The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902)
The Tale of Peter Rabbit is a British children’s book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, it follows the mischievous and disobedient Peter Rabbit as he is chased around the garden and escapes to return home to his mother, who tucks him into bed after giving him camomile tea. This was written for 5-year-old Noel Moore, the son of Potter’s former governess Annie Carter Moore in 1893.
The tale was revised and privately printed by Potter in 1901 after several publishers’ rejection. This was then printed in a trade edition by Frederick Warne & Co in 1902. The book was a global success and immediately following its debut, it has been translated into 36 languages, with 45 million copies sold. The Tale of Peter Rabbit has become one of the bestselling books of all time.
“Don’t go into Mr. McGregor’s garden: your Father had an accident there; he was put in a pie by Mrs. McGregor.”
― Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Agatha Christie – The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920)
The Mysterious Affair at Styles was Agatha Christie’s first published novel, it introduced the beloved Hercule Poirot. The book includes maps of the house, the murder scene and a drawing of a fragment of a will.
Agatha Christie began writing The Mysterious Affair at Styles partly due to a bet with her sister Madge, her sister believed that she couldn’t write a good detective story. Due to Agatha’s work in a dispensary, her knowledge of poisons just resonates in all her stories, which makes her the very well-known “Queen of Crime”.
“Instinct is a marvelous thing. It can neither be explained nor ignored.”
― Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles
William Shakespeare – The First Folio (1623)
Mr William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories and Tragedies is the 1623 published collection of Shakespeare’s plays. Many now call this The First Folio.
Now this includes all these plays believed to be Shakespeare’s except Pericles, Prince of Tyre, The Two Noble Kinsmen, and the two lost plays, Cardenio and Love’s Labour’s Won.
It is believed that 750 copies of The First Folio were printed, and only 235 of those are known surviving copies. The majority of these are in libraries across the world with the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C holds the world largest collection with 82 copies.
“Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?”
― William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet Act 2, Scene 2
Charles Dickens – Sketches by Boz (1836)
The Sketches by “Boz”, Illustrative of Every-day Life and Every-day people. More commonly known as Sketches by Boz is a collection of short work by Charles Dickens, all originally published in various newspapers between 1833 and 1836.
Dickens’ pseudonym came from a nickname he gave his younger brother Augustus. Charles Dickens name him “Moses”, due to him being “facetiously pronounced through the nose” this became “Boses” and then subsequently Boz.
Charles Dickens then went on to become the brilliant classic author.
“Mr. Gabriel Parsons led the way to the house. He was a sugar-baker, who mistook rudeness for honesty, and abrupt bluntness for an open and candid manner; many besides Gabriel mistake bluntness for sincerity.”
― Charles Dickens, Sketches by Boz
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If you want to see us cover your favourite author, let us know in the comments below and we can add them to our classic literary list.