
Sample of authors
Charteris, Leslie
Leslie Charteris was born in colonial Singapore as Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin. His father, Suat Chuan Yin, was a wealthy physician and company manager who claimed he was related to an ancient Chinese imperial family. Charteris' mother, Lydia Florence Bowyer, was English. Young Leslie was educated at home and on the many journeys he made with his parents; he claimed to have toured the world three...

Sample of authors
Doctorow, E.L.
American author of Russian-Jewish descent who grew up in the Bronx where his father owned a record store and his mother was a pianist. He was named Edgar after Edgar Allan Poe. Doctorow read philosophy at Kenyon College, Ohio, graduating in 1952. He met his wife, Helen Esther Setzer, during his year at Columbia University. The couple was married in 1954 in occupied Germany where Doctorow served...