
Sample of authors
Leroux, Gaston
Gaston Leroux was born in Paris but grew up in a little village in Normandy close to the home of his maternal grandparents. As a child he was interested in swimming, sailing and deep-sea fishing, but he also developed an interest in literature at an early age. He particularly appreciated Alexandre Dumas père and Victor Hugo, and he wrote imitations of their works during his school years. After ...

Sample of authors
Marsh, Ngaio
The New Zealand author Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh was born in Merivale, Christchurch. Her father was an immigrant English bank manager and her mother was born in New Zealand, although her family too originally came from England. Ngaio is the Maori word for "reflection on water". A somewhat eccentric and confused man, Marsh's father did not report his daughter's birth to the authorities until 1900,...