Nonfiction Authors L-Z, RIC-SCH
Meet the essayists, biographers, historians, journalists, and other nonfiction writers whose work has informed readers, challenged assumptions, and brought the real world vividly to the page.
Nonfiction Authors L-Z Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Rice, Anne
Anne Rice was an American author known for her novels about vampires and other supernatural creatures. Her notable......
Rice, Elmer
Elmer Rice was an American playwright, director, and novelist noted for his innovative and polemical plays. Rice......
Richardson, Henry Handel
Henry Handel Richardson was an Australian novelist whose trilogy The Fortunes of Richard Mahony, combining description......
Richardson, John
John Richardson was a Canadian writer of historical and autobiographical romantic novels. Little is known of Richardson’s......
Richardson, Samuel
Samuel Richardson was an English novelist who expanded the dramatic possibilities of the novel by his invention......
Richler, Mordecai
Mordecai Richler was a prominent Canadian novelist whose incisive and penetrating works explore fundamental human......
Rigord
Rigord was a chronicler, who is best known for a biography of King Philip II Augustus of France. Initially a physician,......
Rihani, Ameen
Ameen Rihani was an Arab American novelist, poet, essayist, and political figure whose written works examined the......
Rilke, Rainer Maria
Rainer Maria Rilke was an Austro-German poet who became internationally famous with his lyric poems and such works......
Rinehart, Mary Roberts
Mary Roberts Rinehart was an American novelist and playwright best known for her mystery stories. Mary Roberts......
Ringgold, Faith
Faith Ringgold was an American artist and author who became famous for innovative quilted narrations that communicate......
Rivarol, Antoine Rivaroli, Count de
Antoine Rivaroli, count de Rivarol was a French publicist, journalist, and epigrammatist and a would-be nobleman......
Rive, Richard
Richard Rive was a South African writer, literary critic, and teacher whose short stories, which were dominated......
Rivera, Chita
Chita Rivera was an American dancer, singer, and actress best known for her energetic performances in such Broadway......
Rivière, Jacques
Jacques Rivière was a writer, critic, and editor who was a major force in the intellectual life of France in the......
Robbe-Grillet, Alain
Alain Robbe-Grillet was a representative writer and leading theoretician of the nouveau roman (“new novel”), the......
Robbins, Tom
Tom Robbins was an American novelist noted for his eccentric characters, playful optimism, and self-conscious wordplay.......
Robbins, Tony
Tony Robbins is an American motivational speaker and “life coach” who created a multifaceted business empire by......
Robert De Torigni
Robert De Torigni was a Norman chronicler whose records are an important source both for Anglo-French history and......
Robert Of Gloucester
Robert Of Gloucester was an early Middle English chronicler known only through his connection with the work called......
Robert, Shaaban
Shaaban Robert was a popular Swahili writer. Robert was the product of two cultures—his father was a Christian,......
Roberts, Sir Charles G.D.
Sir Charles G.D. Roberts was a poet who was the first to express the new national feeling aroused by the Canadian......
Robertson, Lisa
Lisa Robertson is a Canadian poet and essayist whose poetry is known for its subversive engagement with the classical......
Robida, Albert
Albert Robida was an early pioneer of science fiction and founding father of science fiction art. Despite severe......
Robinson, Harriet Jane Hanson
Harriet Jane Hanson Robinson was a writer and woman suffrage leader in the United States. Robinson was a mill operative......
Robinson, Henry Crabb
Henry Crabb Robinson was an English man of letters whose voluminous diaries provide valuable information on life......
Robinson, Lennox
Lennox Robinson was an Irish playwright and theatrical producer associated with the Abbey Theatre; a leading figure......
Robinson, Marilynne
Marilynne Robinson is an American author known for her graceful language and studied observations on humankind......
Robinson, Randall
Randall Robinson was an American writer and political activist who founded (1977) the TransAfrica Forum (now TransAfrica),......
Robinson, Robert
Robert Robinson was a British journalist and broadcaster known for his intelligence and acerbic wit as the host......
Rochefort, Victor-Henri, marquis de Rochefort-Lucay
Victor-Henri Rochefort, marquis de Rochefort-Lucay was a gifted polemical journalist under the Second Empire and......
Rodrigues Lobo, Francisco
Francisco Rodrigues Lobo was a pastoral poet, known as the Portuguese Theocritus, after the ancient Greek originator......
Rodó, José Enrique
José Enrique Rodó was an Uruguayan philosopher, educator, and essayist, considered by many to have been Spanish......
Roethke, Theodore
Theodore Roethke was an American poet whose verse is characterized by introspection, intense lyricism, and an abiding......
Roger Of Hoveden
Roger Of Hoveden was an English chronicler and historian of the reigns of Henry II and Richard I, whose report......
Rohan, Henri, duc de
Henri, duke de Rohan was a duke of Rohan from 1603, and a soldier, writer, and leader of the Huguenots during the......
Roiphe, Anne
Anne Roiphe is an American feminist and author whose novels and nonfiction explore the conflicts between women’s......
Roland Holst-van der Schalk, Henriëtte Goverdina Anna
Henriëtte Goverdina Anna Roland Holst-van der Schalk was a Dutch poet and active Socialist whose work deals with......
Rolin, Dominique
Dominique Rolin was a Belgian novelist noted for embracing new narrative techniques. Author of more than 30 books......
Rolland, Romain
Romain Rolland was a French novelist, dramatist, and essayist, an idealist who was deeply involved with pacifism,......
Rolston, Holmes, III
Holmes Rolston III was an American utilitarian philosopher and theologian who pioneered the fields of environmental......
Rooney, Mickey
Mickey Rooney was an American motion-picture, stage, and musical star noted for his energy, charisma, and versatility.......
Rosegger, Peter
Peter Rosegger was an Austrian writer known for his novels describing provincial life. The son of a farmer, Rosegger......
Rossetti, Gabriele
Gabriele Rossetti was an Italian poet, revolutionary, and scholar, known for his esoteric interpretation of Dante......
Rossetti, William Michael
William Michael Rossetti was an English art critic, literary editor, and man of letters, brother of Dante Gabriel......
Rossi, Aldo
Aldo Rossi was an Italian architect and theoretician who advocated the use of a limited range of building types......
Rosten, Leo
Leo Rosten was a Polish-born American author and social scientist best known for his popular books on Yiddish and......
Roth, Philip
Philip Roth was an American novelist and short-story writer whose works are characterized by an acute ear for dialogue,......
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Swiss-born philosopher, writer, and political theorist whose treatises and novels inspired......
Rowlandson, Mary
Mary Rowlandson was a British American colonial author who wrote one of the first 17th-century captivity narratives,......
Rowse, A.L.
A.L. Rowse was an English historian and writer who became one of the 20th century’s foremost authorities on Elizabethan......
Roy, Arundhati
Arundhati Roy is an Indian author and political activist who is best known for the Booker Prize-winning novel The......
Roy, Gabrielle
Gabrielle Roy was a French Canadian novelist praised for her skill in depicting the hopes and frustrations of the......
Royall, Anne Newport
Anne Newport Royall was a traveler and writer and one of the very first American newspaperwomen. She was married......
Rozanov, Vasily Vasilyevich
Vasily Vasilyevich Rozanov was a Russian writer, religious thinker, and journalist, best known for the originality......
Rudd, Steele
Steele Rudd was a novelist, playwright, and short-story writer whose comic characters are a well-known part of......
Rudnicki, Adolf
Adolf Rudnicki was a Polish novelist and essayist noted for his depictions of the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Poland.......
Rukeyser, Muriel
Muriel Rukeyser was an American poet whose work focused on social and political problems. Rukeyser attended private......
Rule, Jane
Jane Rule was an American-born Canadian novelist, essayist, and short-story writer known for her exploration of......
Rumaker, Michael
Michael Rumaker was an American author whose works were often semiautobiographical and featured gay protagonists.......
Rumpf, Georg Eberhard
Georg Eberhard Rumpf was a naturalist and author of Herbarium Amboinense (1741–55), an extensive study of the flora......
Rushdie, Salman
Salman Rushdie is an Indian-born British-American writer whose allegorical novels examine historical and philosophical......
Ruskin, John
John Ruskin was an English critic of art, architecture, and society who was a gifted painter, a distinctive prose......
Rutherford, Mark
Mark Rutherford was an English novelist noted for his studies of Nonconformist experience. While training for the......
Rybakov, Anatoly
Anatoly Rybakov was a Russian author whose novels of life in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin’s dictatorship......
Sackville-West, Vita
Vita Sackville-West was an English novelist and poet who wrote chiefly about the Kentish countryside, where she......
Saemundr Frode Sigfússon
Saemundr Frode Sigfússon was an Icelandic chieftain-priest and the first chronicler of Iceland. Saemundr was the......
Sahgal, Nayantara
Nayantara Sahgal is an Indian journalist and novelist whose fiction presents the personal crises of India’s elite......
Sahlins, Marshall
Marshall Sahlins was an American anthropologist, educator, activist, and author who through his study of the people......
Saint-Simon, Louis de Rouvroy, Duke de
Louis de Rouvroy, duke de Saint-Simon was a soldier and writer, known as one of the great memoirists of France.......
Saint-Évremond, Charles de Marguetel de Saint-Denis, Seigneur de
Charles de Marguetel de Saint-Denis, seigneur de Saint-Évremond was a French gentleman of letters and amateur moralist......
Sainte-Beuve, Charles Augustin
Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve was a French literary historian and critic, noted for applying historical frames......
Salimbene Di Adam
Salimbene Di Adam was an Italian Franciscan friar and historian whose Cronica is an important source for the history......
Sanborn, Franklin Benjamin
Franklin Benjamin Sanborn was an American journalist, biographer, and charity worker. A descendant of an old New......
Sanchez, Sonia
Sonia Sanchez is an American poet, playwright, and educator who was noted for her Black activism. Driver lost her......
Sand, George
George Sand was a French Romantic writer known primarily for her so-called rustic novels. She was brought up at......
Sandburg, Carl
Carl Sandburg was an American poet, historian, novelist, and folklorist. From the age of 11, Sandburg worked in......
Sandoz, Mari
Mari Sandoz was an American biographer and novelist known for her scrupulously researched books portraying the......
Sandys, George
George Sandys was an English traveler, poet, colonist, and foreign service career officer who played an important......
Sangster, Margaret Elizabeth Munson
Margaret Elizabeth Munson Sangster was an American writer and editor, noted in her day for her stories and books......
Sansom, William
William Sansom was a writer of short stories, novels, and travel books who is considered particularly acute in......
Sanudo, Marino
Marino Sanudo was a Venetian historian whose Diarii is an invaluable source for the history of his period. In his......
Saramago, José
José Saramago was a Portuguese novelist and man of letters who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998.......
Sarduy, Severo
Severo Sarduy was a novelist, poet, critic, and essayist, one of the most daring and brilliant writers of the 20th......
Sargeson, Frank
Frank Sargeson was a novelist and short-story writer whose ironic, stylistically diverse works made him the most......
Saroyan, William
William Saroyan was a U.S. writer who made his initial impact during the Depression with a deluge of brash, original,......
Sarraute, Nathalie
Nathalie Sarraute was a French novelist and essayist, one of the earliest practitioners and a leading theorist......
Sarton, May
May Sarton was an American poet, novelist, and essayist whose works were informed by themes of love, mind-body......
Sartre, Jean-Paul
Jean-Paul Sartre was a French philosopher, novelist, and playwright, best known as the leading exponent of existentialism......
Sassoon, Siegfried
Siegfried Sassoon was an English poet and novelist known for his antiwar poetry and for his fictionalized autobiographies,......
Satrapi, Marjane
Marjane Satrapi was an Iranian artist, director, and writer whose graphic novels explore the gaps and junctures......
Saunders, George
George Saunders is an American writer best known for his debut novel, Lincoln in the Bardo (2017), which won the......
Savage, Dan
Dan Savage is an American writer who rose to prominence in the 1990s via his frank and ribald syndicated sex-advice......
Savage, Richard
Richard Savage was an English poet and satirist and subject of one of the best short biographies in English, Samuel......
Saʿadia ben Joseph
Saʿadia ben Joseph was a Jewish exegete, philosopher, and polemicist whose influence on Jewish literary and communal......
Scaliger, Joseph Justus
Joseph Justus Scaliger was a Dutch philologist and historian whose works on chronology were among the greatest......
Scaliger, Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar Scaliger was a French classical scholar of Italian descent who worked in botany, zoology, grammar,......
Schaepman, Hermanus Johannes Aloysius Maria
Hermanus Johannes Aloysius Maria Schaepman was a Dutch statesman, Roman Catholic priest, and author who founded......
Schaffner, Jakob
Jakob Schaffner was a Swiss writer who lived in Germany from 1913. He belonged to a new generation of Swiss writers......
Schaller, George B.
George B. Schaller is an American environmental conservationist and author who is considered one of the world’s......