Jenny Bond - Who the Hell Is Pansy OHara?: The Fascinating Stories Behind 50 of the Worlds Best-Loved Books

PENGUIN BOOKS

WHO THE HELL IS

Pansy OHara?

Jenny Bond and Chris Sheedy are based in Sydney, Australia, and run a successful freelance journalism and media consulting company, The Hard Word. They also have worked in London and New York City. Prior to her reinvention as a journalist, Jenny held the position of Head of English at Eaton House The Manor in Londons Clapham Common. She also has taught English and drama for eight years at a selective high school in Sydney. Chris is one of Australias most in demand freelance writers, having had work published regularly in such magazines and newspapers as the Sydney Morning Herald, Virgin Blues Voyeur, the Sunday Telegraph, Australian Good Taste, Australian Penthouse, Cosmopolitan, and Management Today. In London and New York City he was vice president of Guinness World Records.

Chriss most memorable reading experience was sweating it out in the heat of Londons Tube with a copy of Dostoevskys Crime and Punishment, often feeling as feverish as the lead character Raskolnikov. Hes also a fan of great Australian writers such as Tim Winton (Cloudstreet), Peter Carey (True History of the Kelly Gang), and Nick Cave (And the Ass Saw the Angel). As a boy he was endlessly entertained by Stephen King and Alistair MacLean.

Jennys favorite reading experience of all time was Emma by Jane Austen, as the lead character was so flawed and did such awful things but at the same time was so likeable. This was also the first book that Jennys students truly enjoyed, and in class she noticed that they discussed the characters as if they were real people. Her other literary loves include F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby, Mark Twains Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, A. S. Byatts Possession, and Emily Bronts Wuthering Heights. As a youngster she couldnt resist Agatha Christie and James Herriot.

WHO THE HELL IS

Pansy OHara?

T HE F ASCINATING S TORIES
B EHIND 50 OF THE W ORLDS
B EST -L OVED B OOKS

Jenny Bond & Chris Sheedy

PENGUIN BOOKS

PENGUIN BOOKS

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First published in Penguin Books 2008

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Copyright Jenny Bond and Chris Sheedy, 2008

All rights reserved

ISBN: 978-1-4406-3942-5

CIP data available

Printed in the United States of America

Set in Granjon Designed by Elke Sigal

Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publishers prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

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To the greatest character we know

a beautiful little man by the name of Sam

who entered our lives halfway through

the writing of this book.

I NTRODUCTION

W ere writing a book about books, was our response when people wondered out loud why they hadnt seen us for the eighteen months it took to produce the fifty fascinating chapters into which you are about to delve. But really we were enjoying a journey deep into the lives of some of the worlds most talented authors, people who with the simple act of writing have filled our lives, and yours, with excitement, sadness, tension, horror, joy, love, and so much more.

It began as a discussion over dinner. What is the special ingredient, we wondered, that creates a truly spectacular piece of literature or a work with enduring appeal? Its too easy to analyze the work itselfthe language, the story lines, the charactersexperience told us the answer lay deeper. We would only discover the secret to an unforgettable read by uncovering what it was that occurred in each authors life to propel her or him toward penning the book in the first place.

The list of books began taking shape from our own bookcase, then from those of friends and colleagues, before being argued and discussed with professionals in the world of publishing and with other book specialists and finally finessed by a large amount of research into book sales and awareness figures in various countries. Then began the all-consuming task of researching each of the writers, but rather than a chore it became a joy, an enthralling expedition into the lives of some surprisingly heroic people.

Fyodor Dostoevsky, for instance, faced death in front of a firing squad before being given a reprieve and sent to a hard labor prison in Siberia for four yearsall because he was an intellectual. George Orwell was a Brit whose political views were so strong that he voluntarily traveled to serve on the front line during the Spanish Civil War, only to be shot in the neck after ten days. Stephen King lived in poverty from the age of two, when his father walked out, and produced Carrie on a typewriter in the trailer in which his family lived. After writing All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque had his German citizenship revoked and his books burned.

So what is the special ingredient? The answer, we discovered, is passion and struggle. J. K. Rowling hardly had two pennies to rub together when she introduced Harry Potter to the world. As a young child Charles Dickens was forced to work in a rat-infested factory as his father served a prison sentence. Charlotte Bront lived her life completely surrounded by sickness and death. And Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with a life-threatening, crippling disease a week after his twenty-first birthday and told he had three years to live.

But its not all doom and gloomthese stories are more about triumph over tragedy. Through their struggle and passion most of the writers created lifestyles and levels of wealth and celebrity beyond even their own fertile imaginations. And perhaps most important, their work will forever provide moments of quiet pleasure for millions of readers around the globe.