Throughout history, authors have written millions of stories that entertain people around the world. However, sometimes the stories they create within their own lives are far more interesting than the stories they create on paper.
1. Mary Shelley Kept Her Dead Husband's Heart in a Jar Postmortem
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Percy Shelley died in a shipwreck, and when his body was found, it was burned. During the burning, a friend of his saw the heart and salvaged it. Later, it was given to Mary Shelley, and in turn, she kept the heart in a jar until she died.
2. No One Knows How Edgar Allan Poe Died
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The death of Edgar Allan Poe is a mystery to everyone. The man was found wandering the streets in a drunken state, in another person's clothes. He was confused and didn't know where he was. He was calling out for a man named Reynolds.
3. Jane Austen Never Married
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The most romantic writer of all time, never married. Austen was engaged for about twenty-four hours. However, the next day, she turned around and said she could not marry the fellow because she was not truly in love with him.
4. Lord Byron Is Infamous for Incest
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In his early years, Byron fell in love with a cousin of his. This loved sparked the poems "Hills of Annesley" and "The Adieu." Later on in life, Byron had a strange infatuation with his sister. The infatuation was so strong that his wife left him because of it. There are rumors that he had an affair with his sister.
5. Mary Shelley's Virginity
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There is a reason that no one is more goth that Mary Shelley. During her youth, Mary spent a lot of time in the graveyard visiting with her mother. When she met Percy Shelley, this was the place they would meet to spend time together. Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin's grave is also the site where Mary Shelley lost her virginity. Yes, Mary Shelley lost her virginity to Percy Shelley on top of her mother's grave.
6. Agatha Christie Went Missing
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In December 1962, following an argument with her husband, Agatha left a note for her secretary saying she was going to Yorkshire. At 9:45, she left their home and later her car was found at Newlands Corner, parked above a chalk quarry with expired driving license and clothes. Over a thousand police officers, 15,000 volunteers, and several airplanes searched the landscape for her. Agatha was not found for ten days, even though there was an ongoing search. On December 14, 1926, she was found at the Swan Hydropathic Hotel in Harrogate, Yorkshire where she was registered as Mrs.Teresa Neele from Cape Town. The name is the same as the woman who Agatha's husband was having an affair with.
7. Crying In Charles Dickens' Yard
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At one point in his life, Hans Christian Anderson received a bad review. In light of this situation, Hans decided to lay face-down in the dirt to cry. However, the funniest part of this is that he was not just laying in any patch of dirt, Anderson was laying in a patch of dirt in Charles Dickens' yard.
8. Victor Hugo And Bats
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At one point in his life, Victor Hugo gave his wife, then fiancee, a bat in an envelope. Romance level: Ozzy Osborne.
9. Percy Shelley Believed in 'Free Love'
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Percy Shelley, a famous poet as well as Mary Shelley's husband, is known for believing in 'free love.' Essentially, this is the idea that anyone could love whoever they wanted. On the surface, this is a wonderful concept, and definitely, an idea that was before his time, however, it did cause issues. Mary Shelley was not Percy's first wife. He started courting Mary before his first wife had divorced him, or anything of the sort. And during his relationship with Mary, he had affairs with countless other people. It's even speculated that he had an affair with Mary's step-sister, Claire.
10. Magic and Sir Author Conan Doyle
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You may know Sir Author Conan Doyle as the man who invented the Sherlock Holmes series. During his life, he was friends with Harry Houdini. The two were friends until Houdini discovered that Doyle truly believed he (Houdini) had magical powers.
11. Elizabeth Gaskell's Secret Home
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The Victorian novelist, Elizabeth Gaskell, bought a home in Hampshire which she kept a secret from her husband. However, sadly, while having tea with her daughters, she had a heart attack. Her husband didn't know about the house until after she had passed.
12. Emily Dickinson or Boo Radley?
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Emily Dickinson was notoriously a recluse during her life. She didn't leave home that often, and when she did it was to tend to the garden. She was such a recluse that she didn't even leave her bedroom upstairs to attend her fathers funeral that was being held downstairs.
14. Ernest Hemingway's Urinal
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At one point in his life, Ernest Hemmingway stole a urinal from a bar called Sloppy Joe's. Hemingway stated that he "pissed away enough money" in the bar, therefore he deserved to own the urinal.
15. Samuel Beckett and Andre the Giant
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Beckett and Andre the Giant were close friends, and therefore Andre's dad, Boris Rousimoff, helped Beckett build his farm. In exchange, Beckett would drive Andre to school every day.
16. Haruki Murakami and Baseball
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The whole reason Haruki Murakami started writing novels was because, one day at a baseball game at Jingu Stadium, he decided it would be a fun idea. That same night he started writing Hear the Wild Sing.
It's obvious that authors not only created stories for people to read. Authors created stories within their lives that people will still learn about years after their passing. These authors were some of the most interesting people to ever live!
