The weekly Booking Through Thursday question for today is:
Have you ever been put off an author’s books after reading a biography of them? Or the reverse – a biography has made you love an author more?
I don’t think I have been put off of an author’s books after reading about the author — somewhat dismayed, maybe, but not to the point of never reading them again. One case in point is that of Robert Burns. I dearly love several of his poems — especially To a Mouse, but also To a Louse, A Red, Red Rose, O Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast — but some of his other poems are rowdy drinking songs, which I don’t like, and some are rather crass, and he had “a penchant for debauchery and drink” which contributed to his early death at age 37. Yet in The Cotter’s Saturday Night he shows he has been at least exposed to a godly family (I did read in some forgotten source a brother’s quote that he did not know what family Robert had in mind in this poem, but it certainly wasn’t theirs) and contrasts their simple faith and integrity with that of hypocritical religion, as shown in this excerpt:
Then, kneeling down to Heaven’s Eternal King,
The saint, the father, and the husband prays:
Hope “springs exulting on triumphant wing,”
That thus they all shall meet in future days,
There, ever bask in uncreated rays,
No more to sigh, or shed the bitter tear,
Together hymning their Creator’s praise,
In such society, yet still more dear;
While circling Time moves round in an eternal sphere
Compar’d with this, how poor Religion’s pride,
In all the pomp of method, and of art;
When men display to congregations wide
Devotion’s ev’ry grace, except the heart!
The Power, incens’d, the pageant will desert,
The pompous strain, the sacerdotal stole;
But haply, in some cottage far apart,
May hear, well-pleas’d, the language of the soul;
And in His Book of Life the inmates poor enroll.
The contrast between the different types of poetry he wrote, the combination of the thoughtful and tender with the less than admirable qualities work together to make an intriguing whole.
After all, we all have our less than admirable qualities. I didn’t stop reading David’s Psalms after learning of his various sins, though they broke my heart. Then again, he was repentant. If I read biographical notes of an author that showed he led a profligate lifestyle, I might be put off from further reading, but I don’t think I read the types of books that someone like that would write in the first place. I would also be put off from reading books by someone with a New Age type philosophy.
The reverse is quite true: reading biographies of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, Dickens, C. S. Lewis, Janette Oke, and others made me love their writing all the more and enhanced my understanding and enjoyment of it.
Stray Thoughts 
You make some valid points. I generally don’t read biographies. Happy Booking Through Thursday!
I too find that knowing more about an author can make me better appreciate their books. I’ve read biographies of Wilder, Alcott, and Lewis, too.
Once in a while I can be turned off from an author.
Yea… I agree… If I’ve already read and enjoyed a certain author, I wouldn’t stop reading because of finding out something about them. But sometimes knowing more about them DOES increase the pleasure of the book!
Great analytical post. You made me think.
Here is my BTT post!
I always enjoy ‘About the Author’ in the backs of books while I’m reading. Biographiess have never put me off, but rather enhances my feel for the story I’m reading. I enjoyed your post very much.
What about Alcott’s Transcendentalism? Dickens’ girlfriend? I’m not trying to sully them for you, really. 🙂 But there’s so much out there with so many authors.
I love Wilde’s THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, but knowing of his lifestyle makes it difficult to read his work. But many of those authors (Byron comes to mind) reveal how miserable their lives really were in some of their later works.
I didn’t know about Dickens’ girlfriend. But learning about Alcott’s Transcendentalism helped me understand where she was coming from. Some think she is writing from a Christian perspective because of references to things like Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, but when you read closely, she s not using it (for instance, the reference to Pilgrim’s burden) in a Christian, Biblical way. I noticed something was “off” there but couldn’t quite figure it out until I read of her family’s Transcendentalism. So while I wouldn’t call it a Christian book, it is pretty much a moral one and can provide fodder for discussion.
I enjoyed reading your thoughts on book authors and feel the same way. Discernment is the key.
Blessings to you!
Claudia O.
Interesting answer 🙂 I suspect I’m drawn more to books whose authors have philosophies similar to mine. I have yet to be completely put off an author too.
Thanks for your visit to my blog today! I didn’t make it clear that our SUV is going to be a used one. But new to us!! I edited my post!
It will be so nice to have a way to get around again!! Karen doesn’t get home from her work until close to 6:00 in the evening. So this will be great to be able go where we need to with out asking for a ride!! People have been really nice about this, but you know how you feel! Love and hugs Carolyn
You make some interesting points that I hadn’t thought of before.
Thanks for visiting my blog, Louisa May Alcott is one of my favourite authors but I had never thought of reading a biography of her; think this means a trip to the library!