Writers live through their work, and if a book is good enough, an author can achieve
immortality.
But once a writer becomes a household name, people start to focus on their genius and
forget about all their flaws and foibles.
Reality check: Some of the best novels and short stories ever written have been penned
by men and women with incredibly dark secrets.
On the page, they're masters of their craft, but in real life, they've sold out colleagues,
assaulted family members, and left friends trembling in fear.
If you want to know which of your favorite novels were written by monsters, then brace
yourself as we look at some respected writers who were actually terrible people.
Hunter S. Thompson, first-class jerk
"It's our country.
It's not theirs.
It's not a bunch of used car dealers from Southern California.
In a Democracy you have to be a player."
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas writer Hunter S. Thompson was a literary rockstar, both
when it came to fame and his out-of-control lifestyle.
The father of gonzo journalism, Thompson hung out with the Hell's Angels, went to war with
Richard Nixon, and consumed every drug known to man.
But while he's a colorful character, you wouldn't want Thompson as your friend.
Sure, he's a larger-than-life icon, but he was also a first-class jerk.
Need proof?
According to authors Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad, Thompson allegedly tied actor Bill Murray
to a chair, tossed him into a pool, and nearly let him drown.
Need more?
During the '80s, Jack Nicholson was celebrating his birthday with his family when Thompson
showed up at his home in the middle of the night and shot a super powerful flare into
the sky.
Next, Thompson aimed a military-style spotlight at Nicholson's home and fired a pistol in
the air.
Then he capped the whole thing off by leaving an elk's heart and some bullet casings on
Nicholson's doorstep — as a joke.
Very funny, Thompson.
But you're definitely the only one laughing.
George Orwell sold out other writers
Although George Orwell was a socialist, he was open about his distaste for the Soviet
Union.
Just take a glimpse at his two classic works: Animal Farm and 1984.
These two novels absolutely tore the USSR a new one.
But even though Orwell hated dictators and overbearing bureaucracies, that didn't stop
the English author from selling out his fellow writers and artists to a powerful government
agency.
In the 1940s, Orwell did some work for a group called the Information Research Department.
In true Orwellian fashion, that innocent-sounding name belonged to a department that specialized
in churning out propaganda.
The IRD's job was to smear the Soviets, so Orwell wanted to make sure they didn't hire
anyone with communist sympathies.
Taking aim at some high profile names, Orwell drew up a list of writers and influential
people he believed sided with the Soviets.
He then handed his blacklist over to the IRD.
"In bird culture, this is considered a d--- move."
Yup, it was a pretty skeezy move — especially for a man whose entire career was about taking
down Big Brother.
The sad truth was that Orwell proved himself to be a first-class jerk and a horrible hypocrite
who might've done a fine job working for the Thought Police.
Ernest Hemingway, KGB spy
Chisel the Mt. Rushmore of American writers, and you've got to include Ernest Hemingway.
Papa Hemingway typed out some all-time great novels like A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the
Bell Tolls, and The Old Man and the Sea, and even nabbed a Nobel Prize.
But when he wasn't churning out classics, you could find him getting drunk and going
on crazy adventures.
He patrolled the Cuban coast in his fishing boat, hunting for Nazi subs.
He drove an ambulance during World War I and worked as a journalist during the Spanish
Civil War.
However, things took a dark turn when Hemingway joined the KGB, the notorious Soviet spy agency.
Part secret police, part intelligence organization, the KGB made its name jailing political opponents
and murdering enemies of the state.
When it comes to digging up dirt and hunting down dissidents, the KGB is right up there
with the Stasi and the Gestapo.
In other words, if you get a job with the KGB, you're automatically not cool.
"Boo!
Not cool!"
And according to books like Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America and Writer,
Sailor, Soldier, Spy, Hemingway actually volunteered to do a bit of espionage for the Soviets.
He was given the codename "Argo" — a ship from Greek mythology; fitting for such a nautical
guy.
He may be the granddaddy of modern badassery, but it turned out Hemingway was a lousy spy.
According to official KGB files, Argo never delivered any political information, and the
Russians soon gave up on their undercover author.
J.D. Salinger, total creep
When it comes to writing, J.D. Salinger was no phony.
The reclusive author was the man behind The Catcher in the Rye, one of the most beloved
and debated novels of all time.
But while Salinger's work has attracted legions of fans, many don't know — or overlook — his
controversial history with teenage girls.
As it turns out, Salinger was kind of a creep when it came to manipulating young women.
He would often lure these young girls into romantic relationships by writing them letters,
using both his pen and his power to seduce and trap teenagers.
When he was 53, he spotted a teenage Joyce Mccaynard on the cover of The New York Times
and soon drew her into a relationship.
She would later write about her interactions with the author, describing him as more than
a tad predatory.
Ickier still, he began courting Jean Miller when she was just 14.
He kept their uncomfortable relationship going until the girl turned 20, and then they finally
hooked up.
After an awkward one night stand, Salinger dumped her immediately.
"What did your mother think of this?"
"Well, exactly."
Of course, when it came to people his own age, Salinger was far less seductive.
On one occasion, a woman showed up at his house, collecting for the Red Cross, and he
responded by pulling a gun and threatening to shoot her.
Sure, the man was reclusive, but taking shots at the Red Cross is going a little too far
with the whole angsty writer angle.
Jack London, horrible racist
White Fang is one of the most famous 19th-century American novels, and one of the best stories
ever written from a canine's point of view.
But there's a lot more going on here than a simple story about a wolfdog making its
way in the world.
Pick up a copy of White Fang and skip to the part where the heroic beast encounters white
people for the very first time after living with a tribe of Native Americans.
"As compared with the Indians he had known, they were to him another race of superior
gods."
The novel then goes on to say that White Fang's Native American master "was a child-god among
these white skinned ones."
Yeah, it seems White Fang is a really racist wolf… probably because author Jack London
is one of the biggest bigots in American literature.
If you think the "superior gods" stuff is bad, then check out London's essay called
"The Salt of the Earth," which argued that whites are "a race of mastery and achievement."
London even wrote that genocide was just a part of natural selection, something that's
perfectly acceptable when "lesser breeds" encounter Anglo-Saxons.
And don't even get us started on his anti-Chinese 1910 short story, "The Unparalleled Invasion."
Here's the abridged version: China starts taking over the world, so the US and Europe
wipe it off the map with biological weapons.
Real uplifting stuff, London.
Doesn't remind us of evil aliens at all.
"EXTERMINATE"
Roald Dahl, anti-Semitic jerk
It might come as a surprise that Roald Dahl — author of James and the Giant Peach, Matilda,
and The BFG — was a bit of a monster in real life, not unlike the ghoulish characters
that populate his stories.
Dahl was reportedly a horrible person who made life miserable for everyone who worked
at his publishing company, Alfred A. Knopf.
According to one account by editor-in-chief Robert Gottlieb, whenever Dahl dropped by
the office, he treated secretaries like servants and threw tantrums when he didn't get his
way.
When the company finally told Dahl to get a grip or get out, everyone in the office
supposedly got on their desks and cheered.
Dahl was so bad that his first wife nicknamed him "Roald the Rotten."
In addition to being generally ill-tempered, he was allegedly racist.
In the original versions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the Oompa Loompas weren't
eerie-looking orange dwarves from a mystical island; instead, they were actually black
pygmies.
As pointed out by the BBC, in James and the Giant Peach, the character of the Grasshopper
proclaims,
"I'd rather be fried alive and eaten by a Mexican."
But worst of all, Dahl went on the record in 1983 during an interview with New Statesmen,
saying,
"There is a trait the in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity.
[…] Even a stinker like Hitler didn't just pick on them for no reason."
That's right.
According to Roald Dahl, the Jewish people deserved what they got during the Holocaust,
which is definitely not a story you want your kids to hear.
"You can quote Oscar Wilde, and say: When I am gone, I hope it will be said my sins
were scarlet but my books were read."
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