10 Quirky Authors in History

Great authors tend to possess a wild imagination and a unique perspective of the world. As a result, they’re usually kind of quirky. Whether it’s a strange habit, a bizarre writing ritual, or an unconventional mannerism, there are many ways to define a writer’s eccentricities. Below are 10 quirky authors in history and the behaviors that earned them a spot on the list.

***Note: A version of this article first appeared on Listosaur in 2019 which has since shut down.***

Mark Twain

This typesetter turned great American novelist claimed a collection of quirky behaviors. Twain was an avid cat lover who owned as many as 19 at one point. He even said that he preferred cats to humans.  In his later years he wore white suits year round, breaking fashion conventions to stand out in a crowd.

Most famous, though, was his classic dry wit. A perfect example can be found in an 1891 letter in which he wrote, “I have been an author for 20 years and an ass for 55.”

Virginia Woolf

Victorian English writer Virginia Woolf’s life was plagued by a tough childhood, numerous tragedies, and mental illness. So, it’s no surprise that she makes the list. She was the inventor of a standing desk which was inspired by her sister’s tendency to paint standing up.

She also famously owned a pet monkey named Mitz. From an early age, Woolf was outspoken, telling a music teacher that the meaning of Christmas was to celebrate the Crucifixion.

Later, she offered specific instructions for reading and writing saying, “Nothing is easier and more stultifying than to make rules which exist out of touch with facts, in a vacuum.”

Theodore Seuss Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss

The catchy rhythm and invented words in Geisel’s popular children’s books tips off fans to assume that Dr. Seuss was a strange guy. From an early age, he had a crippling fear of crowds. This was most likely due to an embarrassing interaction on stage with President Theodore Roosevelt during a Boy Scout awards ceremony as a child. The ordeal made him reluctant to give interviews or make public appearances in front of an audience.

While Geisel wrote children’s books, he didn’t have any children of his own. He confirmed his stepdaughter’s description of him as his classic character, the Grinch, on a bad day. He even flaunted that description with a license plate reading “GRINCH.”

After all, Geisel believed, “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”

Lord Byron

Lord Byron was a 19th century novelist, though he was more famous for his playboy persona and eccentric behavior. When he was told that he couldn’t keep a dog in his dorm room at Cambridge, he brought a bear instead. Byron even tried to enroll him in classes. This love of animals continued later in life, keeping a menagerie at his estate. Inside was more of a haunted house which he decorated with coffins and used human skulls as goblets and flower pots.

Byron was very much aware of his eccentricities, though. He used writing as a way to release his morbid thoughts saying, “If I don’t write to empty my mind, I go mad.”

Demosthenes

The ancient Greek statesman and orator, Demosthenes, was the author of several memorable speeches in his lifetime. However, public speaking didn’t come easy for him. He suffered from several speech impediments as a child. Demosthenes’ methods to correct the problem were self-imposed.

These treatments included speaking with pebbles in his mouth, shouting into storms by the shore, speaking while running to improve his breathing, and living in an underground cave for several weeks, shaving half of his head while he practiced his speeches.

He also perfected his posture by hanging a sword near his shoulder. When he unconsciously rose his shoulder, the sword would jab him, prompting him to lower it again.

In his determination, he was true to his word when he said, “All speech is vain and empty unless it be accompanied by action.”

Dylan Thomas

Poet Dylan Thomas is most known for the line “Do not go gentle into that good night…” Yet he tragically succumbed to a morphine overdose in 1953 at the age of 39.

The details about Thomas’ life are sketchy at best, though it’s clear that he suffered from depression and alcoholism. These vices played a factor into his offstage persona.

He was known for his crude and colorful language that he used around even the most notable Hollywood stars. He was also known to relieve himself in public when his drunkenness hindered his ability to make it to the bathroom on time.

Though he was unfazed by his indecent behavior, Thomas was hard on himself as a writer. this was apparent in this famous quote: “Somebody’s boring me. I think it’s me.”

James Joyce

James Joyce was your typical Irishman turned iconic author. But his failing eyesight inspired some quirky behavior in both his professional and personal life.

Joyce suffered from eye problems for years which caused him to wear a patch and write on large sheets of paper or cardboard with crayons. However, this didn’t stop him from starting fights while out with his drinking buddy and fellow author, Ernest Hemingway.

While he egged on his opponent, he would find that he couldn’t see well enough to strike him and would call for Hemingway to “deal with him!”

Charles Dickens

The great English author Charles Dickens is known for several famous works, but those great stories were written by a man with many strange tics. Dickens suffered from epilepsy, a medical condition that he shared with several of his characters over the years.

He was also thought to have had obsessive compulsive disorder. His writing space had to be just right, he combed his hair hundreds of times a day, and he was a neat freak, keeping his home spotless and the furniture in very specific locations. He also touched certain objects three times for luck.

Dickens also believed in mesmerism, or hypnosis, and practiced it on his friends and family to heal their ailments.He was once quoted as saying, “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”

Victor Hugo

French author Victor Hugo had some harmless but quirky mannerisms that made him an interesting character. He is one of many famous writers with a foot fetish, particularly female feet.

Also, like many writers, he suffered from writer’s block. So, his solution was to take off his clothes, have his servants lock them away, and sit in a room to write, not coming out until he was finished. It has also been said that he wrote The Hunchback of Notre Dame in a few months wearing only a long, gray shawl.

The truth of these mannerisms has been widely debated, but as Hugo himself said, “What is history? An echo of the past in the future; a reflex from the future on the past.”

Truman Capote

Truman Capote’s odd behavior is perhaps more famous than his impressive collection of writings. He had a sentimental side, carrying his baby blanket around until his death.

He was also superstitious, never beginning or ending a piece on a Friday, never staying in a hotel room that included the number 13, and never leaving more than three cigarette butts in an ash tray.

When he wrote, he did it on his back with a glass of sherry beside him. While these mannerisms may seem like an act meant for show, Capote himself once commented, “I’d rather have cancer than a dishonest heart.”

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