Buzz
Authors often live unconventional lives. Figures like Hunter S. Thompson and Graham Greene have turned their eccentricities into a defining part of their public personas. However, some writers surprise us with unexpected quirks. Beyond their writing, they engage in activities many would consider ethically questionable.
10. George Orwell Worked as a Government Informant
Despite being a self-proclaimed socialist, Orwell is widely known for his opposition to authoritarianism. His iconic works, Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, serve as stark critiques of government overreach, with the chilling concept of the Thought Police mocking state surveillance. Ironically, Orwell himself collaborated with the British government post-World War II, aiding in monitoring citizens.
In 1949, a physically weakened Orwell offered to compile a list of alleged communists and Soviet sympathizers for the UK’s Foreign Office. Among the 135 names were prominent left-wing politicians, playwrights, poets, New York’s mayor, and Charlie Chaplin. Orwell added personal notes to each entry, ranging from remarks like “very unintelligent” to observations about their political views and ethnic origins. The details were so precise that journalist Alexander Cockburn later argued they revealed a profound suspicion of Jews, African Americans, and LGBTQ individuals.
While there’s no proof that Orwell’s list was ever used to target anyone, it has led many to wonder why someone so committed to individual freedom would actively surveil his political allies.
9. P.G. Wodehouse Collaborated with Nazi Propaganda
Even decades after his passing, P.G. Wodehouse’s humorous novels remain popular, inspiring numerous BBC adaptations. In some years, up to 44 of his works are reissued in new editions, a remarkable feat for an author who once created content for Nazi Germany’s propaganda machine.
During 1941, Wodehouse resided in France at the time of its occupation by the Third Reich. After being interned in a Berlin prison camp, he was approached by a former Hollywood actor to deliver broadcasts over the Nazi network. Viewing this as an opportunity to inform his fans of his survival, Wodehouse consented. His five broadcasts, known for their light-hearted nature and careful avoidance of promoting German interests, nonetheless led Britain’s Director of Public Prosecutions to consider them potentially beneficial to the enemy, prompting orders to prosecute the author for treason upon any return to his homeland.
Wodehouse spent his remaining years freely in the USA, yet documents revealed years later suggest he might have received payments from Germany for his radio engagements. This has cast a lasting shadow of doubt over his actual intentions behind participating in the broadcasts.
8. Cervantes Served As A Despised Tax Collector
Miguel Cervantes's Don Quixote is credited with pioneering the modern novel and is thought to have possibly influenced a lost play by William Shakespeare. Beyond his literary genius, Cervantes was also known for his role as a tax collector, enforcing harsh government measures that made him widely unpopular.
During the 1590s, Spain faced severe setbacks after the British decimated the Armada. In a bid to sustain his imperial ambitions and conquests in the New World, Phillip II imposed additional taxes on his people. These taxes, which were excessive and unjust, compounded the existing heavy tax load, plunging the impoverished into deeper hardship, fueling widespread discontent, and later being escalated under Phillip III.
Amid this turmoil, Cervantes chose to take up the role of a tax collector. The job was far from simple. The populace's anger over the new taxes led to Cervantes being excommunicated from at least two towns and detained in two others. His encounters with hostility and resentment during this time deeply influenced his later literary works.
7. Edgar Allan Poe Faced a Military Court-Martial
Today celebrated as a literary mastermind, Edgar Allan Poe endured a life marked by financial struggles and a series of unfortunate events. Although he never engaged in treasonous acts or spied on those around him, his years of aimless wandering and alcoholism culminated in a formal court-martial by the US military.
On May 3, 1830, Poe, already with military experience, enrolled at West Point, aiming to graduate as a lieutenant in just six months. However, his prior service was disregarded, and he was required to complete the full four-year term. Compounding his difficulties, his foster father reduced financial support, leaving Poe in dire straits. Unable to leave without his guardian's permission, which was denied, Poe saw dismissal as his only escape route.
Beginning January 7, 1831, Poe embarked on a path of defiance, clashing with his superiors. After a month of neglecting his academic and military responsibilities, he was court-martialed and harshly penalized. Poe was publicly disgraced and expelled from the US military.
Interestingly, this did not mark the conclusion of his military pursuits. Shortly after his court-martial, Poe sought a recommendation from West Point’s superintendent to join the fight against the Russians in Poland, but his request was denied.
6. Joe Shuster Created Fetish Pornography
Joe Shuster, co-creator of Superman, played a pivotal role in shaping a modern cultural icon. Beyond illustrating the initial comic strips, he crafted numerous legendary story arcs, collaborated with Jerry Siegel on character development, and later reimagined these characters in S&M-themed adult content for financial gain.
During the late 1940s, Shuster and Siegel faced a significant rift with the comic industry, which compensated them minimally for their creation of Superman. After a costly legal battle, both men were left financially strained, unemployed, and nearing poverty. It was under these circumstances that Shuster took up work for Nights of Horror.
Nights of Horror, an S&M publication with connections to organized crime, epitomized sleaziness. Nonetheless, it offered steady and lucrative pay, prompting Shuster to seize the opportunity. Operating incognito, he leveraged his comic expertise to produce explicit illustrations, including uncanny replicas of Superman and Lois Lane engaged in activities far removed from their heroic personas.
The publication was erroneously linked to inspiring a string of murders, leading to a Supreme Court ruling that upheld its prohibition. Shuster's anonymity shielded his reputation, though his dignity was less unscathed.
5. Descartes Was An Amateur Vivisectionist
René Descartes, the French intellectual, revolutionized modern philosophy with his iconic statement: I think, therefore I am. His rationalist and mechanist views often led him to extreme conclusions. Descartes argued that animals were devoid of emotions or souls, claiming they could not experience suffering. Instead, he believed their reactions to pain were mere simulations. To prove his point, he conducted experiments by dissecting live animals without anesthesia.
This wasn’t a one-time experiment for Descartes; it became a regular pastime. He routinely performed vivisections on dogs, small animals, and even his wife’s beloved pets. He passionately advocated for the practice, convincing many to adopt his brutal methods, all while spreading his mechanist ideology.
4. Gabriel Garcia Marquez Was Castro’s Unofficial Ambassador
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a Nobel Laureate in Literature and author of one of the most celebrated novels ever written, was also a dedicated journalist who fervently opposed the widespread violence in his homeland, Colombia. He was a staunch advocate for the transformative power of journalism in societal reform and enhancing lives, vocally denouncing authoritarian regimes across the continent, such as the brutal rule of Augusto Pinochet. His deep-seated admiration for Fidel Castro’s Cuba, despite its oppressive nature, remains a perplexing aspect of his legacy.
Many left-leaning authors in Latin America defended the Cuban government, but Marquez stood out with his global influence. As a confidant of Castro, he authored pieces that depicted Cuba as an idyllic socialist haven, often overlooking the regime's severe injustices. He frequently extolled the adoration Cubans had for their leader, disregarding the existence of sham trials, incarceration facilities, and state-sanctioned killings. The Economist highlighted how his deliberate oversight effectively made him an unofficial envoy for Cuba, achieving a propaganda victory that surpassed Castro's expectations.
3. Yukio Mishima's Unsuccessful Coup Attempt
Yukio Mishima’s groundbreaking work, Confessions of a Mask, is often credited with pioneering Japanese gay literature. His later writings earned him four Nobel Prize nominations. Yet, beneath his brilliance lay a troubled soul. Mishima believed postwar Japan had abandoned its values by surrendering and advocated for a return to the bushido ethos of the samurai, coupled with fervent nationalism. In 1968, he established a private militia, culminating in a dramatic 1970 attempt to incite a government overthrow.
In 1970, Mishima and four militia members stormed the Japanese Self-Defense Forces headquarters in Tokyo, taking over the commanding general’s office. Mishima then addressed the soldiers from a balcony, urging them to revolt. However, they mocked him. Defeated, Mishima performed seppuku, ending his life with a samurai sword before being beheaded by a fellow militia member after several failed attempts.
2. Forrest Carter’s Ties to the Ku Klux Klan
Those of a certain generation might recall *The Education of Little Tree*, a book presented as a memoir of a Cherokee boy’s upbringing and life lessons from his grandparents. It became a cornerstone of New Age literature and continues to receive acclaim. However, the author, Forrest Carter, was far from the innocent figure he portrayed. His real identity was Asa Earl Carter, a notorious neo-Nazi and terrorist.
Carter, a former Ku Klux Klan member, was the author of George Wallace’s notorious “segregation forever” speech. In the 1950s, believing the Klan had grown too lenient, he established the KKK of the Confederacy, which gained infamy for attacking Nat “King” Cole and brutally castrating a black man, dousing his injuries with turpentine. He later campaigned for governor on a neo-Nazi platform and became a hate preacher. His violent tendencies even led to a shootout with fellow Klansmen over money, resulting in an attempted murder charge.
Suddenly, Carter abandoned his past. He reinvented himself as Forrest, a Cherokee storyteller, leaving behind his racist history. The reasons for this transformation remain a mystery. Carter passed away in 1978, still known as Forrest to those close to him.
1. Ezra Pound’s Alliance with Mussolini’s Fascists
Even if Ezra Pound’s poetry isn’t familiar, his influence is undeniable. Literary giants like Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, T.S. Eliot, Ford Maddox Ford, and William Butler Yeats all benefited from his support. However, Pound’s assistance extended beyond literature. In the turbulent years before World War II, he chose to aid Benito Mussolini, aligning himself with fascism.
Ezra Pound, believing usury to be the root of global corruption and blaming Jews for it, moved to Italy in the 1930s and openly embraced fascism. During World War II, he escalated his actions, delivering increasingly erratic radio broadcasts from Rome to Allied troops, condemning Roosevelt, the U.S. war effort, and Jewish communities. He even composed two poems glorifying fascist ideology. After the war, he avoided trial by pleading insanity but continued spreading racist rhetoric to fellow patients in the psychiatric hospital, eventually befriending a staunch segregationist.
Pound lived until 1972 but never expressed remorse for his fascist affiliations. Upon returning to Italy in 1958 after his release from psychiatric care, his first gesture was a fascist salute, reaffirming his allegiance to the ideology.
