While there is nothing like a good novel, there are often made even better when their stories are rooted in true life, or events that really happened. Of course, many novels have been inspired by characters and happenings in history. We’ve rounded up a list of the best novels that have taken inspiration from real writer’s lives and spun them into fantastic stories. There’s even a few surprising classics on here that you might not realise were plucked directly from the writer’s lives themselves! Read on for our list of the best novels about writers, and comment below with your favourites!   Love and Ruin by Paula McLain Love and Ruin is the novelisation of the whirlwind romance of journalist...

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You don’t have to be a writer to keep a diary, but there is no doubt that most writers kept extensive diaries during their life times. Diary-keeping serves a number of functions, often unique to the individual. It is a way to record down the happenings of daily life, to express private feelings, to make a record of life as it unfolds.  It is clear that writing a diary can has huge benefits - a way to de-stress, to process big emotions, to bring meaning and understanding to the complexity of life. It can also be a great way to store away memories. Opening up and reading an old diary can be transportive - taking you back years or even...

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  Although not always an easy read, Virginia Woolf is considered one of Britain’s greatest writers. And Woolf lived as she wrote - creating a life that could resemble as closely as possible the dream of a “room of one’s own”, where women could live and freely practice their artistic endeavours.   Read our short biography of one of Britain’s most acclaimed writers.   Virginia (left) with her older sister, Vanessa (right) Virginia was born Virginia Stephens in 1882 in Hyde Park, London to a wealthy family. Her father was a writer-historian and her mother was a celebrated Pre-Raphaelite model for painters such as Edward Burne-Jones. She was one of three children, as well as having several half brothers and...

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