Once he learned to read, the young boy immediately became obsessed with books and was completely absorbed in tales depicting savages, the Wild West, or Mark Twain's thrill-seeking Tom Sawyer. ... He also published three short stories in 1905, "Birds of Prey," "A Tale of a Whale," and "The Man Who Was King." ... This city had a monumental and life-altering impact on Eliot for multiple reasons, the most significant of which was his introduction to the influential literary figure  Ezra Pound. ... The marriage was not successful, in part because of Vivienne's health issues: the two s...

• Word Count: 4134
• Approx Pages: 17
• Grade Level: High School

The twentieth century really begins before the end of the nineteenth century. Queen Victoria's Jubilee in 1887 was felt by many to represent the end of an era. An end-of-century stoicism, and a growing pessimism among writers and intellectuals, may be traced to several sources, not least the publication in 1859 of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species which put the existence of God into radical question. Across the whole population, and in the face of rapid economic and social changes, radical doubts about the stability of the existing order were expressed. By the end of the nine...

• Word Count: 10566
• Approx Pages: 42