With all the talk of Nobel Prizes this week, we’d like to introduce readers to five extraordinary minds who’ve produced some of world literature’s greatest works — and they just happen to be Nobel laureates! Here are a few choice authors to consider…

HENRI BERGSON (Nobel Prize for Literature 1927)

Creative Evolution: Here, Bergson anticipated not only modern scientific theories of psychology but also those of cosmology. This astonishing work sets out an impressive goal for itself: to reconcile human biology with a theory of consciousness. First published in France in 1907, and translated into English in 1911, this work of wonder was esteemed at the time in scientific circles and in the popular culture alike.

Matter and Memory: A monumental work first issued in 1896 represents one of the great inquiries into perception and memory, movement and time, matter and mind. Bergson surveys these independent but related spheres, exploring the connection of mind and body to individual freedom of choice.

Time and Free Will: An Essay on the Immediate Data of Consciousness: Here, Bergson attempted to blend the new understandings of biological sciences with concepts of human consciousness in such books as Creative Evolution. With this extraordinary work, first published in French in 1889, Bergson anticipates Einstein’s theory of relativity and the coming revolution in theoretical physics with his exploration of free will as a function of time.

A New Philosophy: Henri Bergson, by Edouard le Roy: Bergson had only the highest praise for this presentation of his philosophy for the general public. Le Roy hoped that this volume would serve as an introduction, which would make it easier to read and understand Bergson’s works, and serve as a primer to his “new philosophy.”

RUDYARD KIPLING (Nobel Prize for Literature 1907)

From Sea to Sea: Letters of Travel: First published in 1899, this volume serves as a delightful reminder of Kipling’s genius (he would win the . It includes: an account of attending the theater in Japan and visiting Shinto shrines; an exploration of India’s “city of elephants” and a meeting with “the naughty children of Iquique”; notes on a journey to San Francisco and the taking of tea with the “natives” there; and much more.

MAURICE MAETERLINCK (Nobel Prize for Literature 1911)

The Buried Temple: With the author’s characteristic care and thoughtfulness, these insightful essays display unique insights and graceful perception into the life of the spirit. Essays included in this collection are “Mystery of Justice,” “Evolution of Mystery,” “Kingdom of Matter and The Past,” and “Luck.” Maeterlinck’s writing is characterized by clear and simple expression with a subtle suggestion rather than a direct expression of ideas and emotions, and this work is ideal for readers who see a purpose in life and value their personal ethics.
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Wisdom and Destiny: His plays and poems sing with the beauty of life, the search for happiness, the inevitability of death, and here, in this exquisite 1898 essay, Maeterlinck contemplates directly the theme that consumes his other writing: the journey toward meaning and truth. Compelling and complex, this is a classic of personal philosophy that greatly rewards close reading and appreciation.

The Life of the Bee: When Maeterlinck, with a poet’s sensibility and sensitivity, turned his attention to a bee hive, his observations turned into a masterpiece. Here, Maeterlinck illuminates the whole life and society of the bee, from the structure of the hive, to the movement and meaning of the swarm, to the role and activity of the queen. This work is for all readers curious about a brilliant thinker’s mediation on a force of nature that, ultimately, holds lessons about the human race and our universe.

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW (Nobel Prize for Literature 1925)

The Devil’s Disciple: A Melodrama in Three Acts: Shaw’s only play set in America, this is a cutting examination of honor and honesty, rebellion and irreverence. Written in 1897 and first published in the 1901, it is the story of Revolutionary War hero Richard Dudgeon, wrongly arrested by British soldiers in a case of mistaken identity who keeps the secret, fully aware he will be hanged for another man’s crimes. Like Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities, this is a historically incisive drama, highlighting the best men can achieve at the worst of times.

Mrs. Warren’s Profession: Middle-aged Mrs. Warren is a madam, proprietress of a string of successful brothels. Her daughter, Vivie, is a modern young woman, but not so modern that she’s not shocked to discover the source of her mother’s wealth. The clash of these two strong-willed but culturally constrained Victorian women is the spark that ignites the ironic wit of one of Shaw’s greatest plays, a withering critique of male domination, sexual hypocrisy, and societal convention. Initially banned after its 1893 publication with its startling frankness, it remains a powerful work of progressive theater.

George Bernard Shaw, by G.K. Chesterton: Arts critic Chesterton clashed vociferously and frequently with Shaw, his greatest intellectual “enemy,” once calling the Irish playwright “most savagely serious man of his time.” This 1909 critique of Shaw’s work and attitudes is considered one of the best works of cultural criticism ever written, and certainly the best book on Shaw. Exploring the writer’s work through the perspectives of his various personas—the Irishman, the Puritan, the Progressive, the Critic, the Dramatist, and the Philosopher—Chesterton, with brutal grace and devastating humor, shreds Shaw’s grimness and illiberalism.

RABINDRANATH TAGORE (Nobel Prize for Literature 1913)

The Fugitive: One of India’s greatest poets and the composer of independent India’s national anthem, Tagore wrote successfully in all literary genres, but was first and foremost a poet, publishing more than 50 volumes of poetry. This is a premier example of his verse.

Stray Birds: Tagore’s ideas on nature and man come through as he explores the world outside his window as the stray birds of summer sing and fly away. These short, sometimes merely one-line poems are often just an image or the distillation of a thought, but they stay in the mind and do not fly away as easily as the birds.

WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS (Nobel Prize for Literature 1923)

The Celtic Twilight: Originally published in 1893, this is Yeats’ collection of some of the most delightful myths and folktales of Ireland, his native land. Yeats recalls stories about the devil, sorcerers, faeries, village ghosts, and unexplainable events. They illuminate a world of magical and miraculous creatures and constitute a worldview that can also be glimpsed in Yeats’ acclaimed poetry and plays.

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