Agatha Christie’s mysterious disappearance and other interesting facts about the world's most famous authors 

Literature has been an integral part of culture for centuries. Over the course of this time, a large number of authors have graced the literary scene with their unique storytelling abilities. However, only a few of them have managed to leave their mark in history and gain acclaim from all over the world. Read on to learn some intriguing facts about some of the world’s most famous authors that are sure to surprise you. 

Agatha Christie mysteriously disappeared for 11 days 
There are many theories and rumours circulating around in regards to the famous mystery writer Agatha Christie’s 11-day disappearance in 1926. Safe to say, it seemed like she was in the plot of one of her own novels. Some outlandish theories suggest that she was abducted by aliens, while other believable ones suggest that she suffered out-of-body amnesia as a consequence of stress because of her divorce with her then husband. She was safely found in a hotel in Harrogate, England. 

George Orwell actually borrowed the plot for his seminal book, ‘1984’ 
George Orwell’s ‘1984’ is arguably one of the most impactful books in history. The dystopian social science fiction novel portrays a haunting scenario of the future of human life, wherein finding one’s individuality amongst the constant monitoring by society and the ‘Big Brother’ is a painfully difficult task. Although extremely well-received around the globe, very few know that Orwell actually borrowed the plot for this book from another dystopian novel called ‘We’ which was written by Yevgeny Zamyatin, which he had reviewed for the Tribune magazine in 1946. This novel follows a man and women who fall in love and rebel against the state. 

Virginia Woolf’s writing space was always a mess 
Regard as one of the most prominent feminist authors of the past century, Virginia Woolf believed that a writer’s writing space should be one that allows him/her to think freely. However, according to those who knew her closely, Woolf’s writing space was, quite shockingly, a mess. Leonard Woolf, the author’s husband, gave an incredibly detailed description of the room. He said that it had old nibs, bits of string, old matches, rusty paper-clips, crumpled envelopes, broken cigarette holders, etc. all strewn around.  

Franz Kafka was working on another novel while writing ‘The Metamorphosis’ 
‘The Metamorphosis’ was the novel which catapulted Franz Kafka towards worldwide acclaim. This was the second novel he was working on, before which he had started writing another one titled ‘Amerika.’ He worked on the two simultaneously, however, he could not finish his first one which was left unpublished until after his death. But, the process of writing ‘The Metamorphosis’ took off quickly once he seized inspiration behind its story. At this point, Kafka was working at an insurance company and thus, the final draft still underwent a few delays but he managed to complete it in time. Time was never his friend, though, as it took almost three long years to finally get published.