What makes an author one of the greatest of all time?

[Campus reveiw]

I've been exploring different approaches to ranking the greatest authors in literature, and one thing becomes clear: there isn't a single objective ranking.

Some lists focus on the number of highly regarded books an author has produced. Others consider influence, cultural significance, literary innovation or historical importance.


For example, The Greatest Books' current author ranking uses book rankings, the number of highly ranked books and the age of books as part of its methodology.

Authors frequently appearing in major discussions include:

Shakespeare
Tolstoy
Dostoevsky
Dickens
Austen
Joyce
Woolf
Kafka
Faulkner
Hemingway

There are also major non-English literary traditions that deserve attention, including Dante, Homer, Cervantes, Murasaki Shikibu and Goethe.

For me, the most interesting part is comparing the different criteria used to define literary greatness.

📚 Full discussion:
https://thecampusreview.com/literature/greatest-authors-of-all-time/

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