Here’s an interesting piece: “In Defense of Privacy: The 20th Century’s Most Reclusive Authors.”
Proust sounds a little…intense:
“Proust, who soundproofed his studio with cork walls and installed layers of heavy curtains to keep the light out, would stay up for days on end working on his 3,200-page masterpiece, In Search of Lost Time. When greeting guests, he was often unsure of whether it was day or night.”
And Harper Lee sounds delightfully and sharply gracious:
“Most recently, Lee — who at 84, is still said to handwrite polite refusals for interview requests – was accosted in Monroeville by a journalist from The Daily Mail bearing a box of chocolates. Her totally amazing response to the invasion of privacy: “We’re just going to feed the ducks, but call me the next time you are here. We have a lot of history here. You will enjoy it.”
Alas, my idol J.D. Salinger sounds a wee full of himself:
According to his family, “he believed that 'he was in this world but not of it.'”
