Writers W
Wilkie Collins
Novelist
A pioneer of detective fiction, William Wilkie Collins (1824-1889), was an English author, short story writer and playwright. Collins is best known for his novel, The Moonstone: it is often regarded as the first true mystery novel. He was also a close friend of Charles Dickens and wrote for his periodicals, Household Words. Some of his other notable works were The Woman in White, Antonina; Or, the Fall of Rome, Basil, No Name and Armadale.
W. B. Yeats
Poet
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) was an Irish poet, writer and dramatist and an influential figure in 20th century literature. Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923 for his inspirational poetry. Some of his important works were The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems, The Countless Kathleen, Deirdre, The Tower, Words for Music Perhaps and Other Poems. Yeats was also a founder of the Abbey Theatre – the national theatre of Ireland.
William Caxton
Merchant
William Caxton (1422-1491) was an English merchant, diplomat, translator, writer and – in 1476 – the first person to introduce a printing press to England. His translation of The Recuyell of the Histories of Troye was the first book printed in the English language and other notable prints include Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Caxton also made the first translation of Aesop’s Fables. Some of his own important works were Dictes or Sayengis of the Philosophres and Brut Chronicles. He now rests in St Margaret’s Church.
William Shakespeare
Poet
The Bard of Avon, William Shakespeare (1564-1616), was an English poet, playwright and actor, commonly dubbed the greatest English writer in world literature; he is considered to be England's national poet. Shakespeare wrote around thirty-eight plays, two poems and 154 sonnets. Some of his well-known works include Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Two Gentleman of Verona.