Writers Who Changed the World

Homer gave Western civilisation its founding stories of heroism and homecoming. Murasaki Shikibu wrote, a thousand years ago, the first novel in the world. Cervantes invented the modern novel in Spain while Shakespeare was inventing modern drama in England. Goethe, Tolstoy, Proust, Woolf, García Márquez — the list of writers who have fundamentally altered how human beings understand themselves through fiction is long, and DK’s Writers Who Changed the World profiles eighty of the most important.

Each entry provides biographical context, summaries and analysis of key works, and a clear account of the specific literary achievement that earns the writer their place. The coverage is genuinely global — Eastern, Western, and African literary traditions receive equal attention.

An ideal introduction to world literature organised by impact — and the perfect companion for building a serious reading list. Published by DK.