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Name of the author: James Grover Thurber
Name of the lesson: "The Night the Ghost Got In"
Thurber was born in Columbus, Ohio on December \(8\), \(1894\), to Mary Agnes “Mame” Fisher and Charles Leander Thurber. Thurber's father was a civil clerk while his mother was a bright humorist in her own right. Many of Thurber's stories and characters were influenced by her humour and theatrics. Thurber had two brothers: an older brother, William, and a younger brother, Robert.
One of the critical moments in Thurber’s life happened during a childhood game of “William Tell” when one of his brothers accidentally shot him in his left eye with an arrow. He lost that eye, and as a result of the injury, he gradually lost vision in his remaining eye. Nevertheless, this never stopped him from writing or drawing.
Thurber was best known for his cartoons and short stories published mainly in The New Yorker, an American weekly magazine famous for its diversified literary themes and humour. He was one of the most popular humourists of his time, as 'he celebrated the comic frustrations and eccentricities of ordinary people'.
Some of his works include,
- My Life and Hard Times (\(1933\))
- The Last Flower (\(1939\))
- Fables for Our Time (\(1940\))
- My World and Welcome To It (\(1942\))
- Many Moons (\(1943\))
- The Thurber Carnival (\(1945\))
- The White Deer (\(1945\))
- The 13 Clocks (\(1950\))
- The Thurber Album (\(1952\))
- Further Fables for Our Time (\(1956\))
- The Wonderful O (\(1957\))
- The Years with Ross (\(1959\))
Thurber died on November \(2\), aged \(66\), due to complications from pneumonia.
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