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Anna Kavan

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Anna Kavan


Born
in Cannes, France
April 10, 1901

Died
December 05, 1968

Website


Anna Kavan was born "Helen Woods" in France on April 10, 1901 to wealthy expatriate British parents.

Her initial six works were published under the name of Helen Ferguson, her first married name. These early novels gave little indication of the experimental and disturbing nature of her later work. I Am Lazarus (1945), a collection of short stories which explored the inner mindscape of the psychological explorer, heralded the new style and content of Kavan's writing. The change in her writing style and physical appearance coincided with a mental breakdown. During this time, Helen also renamed herself Anna Kavan after a character in her own novel Let Me Alone.

Around 1926 Anna became addicted to heroin. Her addiction has been described as an a ...more

Combine Editions

Average rating: 3.75 · 13,539 ratings · 2,193 reviews · 43 distinct works • Similar authors
Ice
3.66 avg rating — 9,650 ratings — published 1967 — 85 editions
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Asylum Piece
4.01 avg rating — 901 ratings — published 1940 — 27 editions
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Sleep Has His House
3.93 avg rating — 569 ratings — published 1973 — 13 editions
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Machines in the Head: The S...
3.86 avg rating — 489 ratings — published 2019 — 6 editions
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Julia and the Bazooka and O...
4.15 avg rating — 445 ratings — published 1970 — 11 editions
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Who Are You?
3.93 avg rating — 237 ratings — published 1963 — 15 editions
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I Am Lazarus: Stories
3.99 avg rating — 156 ratings — published 1945 — 6 editions
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A Scarcity of Love
4.02 avg rating — 133 ratings — published 1956 — 8 editions
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Eagle's Nest
3.94 avg rating — 115 ratings — published 1957 — 6 editions
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Guilty
3.73 avg rating — 107 ratings — published 2007 — 7 editions
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More books by Anna Kavan…
Quotes by Anna Kavan  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“Everything was so quiet, as if the silence was listening.”
― Anna Kavan
55 likes
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“Reality had always been something of an unknown quantity to me.”
― Anna Kavan, Ice
51 likes
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“You mustn't be so afraid of life - it's all we've got. Don't let it hurt you so much.”
― Anna Kavan
50 likes
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