TheFamousPeople

Literary Critics

Literary critics are people who critique a book or novel. Their intellectually stimulating review of a book is eagerly awaited by avid readers and help them make their mind whether to read a particular book or not. Here is a list of famous literary critics from all over the world. The list contains well-known literary critics, such as Charles Du Bos, Evelyn Waugh, Theodor W. Adorno, George Plimpton and many more.

This ranking is based on an algorithm that combines various factors, including the votes of our users and search trends on the internet.

Vote for Your Favourite Literary Critics

 1 Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Henry Louis Gates Jr.
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Famous As: Author
Birthdate: September 16, 1950
Sun Sign: Virgo
Nationality: American

 2 Evelyn Waugh

Evelyn Waugh
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Famous As: Writer
Birthdate: October 28, 1903
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Nationality: British
Died: April 10, 1966
Recommended Lists:
Art Critics
Music Critics

 3 Theodor W. Adorno

Theodor W. Adorno
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Famous As: Philosopher
Birthdate: September 11, 1903
Sun Sign: Virgo
Nationality: German
Died: August 6, 1969

One of the most prominent intellectuals of the 20th century, Theodor Adorno was a pioneer of the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory and despised the culture industry. Born to a singer mother, the German sociologist grew up amid music and could even play Beethoven on the piano by 12.

 4 George Plimpton

George Plimpton
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Famous As: Journalists
Birthdate: March 18, 1927
Sun Sign: Pisces
Nationality: American
Died: September 26, 2003

 5 McCaughey septuplets

McCaughey septuplets
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Birthdate: 0000 AD
Nationality: American

 6 Andre Aciman

Andre Aciman
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Famous As: Writer
Birthdate: January 2, 1951
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Nationality: Egyptian, American

 7 Stanisław Lem

Stanisław Lem
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Famous As: Writer
Birthdate: September 12, 1921
Sun Sign: Virgo
Nationality: Polish
Died: March 27, 2006
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 8 Samuel R. Delany

Samuel R. Delany
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Famous As: Writer
Birthdate: April 1, 1942
Sun Sign: Aries
Nationality: American

 9 William Ernest Henley

William Ernest Henley
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Famous As: Poet
Birthdate: August 23, 1849
Sun Sign: Leo
Nationality: British
Died: July 11, 1903

 10 Johann Gottfried Herder

Johann Gottfried Herder
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Famous As: Philosopher
Birthdate: August 25, 1744
Sun Sign: Virgo
Nationality: German, Polish
Died: December 18, 1803

 11 Terry Eagleton

Terry Eagleton
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Famous As: Literary critic
Birthdate: February 22, 1943
Sun Sign: Pisces
Nationality: British

 12 Lytton Strachey

Giles Lytton Strachey
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Famous As: Writer
Birthdate: March 1, 1880
Sun Sign: Pisces
Nationality: British
Died: January 21, 1932

 13 Anne Tyler

Anne Tyler
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Famous As: Novelist
Birthdate: October 25, 1941
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Nationality: American

 14 Ford Madox Ford

Ford Madox Ford
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Famous As: Novelist
Birthdate: December 17, 1873
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Nationality: British
Died: June 26, 1939

 15 Annie Dillard

Meta Ann Doak
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Famous As: Author
Birthdate: April 30, 1945
Sun Sign: Taurus
Nationality: American

 16 Peter Ackroyd

Peter Ackroyd
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Famous As: Writer
Birthdate: October 5, 1949
Sun Sign: Libra
Nationality: British

 17 Northrop Frye

Northrop Frye
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Famous As: Writer, Philosopher, Educationist, Cleric, Poet, Literary critic
Birthdate: July 14, 1912
Sun Sign: Cancer
Nationality: Canadian
Died: January 23, 1991

 18 Ernest Renan

Ernest Renan
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Famous As: Philosopher
Birthdate: February 27, 1823
Sun Sign: Pisces
Nationality: French
Died: October 2, 1892

 19 I. A. Richards

I. A. Richards
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Famous As: Educator
Birthdate: February 26, 1893
Sun Sign: Pisces
Nationality: British, American
Died: September 7, 1979

 20 George Steiner

George Steiner
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Famous As: Philosopher, Novelist, Writer, University teacher, Literary critic, Journalist
Birthdate: April 23, 1929
Sun Sign: Taurus
Nationality: French, American

 21 Walter Pater

Walter Pater
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Famous As: Essayist
Birthdate: August 4, 1839
Sun Sign: Leo
Nationality: British
Died: July 30, 1894

 22 Charles Maurras

Charles Maurras
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Famous As: Author
Birthdate: April 20, 1868
Sun Sign: Aries
Nationality: French
Died: November 16, 1952

 23 F.R. Leavis

F.R. Leavis
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Famous As: Literature Critic
Birthdate: July 14, 1895
Sun Sign: Cancer
Nationality: British
Died: April 14, 1978

 24 Elaine Showalter

Elaine Showalter
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Famous As: Literary critic
Birthdate: January 21, 1941
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Nationality: American

 25 Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick

Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
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Famous As: Academic Scholar
Birthdate: May 2, 1950
Sun Sign: Taurus
Nationality: American
Died: April 12, 2009

 26 Stanley Fish

Stanley Fish
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Famous As: Scholar
Birthdate: April 19, 1938
Sun Sign: Aries
Nationality: American

 27 William Dean Howells

William Dean Howells
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Famous As: Novelist
Birthdate: March 1, 1837
Sun Sign: Pisces
Nationality: American
Died: May 11, 1920

 28 George Henry Lewes

George Henry Lewes
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Famous As: Philosopher
Birthdate: April 18, 1817
Sun Sign: Aries
Nationality: British
Died: November 30, 1878

 29 Sir Leslie Stephen

Sir Leslie Stephen
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Famous As: Author
Birthdate: November 28, 1832
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Nationality: British
Died: February 22, 1904

 30 Donald Hall

Donald Hall
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Famous As: Poet
Birthdate: September 20, 1928
Sun Sign: Virgo
Nationality: American
Died: June 23, 2018

 31 Margaret Forster

Margaret Forster
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Famous As: Novelist
Birthdate: May 25, 1938
Sun Sign: Gemini
Nationality: British
Died: February 8, 2016

 32 Paul Fussell

Paul Fussell
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Famous As: Historian
Birthdate: March 22, 1924
Sun Sign: Aries
Nationality: American
Died: May 23, 2012

 33 Rufus Wilmot Griswold

Rufus Wilmot Griswold
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Famous As: Journalist, Writer, Literary critic, Poet
Birthdate: February 13, 1815
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Nationality: American
Died: August 27, 1857

 34 Nikolay Chernyshevsky

Nikolay Chernyshevsky
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Famous As: Critic
Birthdate: July 24, 1828
Sun Sign: Leo
Nationality: Russian
Died: October 29, 1889

 35 Viktor Shklovsky

Viktor Shklovsky
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Famous As: Novelist
Birthdate: January 24, 1893
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Nationality: Russian
Died: December 6, 1984

 36 M. H. Abrams

M. H. Abrams
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Famous As: Literary Critic
Birthdate: July 23, 1912
Sun Sign: Cancer
Nationality: American
Died: April 21, 2015

 37 James Blish

James Blish
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Famous As: Author
Birthdate: May 23, 1921
Sun Sign: Gemini
Nationality: American
Died: July 30, 1975

 38 Herbert Read

Herbert Read
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Famous As: Art Historian
Birthdate: December 4, 1893
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Nationality: British
Died: June 12, 1968

 39 E.D. Hirsch, Jr.

E.D. Hirsch, Jr.
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Famous As: Literary critic and Educator
Birthdate: March 22, 1928
Sun Sign: Aries
Nationality: American

 40 Cleanth Brooks

Cleanth Brooks
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Famous As: Literary critic
Birthdate: October 16, 1906
Sun Sign: Libra
Nationality: American
Died: May 10, 1994

 41 William Empson

William Empson
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Famous As: Literary Critic
Birthdate: September 27, 1906
Sun Sign: Libra
Nationality: British
Died: April 15, 1984

 42 Randall Jarrell

Randall Jarrell
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Famous As: Poet
Birthdate: May 6, 1914
Sun Sign: Taurus
Nationality: American
Died: October 14, 1965

 43 Maryse Condé

Maryse Condé
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Famous As: Novelist
Birthdate: February 11, 1937
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Nationality: French, Guadeloupean

 44 James Fenton

James Fenton
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Famous As: Poet
Birthdate: April 25, 1949
Sun Sign: Taurus
Nationality: British

 45 John Bayley

John Bayley
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Famous As: Literary critic
Birthdate: March 27, 1925
Sun Sign: Aries
Nationality: British
Died: January 12, 2015

 46 Anna Letitia Barbauld

Anna Letitia Barbauld
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Famous As: Poet
Birthdate: June 20, 1743
Sun Sign: Gemini
Nationality: British
Died: March 9, 1825

 47 Kathryn Schulz

Kathryn Schulz
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Birthdate: 0000 AD
Nationality: American

 48 John Crowe Ransom

John Crowe Ransom
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Famous As: Educator
Birthdate: April 30, 1888
Sun Sign: Taurus
Nationality: American
Died: July 3, 1974

 49 Ahmed Ali

Ahmed Ali
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Famous As: Novelist
Birthdate: July 1, 1910
Sun Sign: Cancer
Nationality: Indian, Pakistani
Died: January 14, 1994

 50 Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi

Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi
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Famous As: Poet
Birthdate: November 20, 1916
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Nationality: Pakistani
Died: July 10, 2006
See Also
Art CriticsMusic Critics