THE 36 GREATEST WRITERS IN HISTORY (WESTERN) - LITERATURE - 2025

The best writers include Jane Austen, Miguel de Cervantes, Marcel Proust, Pablo Neruda, and many others that I will name in this article. Writing, like other arts, awakens a series of feelings that would make it impossible to create a fair Olympus that satisfies all of humanity.

In 1994, the literary critic Harold Bloom published his work The Western Canon. The Books and School of Ages, where he defended the existence of a group of writers who managed to achieve aesthetic or artistic purity in their works.

This purity is based on the Aesthetics of Emmanuel Kant (1724-1804), which focused on seeking an intersubjective solution to the judgments about the artistic question and its legitimacy.

We then went on to list the 26 writers that Bloom felt should appear on her list. You may also be interested in this list of writers from Mexico.

List with the best writers in western history

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Most important figure in English-speaking literature. Poet and playwright, he is the author of 37 plays and more than 150 sonnets, being the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Othello or Hamlet some of his best known.

For Bloom, Shakespeare is at the top (along with Dante Alighieri) of his Canon.

Dante Alighieri (1265? - 1321)

Born in Florence, Dante is one of the most recognized Italian poets in history, being considered the “father of the Italian language”. His best known work above all is the Divine Comedy, although essays such as Vita Nuova or De vulgari eloquentia are highly valued essays.

As we discussed before, along with Shakespeare, the Florentine author is at the top of the Canon for Harold Bloom.

Miguel de Cervantes (1547 - 1616)

Author born in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) and the greatest symbol of Spanish literature. "El Principe de los Ingenios" has the honor of having the most edited and translated literary work in history after the Bible. As you can guess, we are talking about Don Quixote de la Mancha, the culmination of the author of the Golden Age.

“Like Shakespeare, Cervantes is inevitable for all the writers who followed him. If Dickens and Flaubert reflect their narrative method, Melville and Kafka inherit their character ”, commented Bloom about the Spanish author in an article for El País.

Jane Austen (1775 - 1817)

Writer considered one of the "classics" of the British novel. With an ironic and serene style, her work has always been linked to the environment that has surrounded her.

He wrote six novels, being Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensitivity and Persuasion his best known.

Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)

Irish-born playwright, considered one of the most important writers of Victorian London. Among his most popular works are The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Importance of Being Ernest and The Ballad of Reading Jail.

Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849)

He was an American writer recognized for being one of the first creators of short stories. His stories include A Descent into the Maelstrom, Black Cat and The Premature Burial.

Jules Verne (Jules Verne)

He was a French writer, famous for his adventure and science fiction novels. Among his works are Journey to the Center of the Earth, From the Earth to the Moon, Around the World in Eighty Days and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

Ernest Hemingway

American writer, considered one of the most influential novelists of the 20th century. He received the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. Among his most outstanding works are The Old Man and the Sea and Farewell to Arms.

Molière (1622 - 1673)

Jean Baptiste-Poquelin is considered the father of the French Comedy, being one of the actors and playwrights who have most influenced the theater.

Among his works we could highlight Tartufo, El Avaro, El Bourgués gentilhombre and above all El misanthrope.

Molière, who suffered from tuberculosis, felt ill when he was on stage while he performed his play The Imaginary Sick, dying a few hours later at home. Although this led to the popular superstition of the bad luck of yellow in the theater, it could also be interpreted as a man's love for art and his work.

Leo Tolstoy (1828 - 1910)

Writer of Russian origin, as well as a playwright, philosopher or pedagogue. Despite his noble origins, he lived an unstructured life due to the turbulent stage his country was experiencing. This influenced his way of seeing the world and therefore of narrating his works.

We can highlight his novels War and Peace, The death of Ivan Ilich, Los Cosacos or Ana Karenina.

His ideology about "non-active violence" has influenced many thinkers throughout history such as Martin Luther King or Ghandi.

Franz Kafka (1883 - 1924)

Exponent of the renewal that the European novel underwent at the beginning of the 20th century. Of Czech origin, although his work would be written in German almost entirely. His stories stand out for their symbolism and their depiction of the anguish in the daily life of contemporary man.

Julio Cortazar

Argentine-born writer, famous for his avant-garde works. His works include short stories, novels, plays, and prose poems. His works include Hopscotch, Histories of chronocopes and famas, Bestiary and House taken.

Mario Benedetti (1920 - 2009)

Uruguayan by birth, he was part of the generation of 45, characterized by being a social phenomenon that influenced Uruguay at the time. His works include novels, short stories, essays, drama, and poetry. The truce, The coffee erase and Love, women and life stand out.