Doris Lessing

Doris May Tayler, widely known as Doris Lessing, was a prominent literary fiction, horror, mystery, and science fiction author. She was born in London, England, and later moved to the British colony in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) with her family. Both of her parents were British; her father was a clerk in the Imperial Bank of Persia, and her mother had been a nurse. Lessing received her education mainly through her own efforts, as she did not graduate from high school.

Lessing's writing career began in 1949 when she moved to London with her young son and published her first novel, The Grass Is Singing. Prior to that, she had been a member of the Left Book Club, a group of Communists, and married Gottfried Lessing, a central member of the group. However, she became increasingly disillusioned with the Communist movement and left it altogether in 1954. Lessing's work during this time was heavily influenced by her experiences in southern Africa, and she became known for her brilliant literary works in defense of freedom and Third World causes.

Lessing's novel, The Golden Notebook, published in 1962, is one of her most famous works, and it gained her a wide following. She was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the eleventh woman and the oldest person ever to receive the prize. The Swedish Academy described her as "that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny." Lessing was also awarded the David Cohen Prize for a lifetime's achievement in British literature in 2001. Her work continues to be celebrated for its scepticism, fire, and visionary power.