WRITER

Chinua Achebe

1930 - 2013

Photo of Chinua Achebe

Icon of person Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe ( ; born Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as a central figure of modern African literature. His first novel and magnum opus, Things Fall Apart (1958), occupies a pivotal place in African literature and remains the most widely studied, translated, and read African novel. Along with Things Fall Apart, his No Longer at Ease (1960) and Arrow of God (1964) complete the "African Trilogy". Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Chinua Achebe has received more than 3,919,716 page views. His biography is available in 88 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 81 in 2019). Chinua Achebe is the 1,043rd most popular writer (up from 1,175th in 2019), the 4th most popular biography from Nigeria (up from 5th in 2019) and the 2nd most popular Nigerian Writer.

Achebe is most famous for his novel Things Fall Apart.

Memorability Metrics

  • 3.9M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 61.40

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 88

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 3.65

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 7.14

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Anthills of the savannah
Written in the years following World War I and set in postwar England and Italy, Aaron's Rod questions many of the accepted social and political institutions of Lawrence's generation, and raises issues as valid for our own time as they were for his. The novel's hero is an Everyman who flees the destruction in England and his failing marriage and who, like Lawrence himself, becomes absorbed in discovering and understanding the nature of the political and religious ideologies that shaped western civilization. Aaron's Rod was completed in 1921 and was censored by both Lawrence's American and English publishers. The Cambridge Edition, based on the only authoritative, surviving typescript, restores these cut passages and eliminates the errors and house-styling of previous editions.The volume contains an introduction that describes the novel's genesis, its transmission, publication history, and reception. Extensive explanatory notes and textual apparatus are also included.
1987
A man of the people
1966
Girls at War and other stories
Nigeria
Girls at War and Other Stories reveals the essence of life in Nigeria and traces twenty years in the literary career of one of this century's most acclaimed writers. In this collection of stories, Chinua Achebe takes us inside the heart and soul of a people whose pride and ideals must compete with the simple struggle to survive. Hailed by critics everywhere, Chinua Achebe's fiction re-creates with energy and authenticity the major issues of daily life in Africa.
1972
No Longer at Ease
1960

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Chinua Achebe ranks 1,043 out of 7,302. Before him are Paulinus of Nola, Fyodor Tyutchev, Marcel Pagnol, D. T. Suzuki, Cai Yan, and Thomas Mayne Reid. After him are Michel Tournier, Thomas Malory, Emil Ludwig, Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, Paul Bourget, and Emanuel Schikaneder.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1930, Chinua Achebe ranks 72. Before him are Robert Aumann, Stanley Miller, Gena Rowlands, Ivan Silayev, Magdalena Abakanowicz, and David Dacko. After him are Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma, Sonia Rykiel, James Irwin, Gérard Genette, Princess Ragnhild, Mrs. Lorentzen, and Richard Donner. Among people deceased in 2013, Chinua Achebe ranks 51. Before him are Lawrence Klein, John Cornforth, James M. Buchanan, Nagisa Oshima, Richard Matheson, and Ed Lauter. After him are Viktor Kulikov, Manfred Rommel, Ovadia Yosef, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, Gyula Horn, and Ronald Dworkin.

Others Born in 1930

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 2013

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In Nigeria

Among people born in Nigeria, Chinua Achebe ranks 4 out of 309. Before him are Muhammadu Buhari (1942), Wole Soyinka (1934), and Dr. Alban (1957). After him are Hugo Weaving (1960), Sade (1959), Fela Kuti (1938), Usman dan Fodio (1754), Jay-Jay Okocha (1973), Bola Tinubu (1952), Olusegun Obasanjo (1937), and Hakeem Olajuwon (1963).

Others born in Nigeria

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among WRITERS In Nigeria

Among writers born in Nigeria, Chinua Achebe ranks 2. Before him are Wole Soyinka (1934). After him are Olaudah Equiano (1745), Amos Tutuola (1920), Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (1977), Buchi Emecheta (1944), Flora Nwapa (1931), Ben Okri (1959), Cyprian Ekwensi (1921), Okwui Enwezor (1963), Chris Abani (1966), and Sefi Atta (1964).

Nigerian born Writers

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous