( Mental Floss ) -- They say that truth is stranger than fiction . And while we 're not exactly sure when that phrase was coined , we 're guessing it was after reading about these guys and gals . Charles Dickens reportedly gave Edgar Allan Poe `` the bird '' idea for famous poem . 1 . Thomas Hardy . When British poet and novelist Thomas Hardy died on January 11 , 1928 , his literary contemporaries decided he was too important to be buried in his hometown 's simple churchyard . But the good people of Dorset , where Hardy had spent nearly all of his 88 years , vehemently disagreed . So the two groups reached a grisly compromise . The author 's body was cremated , and his ashes were interred in the Poet 's Corner of Westminster Abbey . Hardy 's heart , on the other hand , was placed inside a small casket and buried beside the grave of his first wife in a Dorset churchyard . To this day , a rumor persists that the author 's heart was accidentally devoured by his housekeeper 's cat , and that the heart of a pig was buried in its place . 2 . Horatio Alger , Jr . Apparently , the author of more than 120 `` rags-to-riches '' books featuring hard-working , highly moral young heroes was also an admitted pederast . Before finding success as an author , Alger was a minister at a Unitarian Church in Brewster , Massachusetts , where he was accused of sexually assaulting two young boys . Alger admitted his guilt , but left town before the news hit the street . Later , he wound up in New York City , where he penned hundreds of best-selling books for and about young boys , which went on to grace the shelves of homes , schools and church libraries across America . 3 . Sherwood Anderson . Best known for his collection of short stories , Winesburg , Ohio , and for mentoring such literary heavyweights as Hemingway , Faulkner and Steinbeck , Anderson had a knack for unexpected exits . One day in November 1912 , while serving as president of the successful Anderson Manufacturing Co. , he simply got up and walked out of his office to pursue a career in writing . Years later , he made another sudden departure , this time during the middle of a South American voyage . At his farewell cocktail party , Anderson unknowingly swallowed a toothpick hidden within an hors d'oeuvre . The author sailed on , but the toothpick did n't , penetrating his intestines and causing peritonitis . Anderson became ill aboard ship and later died in a Panama hospital . 4 . Charles Dickens . A number of pets graced the Dickens household over the years , including all manner of dogs , cats and ponies . But Charles ' favorite pets were his two ravens , both known as Grip . Dickens was particularly devoted to Grip I , going so far as to write the bird into his 1841 mystery novel , Barnaby Rudge . This same talkative bird reportedly was the inspiration for Edgar Allan Poe 's famous poem , `` The Raven , '' published four years later . Upon Grip I 's demise , Dickens had his beloved bird stuffed . These days , Grip can be seen at the Free Library of Philadelphia 's Rare Books Department , where he stands guard over the Poe and Dickens collections . 5 . Flannery O'Connor . Dickens apparently was n't the only well-known writer who had a fetish for fowl . Flannery O'Connor , author of 32 short stories including `` A Good Man Is Hard to Find '' and `` Everything That Rises Must Converge , '' developed a love for birds at a very young age . Growing up on her family 's estate in Georgia , O'Connor enjoyed playing with the chickens they raised there and reportedly taught one of them to walk backward , making the chicken somewhat of a local celebrity . But O'Connor had a special fondness for peacocks , which she often used in her fiction to represent Christ . When she returned to live on the family farm as an adult , she raised an unusually large flock of peacocks , which she tended to until her death in 1964 . Afterward , they were donated to various parks and monasteries around Georgia , but all were eventually killed by predators . 6 . O. Henry . O. Henry ( born William Sydney Porter ) may have been the master of the popular short story form , but he was far less skilled when it came to money . While working as a bank teller in Houston , the fledgling author was accused of embezzling a few thousand dollars , prompting his rather sudden move to Honduras . But a few years later , when he came back to visit his dying wife , he was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison . It was here that convict Porter assumed the pen name O. Henry . His incarceration offered him the time to write as well as a chance to mix with a slew of seedy characters , perfect fodder for his fiction . A model inmate , Porter was released in 1901 , after serving just three years . He passed away in 1910 with 600 stories , but reportedly only 33 cents , to his name . 7 . Langston Hughes . Poet , playwright , novelist , essayist and all-around literary luminary , Langston Hughes achieved fame during the Harlem Renaissance . But before that , Hughes was a struggling young writer , working menial jobs to support his burgeoning poetry habit . In 1925 , while working at a restaurant in Washington D.C. , Hughes tucked a few of his poems under the dinner plate of then-reigning poet Vachel Lindsay . Lindsay shared the poems during his reading that night , and in the morning , Hughes was crowned Lindsay 's new discovery , the `` busboy poet . '' Hughes went on to become one of America 's most prolific authors . Lindsay , however , died six years later after drinking a bottle of Lysol . 8 . Edith Wharton . Edith Wharton , winner of the Pulitzer Prize for her 1920 novel The Age of Innocence , is famous for her vivid stories and novels about upper-class society in the late 19th century . It was a setting she knew well , coming from a wealthy and distinguished New England family . But the high society author had a lesser-known career as a humanitarian . During World War I , Wharton traveled to the Western Front in France , both to write about the battlefields for American publications and to help the Red Cross create hostels and schools for those displaced by war . In 1916 , she was awarded the Legion of Honor , France 's highest civilian appointment , years before the height of her literary career . 9 . Charlotte Bronte . Charlotte Bronte may have been the author of the romantic classic Jane Eyre , but she was not well served by love herself . In fact , it more or less killed her . In June of 1854 , a starry-eyed Bronte married her father 's curate and soon became pregnant . During her pregnancy , she fell ill , and according to her earliest biographer , Elizabeth Gaskell , she was attacked by `` sensations of perpetual nausea and ever-recurring faintness . '' The elder Bronte sister 's nausea was so overwhelming , in fact , that the author could n't eat or even smell food without becoming violently ill. On March 31 , 1855 , a dehydrated , malnourished and severely exhausted Charlotte Bronte died at the age of 38 . E-mail to a friend . For more mental_floss articles , visit mentalfloss.com . Entire contents of this article copyright , Mental Floss LLC . All rights reserved .
Famous poet O. Henry convicted of embezzling , sent to prison . Langston Hughes read poetry under plate of famous poet at school . Sherwood Anderson killed by a toothpick in hors d'oeuvre .