But most people still don't know much about the brief and melodramatic life of the man who wrote it and was catapulted to fame by its success.
Most authors write about their experiences.
He wrote about a prostitute, then fell in love with a real-life madam. He wrote stories about shipwrecks and subsequently found himself in one. The Red Badge of Courage was the zenith of Stephen Crane's writing career. Most of the spectacular theatrical events in his life, including his own death from tuberculosis at age 28, had one thing in come. In each of them, he was testing his own courage.