On January 27th, the reclusive author J.D. Salinger died of natural causes in his home in New Hampshire, according to a statement from his representatives. Salinger penned the famous 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, a staple of American literature.
 
Salinger wrote four books and several short stories after the publication of The Catcher in the Rye, but then went into self-imposed isolation in Cornish, New Hampshire. The author's last published piece of writing ran in a 1965 issue of the New Yorker.
 
Of publishing, J.D. Salinger told the New York Times in 1974, "There is a marvelous peace in not publishing." It is believed that Salinger continued writing prolifically but refused to ever publish his later works.