Most authors break through in middle-age

If you have been nurturing dreams of literary success, and the triumph of young writers such as 28-year-old Man Booker winner Eleanor Catton suggest the opportunity has passed, then think again.

Authors as prolific and successful as George Eliot, Philip Pullman, Gabriel García Márquez and John Irving all published their breakthrough books when they had already reached their 40s and 50s.

A study and infographic from Blinkbox Books took the best-selling authors between 2001 and 2014 and combined this list with authors involved with the BBC Big Read.

Their data shows that you don't have to be young to be a successful author: Alexander McCall Smith's first book was published when he was 50 and Richard Adams didn't release his debut novel, Watership Down, until he was 53.

Those who did release books earlier in life still took years, if not decades, to achieve fame: although Pullman published his first novel at 27, the bestselling Northern Lights hit the bookshelves when he was 50.

While some major literary stars start publishing young (Jack Kerouac was 21, F Scott Fitzgerald 25, Charles Dickens and Evelyn Waugh both 26), few achieved recognition until their 30s.

JK Rowling, Twilight author Stephenie Meyer, Joseph Heller and Patrick Suskind, who wrote Perfume, are among the select few who became bestsellers with their debut novels in their fourth decade.