1864 in literature
Encyclopedia
The year 1864 in literature involved some significant new books.
Events
- Ambrose BierceAmbrose BierceAmbrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist and satirist...
is wounded at the Battle of Kennesaw MountainBattle of Kennesaw MountainThe Battle of Kennesaw Mountain was fought on June 27, 1864, during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the most significant frontal assault launched by Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman against the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Gen. Joseph E...
. - Charles BaudelaireCharles BaudelaireCharles Baudelaire was a French poet who produced notable work as an essayist, art critic, and pioneering translator of Edgar Allan Poe. His most famous work, Les Fleurs du mal expresses the changing nature of beauty in modern, industrializing Paris during the nineteenth century...
leaves Paris for Belgium in the hope of resolving his financial difficulties. - Henrik IbsenHenrik IbsenHenrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
leaves Norway for Italy in a self-imposed exile that will last for 27 years. - A debate at the Royal Geographical SocietyRoyal Geographical SocietyThe Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
between Richard Francis BurtonRichard Francis BurtonCaptain Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG FRGS was a British geographer, explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, cartographer, ethnologist, spy, linguist, poet, fencer and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia, Africa and the Americas as well as his...
and John Hanning SpekeJohn Hanning SpekeJohn Hanning Speke was an officer in the British Indian Army who made three exploratory expeditions to Africa and who is most associated with the search for the source of the Nile.-Life:...
fails to take place, owing to Speke's suicide (or accidental shooting). - Alexandre Dumas, filsAlexandre Dumas, filsAlexandre Dumas, fils was a French author and dramatist. He was the son of Alexandre Dumas, père, also a writer and playwright.-Biography:...
marries Nadejda Naryschkine. His father, Alexandre Dumas, pèreAlexandre Dumas, pèreAlexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
, returns to Paris from Italy. - John Addington SymondsJohn Addington SymondsJohn Addington Symonds was an English poet and literary critic. Although he married and had a family, he was an early advocate of male love , which he believed could include pederastic as well as egalitarian relationships. He referred to it as l'amour de l'impossible...
the younger marries Janet Catherine North. - James PaynJames PaynJames Payn , was an English novelist.-Family:Payn's father, William Payn , was clerk to the Thames Commissioners and at one time treasurer to the county of Berkshire...
publishes his most popular story, Lost Sir Massingberd, in Chambers's Journal.
New books
- José de AlencarJosé de AlencarJosé Martiniano de Alencar was a Brazilian lawyer, politician, orator, novelist and dramatist. He is one of the most famous writers of the first generation of Brazilian Romanticism, writing historical, regionalist and Indianist romances — being the most famous The Guarani...
- DivaDiva (novel)For the novel "Diva" by Daniel Odier, see Diva .Diva is a novel written by the Brazilian writer José de Alencar. It was first published in 1864.... - Jules Amédée Barbey d'AurevillyJules Amédée Barbey d'AurevillyJules-Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly was a French novelist and short story writer. He specialised in mystery tales that explored hidden motivation and hinted at evil without being explicitly concerned with anything supernatural...
-Chevalier Destouches - R. D. BlackmoreR. D. BlackmoreRichard Doddridge Blackmore , referred to most commonly as R. D. Blackmore, was one of the most famous English novelists of the second half of the nineteenth century. Over the course of his career, Blackmore achieved a close following around the world...
- Clara VaughanClara VaughanClara Vaughan is a sensation novel by R. D. Blackmore, who was later to achieve lasting fame for another Romantic novel, Lorna Doone. It was written in 1853 and published anonymously in 1864... - Mary Elizabeth BraddonMary Elizabeth BraddonMary Elizabeth Braddon was a British Victorian era popular novelist. She is best known for her 1862 sensation novel Lady Audley's Secret.-Life:...
- Henry Dunbar: the Story of an Outcast - Fyodor DostoevskyFyodor DostoevskyFyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky was a Russian writer of novels, short stories and essays. He is best known for his novels Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov....
- Notes from UndergroundNotes from UndergroundNotes from Underground is an 1864 short novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Notes is considered by many to be the first existentialist novel... - George EliotGeorge EliotMary Anne Evans , better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, journalist and translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era...
- "Brother Jacob" - Elizabeth GaskellElizabeth GaskellElizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson , often referred to simply as Mrs Gaskell, was a British novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era...
- Wives and DaughtersWives and DaughtersWives and Daughters is a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in the Cornhill Magazine as a serial from August 1864 to January 1866... - Edmond de GoncourtEdmond de GoncourtEdmond de Goncourt , born Edmond Louis Antoine Huot de Goncourt, was a French writer, literary critic, art critic, book publisher and the founder of the Académie Goncourt.-Biography:...
& Jules de GoncourtJules de GoncourtJules de Goncourt , born Jules Alfred Huot de Goncourt, was a French writer, who published books together with his brother Edmond.- Works :With Edmond de Goncourt:* Sœur Philomène...
-Renée Mauperin - Sheridan Le FanuSheridan Le FanuJoseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu was an Irish writer of Gothic tales and mystery novels. He was the leading ghost-story writer of the nineteenth century and was central to the development of the genre in the Victorian era....
- Uncle SilasUncle SilasUncle Silas is a Victorian Gothic mystery-thriller novel by the Irish writer J. Sheridan Le Fanu. It is notable as one of the earliest examples of the locked room mystery subgenre...
- Wylder's Hand
- Uncle Silas
- George MacDonaldGeorge MacDonaldGeorge MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister.Known particularly for his poignant fairy tales and fantasy novels, George MacDonald inspired many authors, such as W. H. Auden, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, E. Nesbit and Madeleine L'Engle. It was C.S...
- The Light PrincessThe Light PrincessThe Light Princess is a fairy tale by George MacDonald. It was published in 1864.- Plot summary :A king and queen, after some time, have a daughter. The king invites everyone to the christening, except his sister Princess Makemnoit, a spiteful and sour woman. She arrives without an invitation and... - Anthony TrollopeAnthony TrollopeAnthony Trollope was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his best-loved works, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire...
- The Small House at AllingtonThe Small House at AllingtonThe Small House at Allington is the fifth novel in Anthony Trollope's series known as the "Chronicles of Barsetshire", first published in 1864... - Jules VerneJules VerneJules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
- Journey to the Center of the EarthJourney to the Center of the EarthA Journey to the Center of the Earth is a classic 1864 science fiction novel by Jules Verne. The story involves a German professor who believes there are volcanic tubes going toward the center of the Earth...
Poetry
- Robert BrowningRobert BrowningRobert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.-Early years:...
- Dramatis Personae - Alfred Tennyson - Enoch ArdenEnoch Arden"Enoch Arden" is a narrative poem published in 1864 by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, during his tenure as England's Poet Laureate. The story on which it was based was provided to Tennyson by Thomas Woolner....
- Alfred de VignyAlfred de VignyAlfred Victor de Vigny was a French poet, playwright, and novelist.-Life:Alfred de Vigny was born in Loches into an aristocratic family...
- Les Destinées (posthumously published)
Non-fiction
- American Dictionary of the English Language (Webster's)Webster's DictionaryWebster's Dictionary refers to the line of dictionaries first developed by Noah Webster in the early 19th century, and also to numerous unrelated dictionaries that added Webster's name just to share his prestige. The term is a genericized trademark in the U.S.A...
, revised edition - George Perkins MarshGeorge Perkins MarshGeorge Perkins Marsh , an American diplomat and philologist, is considered by some to be America's first environmentalist, although "conservationist" would be more accurate...
- Man and NatureMan and NatureMan and nature; or, Physical geography as modified by human action is a book written by George Perkins Marsh in 1864.It is one of the first works to document the effects of human action on the environment and it helped to launch the modern conservation movement. Marsh argued that ancient... - Narrative of the Life of J. D. Green, a Runaway Slave from Kentucky
- John Henry Newman - Apologia Pro Vita SuaApologia Pro Vita SuaApologia Pro Vita Sua is the classic defence by John Henry Newman of his religious opinions, published in 1864 in response to what he saw as an unwarranted attack on him, the Catholic priesthood, and Roman Catholic doctrine by Charles Kingsley. The work quickly became a bestseller and has...
- John RuskinJohn RuskinJohn Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
- Cestus of Aglaia
Births
- January 24 - Marguerite DurandMarguerite DurandMarguerite Durand was a French stage actress, journalist, and a leading suffragette.-Biography:Born into a middle-class family, Marguerite Durand was sent to study at a Roman Catholic convent...
, French actress, journalist, and feminist leader (d. 1936) - February 14 - Israel ZangwillIsrael ZangwillIsrael Zangwill was a British humorist and writer.-Biography:Zangwill was born in London on January 21, 1864 in a family of Jewish immigrants from Czarist Russia, to Moses Zangwill from what is now Latvia and Ellen Hannah Marks Zangwill from what is now Poland. He dedicated his life to championing...
, novelist and playwright, (d. 1926) - April 21 - Max WeberMax WeberKarl Emil Maximilian "Max" Weber was a German sociologist and political economist who profoundly influenced social theory, social research, and the discipline of sociology itself...
, sociologist (d. 1920) - July 20 - Erik Axel KarlfeldtErik Axel KarlfeldtErik Axel Karlfeldt was a Swedish poet whose highly symbolist poetry masquerading as regionalism was popular and won him the Nobel Prize in Literature posthumously in 1931. It has been rumored that he had been offered, but declined, the award already in 1919.Karlfeldt was born into a farmer's...
, Swedish writer, Nobel PrizeNobel Prize in LiteratureSince 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
laureate (d. 1931) - October 14 - Stefan ŻeromskiStefan ZeromskiStefan Żeromski was a Polish novelist and dramatist. He was called the "conscience of Polish literature". He also wrote under the pen names: Maurycy Zych, Józef Katerla and Stefan Iksmoreż.- Life :...
, novelist, poet and dramatist (d. 1925) - November 11
- Alfred Hermann FriedAlfred Hermann FriedAlfred Hermann Fried was an Austrian Jewish pacifist, publicist, journalist, co-founder of the German peace movement, and winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1911.- Life :...
, pacifist writer, recipient of the Nobel Peace PrizeNobel Peace PrizeThe Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
(d. 1921) - Maurice LeblancMaurice LeblancMaurice Marie Émile Leblanc was a French novelist and writer of short stories, known primarily as the creator of the fictional gentleman thief and detective Arsène Lupin, often described as a French counterpart to Arthur Conan Doyle's creation Sherlock Holmes.- Biography :Leblanc was born in...
, novelist and crime writer (d. 1941)
- Alfred Hermann Fried
- December 12 - Paul Elmer MorePaul Elmer MorePaul Elmer More was an American journalist, critic, essayist and Christian apologist.-Biography:More was educated at Washington University in St. Louis and Harvard University...
, critic and essayist (d. 1937)
Deaths
- January 16 - Anton Felix SchindlerAnton Felix SchindlerAnton Felix Schindler was an associate, secretary, and early biographer of Ludwig van Beethoven.His Life of Beethoven was first published in 1840 and, in its subsequently expanded form , had a great deal of influence on later Beethoven biography...
, biographer of Beethoven (b. 1795) - January 29 - Lucy AikinLucy AikinLucy Aikin , born at Warrington, England into a distinguished literary family of prominent Unitarians, was a historical writer.-Family and education:...
, historian (b. 1781) - February 2 - Adelaide Anne ProcterAdelaide Anne ProcterAdelaide Anne Procter was an English poet and philanthropist. She worked on behalf of a number of causes, most prominently on behalf of unemployed women and the homeless, and was actively involved with feminist groups and journals. Procter never married, and some of her poetry has prompted...
, poet (b. 1825) - March 16 - Robert Smith SurteesRobert Smith SurteesRobert Smith Surtees was an English editor, novelist and sporting writer. He was the second son of Anthony Surtees of Hamsterley Hall, a member of an old County Durham family.-Early life:...
, novelist and sports writer (b. 1805) - May 19 - Nathaniel HawthorneNathaniel HawthorneNathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...
, novelist (b. 1804) - May 20 - John ClareJohn ClareJohn Clare was an English poet, born the son of a farm labourer who came to be known for his celebratory representations of the English countryside and his lamentation of its disruption. His poetry underwent a major re-evaluation in the late 20th century and he is often now considered to be among...
, poet (b. 1793) - May 26 - Charles SealsfieldCharles SealsfieldCharles Sealsfield was the pseudonym of Austrian-American journalist Carl Anton Postl , an advocate for a German democracy and author of Romantic novels with American backgrounds and travelogues....
, novelist (b. 1793) - July 4 - Thomas Colley GrattanThomas Colley GrattanThomas Colley Grattan , was an Irish miscellaneous writer.Born in Dublin, he was educated for the law, but did not practise. He wrote a few novels, including The Heiress of Bruges ; but his best work was Highways and Byways, a description of his Continental wanderings, of which he published three...
, novelist (b. 1792) - August 7 - Janez PuharJanez PuharJanez Avguštin Puhar was a Slovene priest, photographer, painter, and poet. He invented a process for making photographs on glass in 1841; it was recognized on June 17, 1852 in Paris by the Académie Nationale Agricole, Manufacturière et Commerciale.The "Janez Puhar Photo Society Kranj" is the...
, poet (b. 1814) - September - Antônio Gonçalves DiasAntônio Gonçalves DiasAntônio Gonçalves Dias was a Brazilian Romantic poet, playwright and linguist. He is famous for writing the poem "Canção do exílio", arguably the most well-known poem of the Brazilian literature, and many other nationalist and patriotic poems that would later give him the title of national poet of...
, poet (b. 1823) (lost at sea) - September 17 - Walter Savage LandorWalter Savage LandorWalter Savage Landor was an English writer and poet. His best known works were the prose Imaginary Conversations, and the poem Rose Aylmer, but the critical acclaim he received from contemporary poets and reviewers was not matched by public popularity...
, poet (b. 1775) - December 6 - Simonas DaukantasSimonas DaukantasSimonas Daukantas or Szymon Dowkont was a Lithuanian writer, ethnographer and historian. One of the pioneers of the Lithuanian national revival, he is credited as an author of the first book on the history of Lithuania written in the Lithuanian language...
, Lithuanian ethnographer and historian (b. 1793)