1879 in literature
Encyclopedia
The year 1879 in literature involved some significant new books.
Events
- The Rabelais Club is founded in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, holding a literary dinner once every two months. High-profile members included novelists Henry JamesHenry JamesHenry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
, Thomas HardyThomas HardyThomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
, Bret HarteBret HarteFrancis Bret Harte was an American author and poet, best remembered for his accounts of pioneering life in California.- Life and career :...
, and Oliver Wendell HolmesOliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. was an American physician, professor, lecturer, and author. Regarded by his peers as one of the best writers of the 19th century, he is considered a member of the Fireside Poets. His most famous prose works are the "Breakfast-Table" series, which began with The Autocrat...
, Walter BesantWalter BesantSir Walter Besant , was a novelist and historian who lived largely in London.His sister-in-law was Annie Besant.-Biography:...
, and George du MaurierGeorge du MaurierGeorge Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier was a French-born British cartoonist and author, known for his cartoons in Punch and also for his novel Trilby. He was the father of actor Gerald du Maurier and grandfather of the writers Angela du Maurier and Dame Daphne du Maurier...
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New books
- William Harrison AinsworthWilliam Harrison AinsworthWilliam Harrison Ainsworth was an English historical novelist born in Manchester. He trained as a lawyer, but the legal profession held no attraction for him. While completing his legal studies in London he met the publisher John Ebers, at that time manager of the King's Theatre, Haymarket...
- Beau NashBeau NashBeau Nash , born Richard Nash, was a celebrated dandy and leader of fashion in 18th-century Britain. He is best remembered as the Master of Ceremonies at the spa town of Bath.- Biography :... - Louisa May AlcottLouisa May AlcottLouisa May Alcott was an American novelist. She is best known for the novel Little Women and its sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys. Little Women was set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, and published in 1868...
- Jack and Jill: A Village StoryJack and Jill: A Village StoryJack and Jill: A Village Story is a children's book originally published in 1880. One of the many "girls' books" written by Louisa May Alcott, it takes place in a small New England town after the Civil War.-Plot:... - Ethel Lynn BeersEthel Lynn BeersEthelinda Lynn Beers was an American poet best known for her patriotic and sentimental Civil War poem "All Quiet Along the Potomac Tonight"....
- "All Quiet Along The Potomac" and Other Poems - 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:...
- The Cloven Foot- Vixen
- Edward William ColeEdward William ColeEdward William Cole, also known as 'E. W. Cole of the Book Arcade', was a bookseller and founder of the book arcade, Melbourne, Australia.-Early life:...
- Cole's Funny Picture Book - Wilkie CollinsWilkie CollinsWilliam Wilkie Collins was an English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. He was very popular during the Victorian era and wrote 30 novels, more than 60 short stories, 14 plays, and over 100 non-fiction pieces...
- The Fallen Leaves- A Rogue's Life
- Alphonse DaudetAlphonse DaudetAlphonse Daudet was a French novelist. He was the father of Léon Daudet and Lucien Daudet.- Early life :Alphonse Daudet was born in Nîmes, France. His family, on both sides, belonged to the bourgeoisie. The father, Vincent Daudet, was a silk manufacturer — a man dogged through life by misfortune...
- Kings in Exile - Joris-Karl HuysmansJoris-Karl HuysmansCharles-Marie-Georges Huysmans was a French novelist who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans . He is most famous for the novel À rebours...
- Les Soeurs VatardLes Soeurs VatardLes Sœurs Vatard is a novel by the French writer Joris-Karl Huysmans, first published in 1879. It was the author's second novel. His first, Marthe , had earned the praise of Émile Zola and Huysmans had come to be associated with the older author and his Naturalist school of fiction... - Henry JamesHenry JamesHenry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
- Daisy MillerDaisy MillerDaisy Miller is an 1878 novella by Henry James first appearing in Cornhill Magazine in Jun-July 1879, and in book form the following year. It portrays the courtship of the beautiful American girl Daisy Miller by Winterbourne, a sophisticated compatriot of hers... - Pierre LotiPierre LotiPierre Loti was a French novelist and naval officer.-Biography:Loti's education began in his birthplace, Rochefort, Charente-Maritime. At the age of seventeen he entered the naval school in Brest and studied at Le Borda. He gradually rose in his profession, attaining the rank of captain in 1906...
- AziyadéAziyadéAziyadé is a novel by French author Pierre Loti. Originally published anonymously, it was his first book, and along with Le Mariage de Loti , would introduce the author to the French public and quickly propel him to fame .Aziyadé is semi-autobiographical,... - George MeredithGeorge MeredithGeorge Meredith, OM was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era.- Life :Meredith was born in Portsmouth, England, a son and grandson of naval outfitters. His mother died when he was five. At the age of 14 he was sent to a Moravian School in Neuwied, Germany, where he remained for two...
- The EgoistThe Egoist (novel)The Egoist is a tragicomical novel by George Meredith published in 1879.The novel recounts the story of self-absorbed Sir Willoughby Patterne and his attempts at marriage; jilted by his first bride-to-be, he vacillates between the sentimental Laetitia Dale and the strong-willed Clara Middleton... - John Boyle O'ReillyJohn Boyle O'ReillyJohn Boyle O'Reilly was an Irish-born poet, journalist and fiction writer. As a youth in Ireland, he was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, or Fenians, for which he was transported to Western Australia...
- MoondyneMoondyneMoondyne is an 1879 novel by John Boyle O'Reilly, which was made into a film of the same name in 1913. It is very loosely based on the life of the Western Australian convict escapee and bushranger Moondyne Joe.-Background:... - Samuel Vedanayakam Pillai - Prathapa Mudaliar CharithramPrathapa Mudaliar CharithramPrathapa Mudaliar Charithram , written in 1857 and published in 1879, was the first novel in the Tamil language. Penned by Mayuram Vedanayagam Pillai, it was a landmark in Tamil literature, which had hitherto seen writings only in poetry...
- August StrindbergAugust StrindbergJohan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography,...
- The Red RoomThe Red Room (Strindberg)The Red Room is a Swedish novel by August Strindberg that was first published in 1879. A satire of Stockholm society, it has frequently been described as the first modern Swedish novel. While receiving mixed reviews in Sweden, it was acclaimed in Denmark, where Strindberg was hailed as a genius. ...
(Roda Rummet) - 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...
- Cousin HenryCousin HenryCousin Henry is a novel by Anthony Trollope first published in 1879. The story deals with the trouble arising from the indecision of a squire in choosing an heir to his estate....
- The Duke's ChildrenThe Duke's ChildrenThe Duke's Children is a novel by Anthony Trollope, first published in 1879 as a serial in All the Year Round. It is the sixth and final novel of the "Palliser" series.-Synopsis:...
- John Caldigate
- The Duke's Children
- 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...
- The Begum's Fortune- Tribulations of a Chinaman in ChinaTribulations of a Chinaman in ChinaTribulations of a Chinaman in China is an adventure novel by Jules Verne, first published in 1879. The story is about a rich Chinese man, Kin-Fo, who is bored with life, and after some business misfortune decides to die.-Style:...
- Tribulations of a Chinaman in China
New drama
- James HerneJames HerneJames A. Herne , was an American playwright, born James Ahearn. Considered by some critics to be the "American Ibsen," his controversial play Margaret Fleming is often credited with having begun modern drama in America....
- Hearts of OakHearts of Oak (play)Hearts of Oak is an 1879 play by Americans James Herne and David Belasco. The play is a melodrama concerning a woman who marries her guardian out of gratitude, even though she loves another man. It was extraordinarily successful on tour, starring Belasco, and earning a fortune for him... - 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...
- A Doll's HouseA Doll's HouseA Doll's House is a three-act play in prose by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premièred at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having been published earlier that month.... - George Robert SimsGeorge Robert SimsGeorge Robert Sims was an English journalist, poet, dramatist, novelist and bon vivant.Sims began writing lively humour and satiric pieces for Fun magazine and The Referee, but he was soon concentrating on social reform, particularly the plight of the poor in London's slums...
- Crutch and Toothpick
Non-fiction
- Lewis CarrollLewis CarrollCharles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
- Euclid and his Modern RivalsEuclid and his Modern RivalsEuclid and his Modern Rivals is a mathematical book published in 1879 by the English mathematician Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known as Lewis Carroll... - Gottlob FregeGottlob FregeFriedrich Ludwig Gottlob Frege was a German mathematician, logician and philosopher. He is considered to be one of the founders of modern logic, and made major contributions to the foundations of mathematics. He is generally considered to be the father of analytic philosophy, for his writings on...
- BegriffsschriftBegriffsschriftBegriffsschrift is a book on logic by Gottlob Frege, published in 1879, and the formal system set out in that book... - Robert Louis StevensonRobert Louis StevensonRobert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
- Travels with a Donkey in the CévennesTravels with a Donkey in the CévennesTravels with a Donkey in the Cévennes is one of Robert Louis Stevenson's earliest published works and is considered a pioneering classic of outdoor literature.-Background:...
Births
- January 1 - E. M. ForsterE. M. ForsterEdward Morgan Forster OM, CH was an English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society...
(d. 19701970 in literatureThe year 1970 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Deliverance by American poet James Dickey published...
) - April 14 - James Branch CabellJames Branch CabellJames Branch Cabell, ; April 14, 1879 – May 5, 1958) was an American author of fantasy fiction and belles lettres. Cabell was well regarded by his contemporaries, including H. L. Mencken and Sinclair Lewis. His works were considered escapist and fit well in the culture of the 1920s, when his...
, novelist (d. 19581958 in literatureThe year 1958 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*August 18 - Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in United States.*First volume of The Civil War by Shelby Foote is published....
) - October 2 - Wallace StevensWallace StevensWallace Stevens was an American Modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as a lawyer for the Hartford insurance company in Connecticut.His best-known poems include "Anecdote of the Jar",...
, poet (d. 19551955 in literatureThe year 1955 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*28 May - Philip Larkin makes a train journey from Hull to London which inspires his poem The Whitsun Weddings....
) - December 24 - Émile NelliganÉmile NelliganÉmile Nelligan was a francophone poet from Quebec, Canada.-Biography:Nelligan was born in Montreal on December 24, 1879 at 602, rue de La Gauchetière. He was the first son of David Nelligan, who arrived in Quebec from Dublin, Ireland at the age of 12. His mother was Émilie Amanda Hudon, from...
, poet (d. 19411941 in literatureThe year 1941 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Frank Herbert marries Flora Parkinson.*F. Scott Fitzgerald's unfinished work, The Last Tycoon, is edited and published by Edmund Wilson.-New books:...
)
Deaths
- February 11 - Willem J van Zeggelen, Dutch author
- March 3 - Annie KearyAnnie KearyAnna Maria Keary was an English novelist, poet and children's writer.-Life:Born at the rectory in Bilston, now called Bilton-in-Ainsty, Yorkshire, Annie was the daughter of a former army chaplain, William Keary, who came from County Galway in Ireland, and his wife, Lucy Plumer, of Bilton Hall....
, novelist (b. 18251825 in literatureThe year 1825 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Henri Boulard dies, leaving behind one of the greatest book collections in history, with a library containing more than half a million books.-Fiction:...
) - March 9 - Mark Prager LindoMark Prager LindoMark Prager Lindo was a Dutch prose writer of English-Jewish descent. He was born in London, England.-Early life:...
, historian (b. 18191819 in literatureThe year 1819 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* In England, Richard Carlile is convicted of blasphemy and sent to prison for publishing The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine ....
) - March 19 - Claire ClairmontClaire ClairmontClara Mary Jane Clairmont , or Claire Clairmont as she was commonly known, was a stepsister of writer Mary Shelley and the mother of Lord Byron's daughter Allegra.-Early life:...
, lover of Lord Byron (b. 17981798 in literature-New books:*Charles Brockden Brown**Alcuin: a Dialogue**Wieland: or, The Transformation; an American Tale*Emily Clark - Ianthé, or the Flower of Caernarvon*William Godwin - Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman...
) - April 8 - Anthony PanizziAnthony PanizziSir Antonio Genesio Maria Panizzi , better known as Anthony Panizzi, was a naturalized British librarian of Italian birth and an Italian patriot.-Early life in Italy:...
, librarian (b. 17971797 in literature-Events:* Walter Scott marries Charlotte Carpenter.* Jane Austen finishes a draft of Pride and Prejudice.-New books:*Hannah Webster Foster - The Coquette, or the History of Eliza Wharton *Friedrich Hölderlin - Hyperion, volume 1...
) - April 21 - George Hadfield, Radical author and politician (b. 17871787 in literature-New books:*Elizabeth Bonhôte - Olivia, or, The Deserted Bride*Johann Jakob Wilhelm Heinse - Ardinghello and die glückseligen Inseln*Elizabeth Helme - Louisa; or the Cottage on the Moor*Bernardin de Saint-Pierre - Paul et Virginie...
) - April 25 - Charles Tennyson TurnerCharles Tennyson TurnerCharles Tennyson Turner was an English poet.Born in Somersby, Lincolnshire, he was an elder brother of Alfred Tennyson; his friendship and "heart union" with his greater brother is revealed in Poems by Two Brothers. He married Louisa Sellwood, the younger sister of Alfred's future wife; another...
, poet (b. 18081808 in literatureThe year 1808 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Opening of the Théâtre St. Philippe, New Orleans.*The first Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, established in 1732, is destroyed by fire. Rebuilding begins in December....
) - July 4 - Sarah DorseySarah DorseySarah Dorsey was an American novelist and historian.-Biography:Born Sarah Anne Ellis to Thomas George Percy Ellis and Mary Malvina Routh in Natchez, Mississippi, she became a novelist and historian. She was known as the "companion" of Jefferson Davis, to whom she proved a great boon in his...
, novelist and historian (b. 18291829 in literatureThe year 1829 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Edward George Bulwer-Lytton - Devereux*Honoré de Balzac - Les Chouans*Catherine Gore - Romances of Real Life...
) - July 30 - Aasmund Olavsson VinjeAasmund Olavsson VinjeAasmund Olavsson Vinje was a famous Norwegian poet and journalist who is remembered for poetry, travel writing, and his pioneering use of Landsmål .-Background:...
, poet and journalist (b. 18181818 in literatureThe year 1818 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Lord Byron begins writing Don Juan.* Series of lectures on poetry, drama, philosophy - Samuel Taylor Coleridge.-New books:*Jane Austen - Persuasion...
) - September 23 - Francis KilvertFrancis KilvertRobert Francis Kilvert , always known as Francis, or Frank, was born at The Rectory, Hardenhuish Lane, near Chippenham, Wiltshire, to the Rev. Robert Kilvert, Rector of Langley Burrell, Wiltshire, and Thermuthis, daughter of Walter Coleman and Thermuthis Ashe...
, diarist (b. 18401840 in literatureThe year 1840 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*Novelist Fritz Reuter is freed from the fortress of Dömitz after two years' imprisonment on a charge of high treason....
) - October 13 - Henry Charles CareyHenry Charles CareyHenry Charles Carey , a leading 19th century economist of the American School of capitalism. He is now best known for the book The Harmony of Interests, to compare and contrast what he called the "British System" of laissez faire free trade capitalism with the "American System" of developmental...
, economist (b. 17931793 in literature-Events:*William Wordsworth tours Wales and western England, writing some of his best-known poems.-New books:*Charlotte Turner Smith**The Old Manor House**The Emigrants*Johann Heinrich Daniel Zschokke - Abällino, der grosse Bandit-New drama:...
) - October 28 - Marie Roch Louis ReybaudMarie Roch Louis ReybaudMarie Roch Louis Reybaud , French writer, political economist and politician, was born at Marseille.After travelling in the Levant and in India, he settled in Paris in 1829...
, political economist - October 31 - Jacob AbbottJacob AbbottJacob Abbott was an American writer of children's books.-Biography:Abbott was born at Hallowell, Maine to Jacob and Betsey Abbott...
, writer (b. 18031803 in literatureThe year 1803 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Novelist Mary Butt marries Captain Henry Sherwood, acquiring the surname by which she will become best known.-New books:...
)- John Baldwin BuckstoneJohn Baldwin BuckstoneJohn Baldwin Buckstone was an English actor, playwright and comedian who wrote 150 plays, the first of which was produced in 1826....
, dramatist (b. 18021802 in literatureThe year 1802 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* 4 October - William Wordsworth marries Mary Hutchinson....
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- John Baldwin Buckstone