Ripley Hitchcock, born James Ripley Wellman Hitchcock, (1857–1918) was a prominent American editor. He edited the works of Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...

, Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...

, Zane Grey

Zane Grey

Zane Grey was an American author best known for his popular adventure novels and stories that presented an idealized image of the Old West. Riders of the Purple Sage was his bestselling book. In addition to the success of his printed works, they later had second lives and continuing influence...

, Joel Chandler Harris

Joel Chandler Harris

Joel Chandler Harris was an American journalist, fiction writer, and folklorist best known for his collection of Uncle Remus stories. Harris was born in Eatonton, Georgia, where he served as an apprentice on a plantation during his teenage years...

, Stephen Crane

Stephen Crane

Stephen Crane was an American novelist, short story writer, poet and journalist. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism and Impressionism...

 and Theodore Dreiser

Theodore Dreiser

Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm moral code, and literary situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of...

.

Biography

Ripley Hitchcock was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts

Fitchburg, Massachusetts

Fitchburg is the third largest city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,318 at the 2010 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private elementary and high schools.- History :...

 in 1857. He graduated from Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 and started work as a journalist for The New York Tribune in 1882. In 1890, he became literary adviser for D. Appleton & Company

D. Appleton & Company

D. Appleton & Company was an American company founded by Daniel Appleton , who opened a general store which included books.- Timeline :* 1813 Relocated from Haverhill to Boston and imported books from England...

, in which capacity he edited Edward Noyes Westcott

Edward Noyes Westcott

Edward Noyes Westcott was an American banker and writer.-David Harum:Westcott is best known for his book David Harum, a novel set in upstate New York....

's narrative David Harum

David Harum

David Harum; A Story of American Life is a best-selling novel of 1899 whose principal legacy is the colloquial use of the term horse trading.-Literary significance and criticism:...

(1898) into a bestseller, later made into a film. From 1902 to 1906, he worked for A. S. Barnes

Alfred Smith Barnes

__notoc__Alfred Smith Barnes was an American publisher and philanthropist. He was known as "the General".-Life and career:...

 as vice president From 1906 onwards, he worked as an editor for Harper and Brothers. He unfanged Stephen Crane's lewd details and Theodore Dreiser's irony.

He also wrote books on art and the history of the West and was a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters, the Century Association

Century Association

__notoc__The Century Association is a private club in New York City. It evolved out of an earlier organization – the Sketch Club, founded in 1829 by editor and poet William Cullen Bryant and his friends – and was established in 1847 by Bryant and others as a club to promote interest in...

 and the Authors Club.