Edgar Fawcett (May 26, 1847 – May 2, 1904) was an American novelist and poet.
Biography
Early life and education
Fawcett was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
on May 26, 1847 and spent much of his life there.
Educated at Columbia College, he obtained the A.B. there in 1867 and his M.A. three years later. At Columbia, he was a member of the
Fraternity of Delta Phi and the
Philolexian Society
The Philolexian Society of Columbia University is one of the oldest college literary and debate societies in the United States, and the oldest student group at Columbia. Founded in 1802, the Society aims to "improve its members in Oratory, Compo ...
.
Career
Although successful in his time, his works are mostly forgotten today.
His best known novels, such as ''Purple and Fine Linen'' (1873)
and ''New York'' (1898), were satirical studies of New York
high society
High society, sometimes simply society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open to men based ...
. Fawcett also wrote a parody of the
King Arthur
King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
legends entitled ''The New King Arthur: An Opera Without Music'' (1885), as well as numerous works for children, such as ''Short Poems for Short People'' (1872).
In 1877, his poem "Box" appeared in the ''Sacramento Daily Union'' having been reprinted from ''The Atlantic'', where it would appear in the September issue. His volumes of verse included ''Song and Story'' (1884) and ''Songs of Doubt and Dream'' (1891). His verse was frequently anthologized. "The Man from Mars" was published in the June 1892 issue of ''Short Stories: A Magazine of Select Fiction''.
Stanley R. Harrison's study, entitled ''Edgar Fawcett'', was published in 1972. It lists many unpublished manuscripts sent in for copyright with such titles as "The Man from Mars" and "The Destruction of the Moon," but no trace of most of these beyond the listing seems to exist.
Later life, and death
Fawcett spent many of the last years of his life in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
where he died on May 2, 1904.
Bibliography
References
Further reading
*
External links
Edgar Fawcett Collectionat the
Harry Ransom Center
The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...
*
*
*
Poems by Fawcett at Sonnets.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fawcett, Edgar
1847 births
1904 deaths
19th-century American novelists
20th-century American novelists
19th-century American poets
20th-century American poets
American male novelists
American male poets
Writers from New York City
Columbia College (New York) alumni
19th-century American male writers
20th-century American male writers
Novelists from New York (state)
Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters