John Russell of Bluffdale (1793–1863) was a 19th-century American novelist, writer and licensed Baptist preacher. He wrote the first published novel featuring Mormons. Russell was born in Vermont, but lived most of his life in Bluffdale, Illinois. In the early 1830s Russell was exposed to the teachings of Mormonism by

Parley P. Pratt Parley Parker Pratt Sr. (April 12, 1807 – May 13, 1857) was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement whose writings became a significant early nineteenth-century exposition of the Latter Day Saint faith. Named in 1835 as one of the first ...

and

William E. McLellin William Earl McLellin (January 18, 1806 – April 24, 1883) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. One of the original members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, McLellin later broke with church founder Joseph Smith. Biography ...

. Among Russell's works were ''The Venomous Worm'', a pro-temperance story published in McGuffey Readers. He also had published in 1853 ''The Mormoness'', the first published novel featuring a Mormon. It represented a more balanced portrayal of Mormons than most 19th-century mentions, lamenting attacks on their religious freedom while still largely disparaging their beliefs and practices.

Sources

Terryl L. Givens Terryl Lynn Givens is a senior research fellow at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute of Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University (BYU). Until 2019, he was a professor of literature and religion at the University of Richmond, where he held the ...

and

Matthew J. Grow Matthew J. Grow (born 1977) is an American historian specializing in Mormon history. Grow authored a biography of Thomas L. Kane, ''Liberty to the Downtrodden'' (2009), and co-authored a biography of Parley P. Pratt (2011), with Terryl Givens. H ...

, ''Parley P. Pratt: The Apostle Paul of Mormonism'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), p. 57-58. *

John T. Flanagan John Theodore Flanagan (January 15, 1906 – March 11, 1996) was a professor of literature at the University of Minnesota and the University of Illinois who specialized in early literature of the Midwest. He was born in St. Paul, Minnesota and ea ...

, "John Russell of Bluffdale", Journal ofo the Illinois State Historical Society, Vol. 2, no. 3, Sep. 1949. {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, John 1793 births 19th-century American novelists 1863 deaths American male novelists 19th-century American male writers