Robert Henry Newell (December 13, 1836 – July 1901) was a 19th-century American humorist. During the

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states t ...

, Newell wrote a series of satirical articles using the pseudonym Orpheus C. Kerr, commenting on the war and contemporary society. His articles appeared weekly in the New York '' Sunday Mercury'', where he was the literary editor until 1862, and were published in a series of books. Among other newspapers he worked at, from 1869 to 1874 he wrote for the ''

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under pub ...

''.(July 13, 1901
Robert H. Newell Dead
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Retrieved November 5, 2010 From approximately 1862 to 1865, he was married to famous actress

Adah Isaacs Menken Adah Isaacs Menken (June 15, 1835August 10, 1868) was an American actress, painter and poet, and was the highest earning actress of her time.Palmer, Pamela Lynn"Adah Isaacs Menken" ''Handbook of Texas Online,'' published by the Texas State Histor ...

.(July 14, 1901)
Robert H. Newell's Life Romance
''

'', Retrieved November 29, 2010 The name "Orpheus C. Kerr" was a play on the term "office seeker". At the time, political offices were seen as plums, involving relatively little work and regular pay, and were used by political parties as rewards for faithful party workers. During the war, ''The Orpheus C. Kerr Papers'' was widely read and Newell enjoyed great popularity.(July 20, 1901). Derby, George
Orpheus C. Kerr: His Recent Death in Brooklyn and the True Facts in his Career
''

'', Retrieved November 5, 2010 He was one of the favorite humorists of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. When General

Montgomery C. Meigs Montgomery Cunningham Meigs (; May 3, 1816 – January 2, 1892) was a career United States Army officer and civil engineer, who served as Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army during and after the American Civil War. Meigs strongly opposed sece ...

admitted that he had never heard of Orpheus C. Kerr or his ''Papers'', Lincoln responded, "anyone who has not read them is a heathen."The Continuum Encyclopedia of American Literature
p.817-18 (2003) ()
The Missouri Republican, August 20, 1862.

Selected bibliography

* ''The Orpheus C. Kerr Papers'' (1862; Letters 1–52) * ''The Orpheus C. Kerr Papers'' (Volume II; 1863; Letters 53–79) * ''The Palace Beautiful and Other Poems'' (1864) * ''The Orpheus C. Kerr Papers'' (Volume III; 1865; Letters 80–108) * ''Avery Glibun, or Between Two Fires'' (1867) * ''Smoked Glass'' (1868) * ''The Cloven Foot'' (1870; a parody of ''

The Mystery of Edwin Drood ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' is the final novel by Charles Dickens, originally published in 1870. Though the novel is named after the character Edwin Drood, it focuses more on Drood's uncle, John Jasper, a precentor, choirmaster and opium ...

'' by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

) * ''Versatilities'' (poems; 1871) * ''The Walking Doll; or the Asters and Disasters of Society'' (1872) * ''Studies in Stanzas'' (1882) * ''There was once a Man'' (1884)

References

External links

* * *
The Orpheus C. Kerr papers (1862)
American Libraries Internet Archive
The Palance Beautiful and Other Poems
(1864; full text) {{DEFAULTSORT:Newell, Robert Henry American humorists 1901 deaths 1836 births 19th-century pseudonymous writers