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 most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

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 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 It lists many unpublished manuscripts sent in for copyright with such titles as "The Man from Mars" and "The Destruction of the Moon," but no trace of most of these beyond the listing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 List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, where he died on May 2, 1904.

Bibliography

References

External links

Edgar Fawcett Collection
at 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 ...

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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