Charles Dudley Warner (September 12, 1829 – October 20, 1900) was an American essayist, novelist, and friend of

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

, with whom he co-authored the novel '' The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today''.

Biography

Warner was born of

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

descent in Plainfield, Massachusetts. From the ages of six to fourteen he lived in Charlemont, Massachusetts, the place and time revisited in his book ''Being a Boy'' (1877). He then moved to

Cazenovia, New York Cazenovia is an incorporated Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 6,740 at the time of the 2020 census. The town is named after Theophilus Cazenove, Theophile Cazenove, th ...

, and in 1851 graduated from

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, Clinton, New York. It was established as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and received its c ...

in Clinton, New York. He worked with a surveying party in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

and then studied law at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. He moved to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, where he practiced law from 1856 to 1860, when he relocated to Connecticut to become assistant editor of ''The Hartford Press''. By 1861 he had become editor, a position he held until 1867, when the paper merged into ''

The Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is advertised as the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven an ...

'' and he became co-editor with Joseph R. Hawley. In an 1861 editorial at the ''Press'' Warner was the first to propose creating the holiday

Flag Day A flag day is a flag-related holiday, a day designated for flying a certain flag (such as a national flag) or a day set aside to celebrate a historical event such as a nation's adoption of its flag. Flag days are usually codified in national s ...

. In 1884, he joined the editorial staff of ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

'', for which he conducted ''The Editor's Drawer'' until 1892, when he took charge of ''The Editor's Study''. Warner traveled widely, lectured frequently, and was actively interested in prison reform, city park supervision, and other movements for the public good. He was the first president of the

National Institute of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqua ...

, and, at the time of his death, was president of the American Social Science Association. He first attracted attention with the reflective sketches in ''My Summer in a Garden'' (1870). First published as a series in ''The Hartford Courant'', these sketches were popular for their abounding and refined humor and mellow personal charm, their love of the outdoors, their suggestive comment on life and affairs, and their delicately finished style, qualities that suggested the work of

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...

. In 1873, the work Warner is known for today, the novel he wrote with Mark Twain, was published. Called '' The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today'', it gave that era of American history its name. Charles Dudley Warner is known for making these famous remarks, Quoted by Mark Twain in one of his many humorous lectures, Warner's quip is still commonly misattributed to Twain. He died in

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

on October 20, 1900, and was interred at Cedar Hill Cemetery, with

as a pall bearer and Joseph Twichell officiating. The citizens of

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

so appreciated Warner's flattering description of their city in his book ''Our Italy'' that they named three consecutive streets in the

Point Loma Point Loma ( Spanish: ''Punta de la Loma'', meaning "Hill Point"; Kumeyaay: ''Amat Kunyily'', meaning "Black Earth") is a seaside community in San Diego, California, United States. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the ...

neighborhood after him: Charles Street, Dudley Street, and Warner Street.

Selected works

* ''My Summer in a Garden and Calvin '' is cat', A Study of Character'' (Boston: James R. Osgood & Co., 1870) * ''Saunterings'' (1872), descriptions of travel in Western Europe * ''BackLog Studies'' (1872) * '' Baddeck, And That Sort of Thing'' (1874), travels in Nova Scotia and elsewhere * ''My Winter on the Nile'' (1876) * ''In the Levant'' (1876) * ''In the Wilderness'' (1878) * ''A Roundabout Journey, in Europe'' (1883) * ''On Horseback, in the Southern States'' (1888) * ''Studies in the South and West, with Comments on Canada'' (1889) * ''Our Italy, etc. description of Southern California.' (1891) * ''The Relation of Literature to Life'' (1896) * ''The People for Whom Shakespeare Wrote'' (1897) * ''Fashions in Literature'' (1902) He edited ''The American Men of Letters'' series, to which he contributed a biography of Washington Irving (1881), and also edited a large ''Library of the World's Best Literature'' (1897). At the time of his death, Warner was writing a biography of his friend

Frederic Edwin Church Frederic Edwin Church (May 4, 1826 – April 7, 1900) was an American landscape painting, landscape painter born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a central figure in the Hudson River School of American landscape painters, best known for paintin ...

. ;Essays *''A-Hunting of the Deer'' (1875) *''As We Were Saying'' (1891) * ''As We Go'' (1893) ;Novels: * '' The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today'' (in collaboration with

, 1873) * ''Their Pilgrimage'' (1886) * ''A Little Journey in the World'' (1889) * ''The Golden House'' (1894) * ''That Fortune'' (1899).

References

Attribution: *

External links

Finding aid to Charles Dudley Warner letters at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

* ttp://www.public.coe.edu/~theller/fields/warner.html CHARLES DUDLEY WARNER by Mrs. James T. Fields. New York: McClure, Phillips, & Co., 1904. Contemporary Men of Letters Series.* * *
Calvin the Cat, A Study of Character
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warner, Charles 1829 births 1900 deaths 19th-century American novelists American male essayists American male novelists American people of English descent Art Students League of New York faculty Burials at Cedar Hill Cemetery (Hartford, Connecticut) Hamilton College (New York) alumni Novelists from Massachusetts Novelists from New York (state) People from Cazenovia, New York People from Charlemont, Massachusetts People from Plainfield, Massachusetts Writers from Hartford, Connecticut

Biography

Selected works

Further reading

References

External links