Maurice Thompson (1844-1901) from The Bookman, 1901. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
James Maurice Thompson (September 9, 1844 - February 15, 1901) was an American poet, novelist, and essayist.
Life[]
Thompson was born in Fairfield, Indiana, and raised on a Georgia plantation.
Thompson originally pursued a career as a lawyer. In 1871 he opened a law practice with his brother, William Henry Thompson. He was drawn away from the field of law by the success of articles and short stories published in the New York Tribune, Atlantic Monthly, and Harper's Monthly.
His 1st book, Hoosier Mosaics, published in 1875, was a collection of short stories illustrating the people and atmosphere of small Indiana towns. He followed it with a successful compilation of his published essays, The Witchery of Archery (1878), which was well received for its wit and use of common language.
The Witchery of Archery led to an increased interest in archery over the next half-century. By 1880, with the book less than 2 years old, patents relating to archery items had greatly increased. A year after The Witchery of Archery was published; Thompson was chosen as the inaugural president of the National Archery Association, largely due to his book.[1]
At this same time, Thompson also published several collections of naturalistic poetry, though they were not well received at the time.
Thompson died on February 15, 1901, of pneumonia.[2][3]
Writing[]
As a writer, Thompson became well known as a local colorist, his works ranging from local history to articles about archery. H
Thompson wrote the poem "To the South" that was reprinted in George Washington Cable's influential and controversial essay, "The Freedmen's Case in Equity" in 1885. This poem expressed Thompson's reaction to the freeing of the slaves, and implied that some other Southerners were not as angry about the overturning of that institution as Northerners presumed.[4]
Through the 1880s, Thompson moved into the realm of fiction. His early works featured the common thread of simple southern life, taken mostly from Thompson's childhood. With his 1886 semi-autobiographical novel, A Banker of Bankersville, he returned to his Indiana roots. Arguably his most successful and well-known novel came with 1900's Alice of Old Vincennes. The novel vividly depicted Indiana during the Revolutionary War.
Publications[]
Poetry[]
- Songs of Fair Weather. Boston: James R. Osgood, 1883.
- Poems. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1892.
- Lincoln's Grave. Cambridge, MA, and Chicago: Stone & Kimball, 1894.
Novels[]
- A Tallahassee Girl. Boston: James R. Osgood, 1882; Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1909.
- His Second Campaign. Boston: James R. Osgood, 1883.
- At Love's Extremes. New York: Cassell, 1885
- Milly: At Love's Extremes — A Romance of the Southland. New York: New Amsterdam Book Co., 1901.
- A Banker of Bankersville, a Novel. New York Cassell & Co., 1886; New York: Street & Smith, 1900.
- A Fortnight of Folly. New York: J.B. Alden, 1888.
- The Ocala Boy: A story of Florida town and forest. Boston: Lothrop, 1895.[5]
- The King of Honey Island. New York: G.W. Dillingham, 1896.
- Alice of Old Vincennes. Indianapolis, IN: Bowen-Merrill Co., 1900; New York: Grosset & Dunlap 1900; New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1908; Vincennes, IN: Vincennes University Press, 1961
- Rosalynde's Lovers. Indianapolis, IN: Bowen-Merrill Co., 1901.
Short fiction[]
- Hoosier Mosaics. New York: E.J. Hale & Son, 1875; New York: Garrett Press, 1969.
- Stories of the Cherokee Hills. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1898; Books for Libraries Press, 1970.
- "The Mystic Krewe" in Eleven Possible Cases. London: Cassell, 1901.[6]
Non-fiction[]
- The Witchery of Archery: A complete manual of archery. New York: Scribner, 1878; Pinehurst, NC: Archers Company, 1928.
- How to Train in Archery. 1879; (facsimile) London: Tabard Press, 1970.
- By-Ways and Bird Notes. New York: J.B. Alden, 1885.
- A Red-Headed Family. New York: J.B. Alden, 1885.
- Sylvan Secrets, in bird-songs and Books. New York: J.B. Alden, 1887.
- The Story of Louisiana. Boston: D. Lothrop (The Story of the States), 1888.
- The Ethics of Literary Art: The Carew lectures, 1893. Hartford, CT: Hartford Seminary Press, 1893.
- Stories of Indiana. New York: American Book, 1898.
- My Winter Garden: A nature-lover under southern skies. New York: Century, 1900.
Edited[]
- The Boy's Book of Sports and Outdoor Life. New York: Century, 1886.
Maurice Thompson - A Creole Love Song
Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy West Virginia University.[7]
See also[]
References[]
Notes[]
- ↑ [http://www.archeryhalloffame.com/Thamposn,%20Maurice.html J. Maurice Thompson (1844 - 1901)], Archery Hall of Fame & Museum. Web, May 5, 2013.
- ↑ (16 February 1901). Maurice Thompson Is Dead; The Novelist Had Been Kept Alive Several Days by Stimulants - His Literary Career, The New York Times
- ↑ Alderman, Edwin Anderson, et al., eds. Library of Southern Literature, Volume XII, pp. 5254-58 (1907, 1910)
- ↑ The Freedman's Case in Equity at etext.virginia.edu
- ↑ The Ocala Boy: A story of Florida town and forest (1895), Internet Archive. Web, May 5, 2013.
- ↑ Eleven Possible Cases. Project Gutenberg, Web, May 5, 2013.
- ↑ James Maurice Thompson (1844-1901), Strangers to Us All: Lawyers and poetry, College of Law, West Virginia University. Web, May 5, 2013.
External links[]
- Poems
- "The Wabash"
- "Farewell"
- Maurice Thompson at PoemHunter (77 poems).
- Books
- Works by Maurice Thompson at Project Gutenberg
- Works by Maurice Thompson at Internet Archive
- Maurice Thompson at Amazon.com
- About
- James Maurice Thompson (1844-1901) at Strangers to Us All: Lawyers and poetry
| This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia. (view article). (view authors). |
|