Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Bierce
Bierce around 1866
Bierce around 1866
BornAmbrose Gwinnett Bierce
(1842-06-24)June 24, 1842
Meigs County, Ohio, U.S.
Disappearedc. 1914 (aged 71–72)[1]
Occupation
  • Soldier
  • journalist
  • writer
Genres
Literary movementAmerican Realism
Notable works
Spouse
Mary Ellen "Mollie" Day
​
​
(m. 1871; div. 1904)​
Children3
Signature
Military career
AllegianceUnited States
Service / branchUnion Army
Years of service1861–1866
RankFirst lieutenant
Unit9th Indiana Infantry Regiment
Battles / wars

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842[2] – c. 1914[3]) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book The Devil's Dictionary was named one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration.[4] His story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" has been described as "one of the most famous and frequently anthologized stories in American literature",[5] and his book Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (also published as In the Midst of Life) was named by the Grolier Club one of the 100 most influential American books printed before 1900.[6]

A prolific and versatile writer, Bierce was regarded as one of the most influential journalists in the United States[7][8] and as a pioneering writer of realist fiction.[9] For his horror writing, Michael Dirda ranked him alongside Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft.[10] S. T. Joshi speculates that he may well be the greatest satirist America has ever produced, and in this regard can take his place with such figures as Juvenal, Swift, and Voltaire.[11] His war stories influenced Stephen Crane, Ernest Hemingway, and others,[12] and he was considered an influential and feared literary critic.[13] In recent decades, Bierce has gained wider respect as a fabulist and for his poetry.[14][15]

In 1913, Bierce told reporters that he was travelling to Mexico to gain first-hand experience of the Mexican Revolution.[16] He disappeared and was never seen again.

  1. ^ McWilliams, Carey. Ambrose Bierce: A Biography. Hamden, CT: Archon Books, 1967, pp. 324–25.
  2. ^ Floyd 1999, p. 18.
  3. ^ D'Ammassa, Don (2006). Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Horror Fiction. New York: Facts On File, Inc.
  4. ^ "Franklin Library 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature 1976–1984", Leather Bound Treasure.
  5. ^ "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge: Ambrose Bierce." Short Story Criticism, v. 72, Joseph Palmisano, ed. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2004, p. 2.
  6. ^ Adams, Frederick B.; Winterich, John T.; Johnson, Thomas H.; and McKay, George L. One Hundred Influential American Books Printed Before 1900: Catalogue and Addresses. New York: The Grolier Club, 1947, p. 124.
  7. ^ Grenander, M. E. Ambrose Bierce, Boston: Twayne, 1971, p. 10.
  8. ^ Mundt, Whitney R., "Ambrose Bierce" in Dictionary of Literary Biography v. 23: American Newspaper Journalists, 1873–1900, Ashley, Perry J., ed., Detroit: Gale Research, 1983, p. 25. See also Bierce, Ambrose, Skepticism and Dissent: Selected Journalism from 1898–1901, Lawrence I. Berkove, ed., Ann Arbor: Delmas, 1980; Lindley, Daniel, Ambrose Bierce Takes on the Railroad: The Journalist as Muckraker and Cynic, Westport, CT: Praeger, 1999; Ramirez, Salvador A.,A Clash of Titans: Ambrose Bierce, Collis Huntington and the 1896 Fight to Refund the Central Pacific's Debt to the Federal Government, San Luis Rey, Calif: Tentacled Press, 2010; Drabelle, Dennis, The Great American Railroad War: How Ambrose Bierce and Frank Norris Took on the Notorious Central Pacific Railroad, New York: St. Martin's, 2012; West, Richard Samuel, The San Francisco Wasp: An Illustrated History, Northampton, MA: Periodyssey Press, 2004, pp. 45–59, 310–11.
  9. ^ Grenander, M.E., "Ambrose Bierce" in Dictionary of Literary Biography v. 12: American Realists and Naturalists, Pizer, Donald and Harbert, Earl N., eds., Detroit: Gale Research, 1982, pp. 23–36.
  10. ^ Dirda, Michael, "Thirteen for Halloween", The American Scholar, October 28, 2015.
  11. ^ Kelley, Rich. "The Library of America interviews S. T. Joshi about Ambrose Bierce". The Library of America. September 2011.
  12. ^ Joshi, S. T. in Kelley, Rich, "The Library of America interviews S. T. Joshi about Ambrose Bierce," The Library of America e-Newsletter, Sept. 2011.
  13. ^ Grenander, M.E., "Ambrose Bierce" in Dictionary of Literary Biography v. 71: American Literary Critics and Scholars, 1880–1900, Rathbun, John W. and Grecu, Monica M., eds., Detroit: Gale Research, 1988, pp. 27–37.
  14. ^ Joshi, S.T., "Introduction," The Collected Fables of Ambrose Bierce, Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press, 2000, p. xxi.
  15. ^ Grenander, M.E., "Introduction" to Poems of Ambrose Bierce, Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 1995, p. xiii.
  16. ^ Bierce letter from Chihuahua to Blanche Partington dated December 26, 1913. Printed in A Much Misunderstood Man: Selected Letters of Ambrose Bierce, S. T. Joshi and David E. Schultz, eds. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 2003, pp. 244–46.