1886 in literature
Encyclopedia
The year 1886 in literature involved some significant new books.
Events
- MLN: Modern Language NotesMLNModern Language Notes is an academic journal established in 1886 at the Johns Hopkins University, where it is still edited and published, with the intention of introducing continental European literary criticism into American scholarship. Each year, one issue is devoted to each of the four...
, an academic journal founded with the intention of introducing European literary criticism into American scholarship, is founded at the Johns Hopkins University.
Books
- Louisa May AlcottLouisa May AlcottLouisa May Alcott was an American novelist. She is best known for the novel Little Women and its sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys. Little Women was set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, and published in 1868...
- Jo's BoysJo's BoysJo's Boys, and How They Turned Out: A Sequel to "Little Men" is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott, first published in 1886. The novel is the final book in the unofficial Little Women trilogy... - Edmondo De AmicisEdmondo De AmicisEdmondo De Amicis was an Italian novelist, journalist, poet and short-story writer. His best-known book is the children's novel Heart.-Early career:...
- HeartHeart (novel)Heart is a children's novel by the Italian author Edmondo De Amicis who was a novelist, journalist, short story writer, and poet. The novel is known to be his best known work to this day, having been inspired by his own children Furio and Ugo who had been schoolboys at the time. It is set during... - Leon BloyLéon BloyLéon Bloy , was a French novelist, essayist, pamphleteer and poet.-Biography:Bloy was born in Notre-Dame-de-Sanilhac, in the arondissement of Périgueux, Dordogne. He was the second of six sons of Voltairean freethinker and stern disciplinarian Jean Baptiste Bloy and his wife Anne-Marie Carreau,...
- Disperato - Rhoda BroughtonRhoda BroughtonRhoda Broughton was a novelist.-Life:Rhoda Broughton was born in Denbigh in North Wales on 29 November 1840. She was the daughter of the Rev. Delves Broughton youngest son of the Rev. Sir Henry Delves-Broughton, 8th baronet. She developed a taste for literature, especially poetry, as a young girl...
- Doctor Cupid - Frances Hodgson BurnettFrances Hodgson BurnettFrances Eliza Hodgson Burnett was an English playwright and author. She is best known for her children's stories, in particular The Secret Garden , A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy.Born Frances Eliza Hodgson, she lived in Cheetham Hill, Manchester...
- Little Lord FauntleroyLittle Lord FauntleroyLittle Lord Fauntleroy is the first children's novel written by English playwright and author Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was originally published as a serial in the St. Nicholas Magazine between November 1885 and October 1886, then as a book by Scribner's in 1886... - Hall CaineHall CaineSir Thomas Henry Hall Caine CH, KBE , usually known as Hall Caine, was a Manx author. He is best known as a novelist and playwright of the late Victorian and the Edwardian eras. In his time he was exceedingly popular, and at the peak of his success his novels outsold those of his...
- A Son of Hagar - Mary CholmondeleyMary CholmondeleyMary Cholmondeley was an English novelist.The daughter of the vicar at St Luke's Church in the village of Hodnet, Market Drayton, Shropshire, England, where she was born, Cholmondeley spent much of the first thirty years of her life taking care of her sickly mother...
- The Danvers Jewels - Wilkie CollinsWilkie CollinsWilliam Wilkie Collins was an English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. He was very popular during the Victorian era and wrote 30 novels, more than 60 short stories, 14 plays, and over 100 non-fiction pieces...
- The Evil Genius
- The Guilty River
- Marie CorelliMarie CorelliMarie Corelli was a British novelist. She enjoyed a period of great literary success from the publication of her first novel in 1886 until World War I. Corelli's novels sold more copies than the combined sales of popular contemporaries, including Arthur Conan Doyle, H. G...
- A Romance of Two Worlds - Thomas HardyThomas HardyThomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
- The Mayor of CasterbridgeThe Mayor of CasterbridgeThe Mayor of Casterbridge , subtitled "The Life and Death of a Man of Character", is a tragic novel by British author Thomas Hardy. It is set in the fictional town of Casterbridge . The book is one of Hardy's Wessex novels, all set in a fictional rustic England... - William Dean HowellsWilliam Dean HowellsWilliam Dean Howells was an American realist author and literary critic. Nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters", he was particularly known for his tenure as editor of the Atlantic Monthly as well as his own writings, including the Christmas story "Christmas Every Day" and the novel The Rise of...
- Indian Summer - Henry JamesHenry JamesHenry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
- The BostoniansThe BostoniansThe Bostonians is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in The Century Magazine in 1885–1886 and then as a book in 1886. This bittersweet tragicomedy centers on an odd triangle of characters: Basil Ransom, a political conservative from Mississippi; Olive Chancellor, Ransom's cousin... - Jerome K. JeromeJerome K. JeromeJerome Klapka Jerome was an English writer and humorist, best known for the humorous travelogue Three Men in a Boat.Jerome was born in Caldmore, Walsall, England, and was brought up in poverty in London...
- The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow - Pierre LotiPierre LotiPierre Loti was a French novelist and naval officer.-Biography:Loti's education began in his birthplace, Rochefort, Charente-Maritime. At the age of seventeen he entered the naval school in Brest and studied at Le Borda. He gradually rose in his profession, attaining the rank of captain in 1906...
- Pêcheur d'Islande - Octave MirbeauOctave MirbeauOctave Mirbeau was a French journalist, art critic, travel writer, pamphleteer, novelist, and playwright, who achieved celebrity in Europe and great success among the public, while still appealing to the literary and artistic avant-garde...
- Le CalvaireLe CalvaireLe Calvaire is a novel written by the French journalist, novelist and playwright Octave Mirbeau, and published by Ollendorff in 1886.- Plot summary :... - George A. Moore
- A Drama in Muslin
- Confessions of a Young ManConfessions of a Young ManConfessions of a Young Man is a memoir by Irish novelist George Moore who spent about 15 years in his teens and 20s in Paris and later London as a struggling artist...
- Robert Louis StevensonRobert Louis StevensonRobert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
- KidnappedKidnapped (novel)Kidnapped is a historical fiction adventure novel by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. Written as a "boys' novel" and first published in the magazine Young Folks from May to July 1886, the novel has attracted the praise and admiration of writers as diverse as Henry James, Jorge Luis...
- August StrindbergAugust StrindbergJohan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography,...
- Married I-II (short stories) - Leo TolstoyLeo TolstoyLev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
- The Death of Ivan IlyichThe Death of Ivan IlyichThe Death of Ivan Ilyich , first published in 1886, is a novella by Leo Tolstoy, and is considered to be one of the masterpieces of his late fiction, written shortly after his religious conversion of the late 1870s.-Characters:... - Jules VerneJules VerneJules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
- The Lottery TicketThe Lottery TicketThe Lottery Ticket is an adventure novel written by Jules Verne. It was also published in USA under the title Ticket No. "9672".-Publication history:*1886, USA: New York: George Munro, published as Ticket No. "9672"...
- Robur the ConquerorRobur the ConquerorRobur the Conqueror is a science fiction novel by Jules Verne, published in 1886. It is also known as The Clipper of the Clouds. It has a sequel, The Master of the World, which was published in 1904.- Plot summary :...
- The Lottery Ticket
- Philippe Villiers - Eva Futura
New drama
- Anton ChekhovAnton ChekhovAnton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
- On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco - Henrik IbsenHenrik IbsenHenrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
- RosmersholmRosmersholmRosmersholm is a play written in 1886 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. In the estimation of many critics the piece is Ibsen's masterwork, only equalled by The Wild Duck of 1884... - William Butler YeatsWilliam Butler YeatsWilliam Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
- MosadaMosadaMosada is a short verse play in three scenes written by William Butler Yeats and published in 1886.The only characters are Mosada, a "moorish girl," her friend the hunchback child Cola, a Christian monk and a few nameless inquisitors. The play is set in a fictional kingdom.In the first scene,...
Non-fiction
- Edwin Abbott AbbottEdwin Abbott AbbottEdwin Abbott Abbott , English schoolmaster and theologian, is best known as the author of the satirical novella Flatland .-Biography:...
- The Kernel and the Husk - William MorrisWilliam MorrisWilliam Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
- A Dream of John Ball
Births
- January 14 - Hugh LoftingHugh LoftingHugh John Lofting was a British author, trained as a civil engineer, who created the character of Doctor Dolittle — one of the classics of children's literature.-Personal life:...
, author (d. 19471947 in literatureThe year 1947 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The Diary of Anne Frank is published for the first time.*Jack Kerouac makes the journey which he will later chronicle in his book On the Road....
) - March 1 - Oskar KokoschkaOskar KokoschkaOskar Kokoschka was an Austrian artist, poet and playwright best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes.-Biography:...
, poet and artist (d. 19801980 in literatureThe year 1980 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Marguerite Yourcenar becomes the first woman to be elected to the Académie française....
) - September 8 - Siegfried SassoonSiegfried SassoonSiegfried Loraine Sassoon CBE MC was an English poet, author and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both described the horrors of the trenches, and satirised the patriotic pretensions of those who, in Sassoon's...
, poet and memoirist (d. 19671967 in literatureThe year 1967 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Influential science fiction anthology Dangerous Visions published.*Cecil Day-Lewis is selected as the new Poet Laureate of the UK.-New books:...
) - September 20 - Charles WilliamsCharles Williams (UK writer)Charles Walter Stansby Williams was a British poet, novelist, theologian, literary critic, and member of the Inklings.- Biography :...
, British author and member of the InklingsInklingsThe Inklings was an informal literary discussion group associated with the University of Oxford, England, for nearly two decades between the early 1930s and late 1949. The Inklings were literary enthusiasts who praised the value of narrative in fiction, and encouraged the writing of fantasy...
(d. 19451945 in literatureThe year 1945 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*November 1 - The magazine Ebony is published for the first time.*Noel Coward's short play, Still Life, is adapted to become the film, Brief Encounter....
) - November 1 - Hermann BrochHermann BrochHermann Broch was a 20th century Austrian writer, considered one of the major Modernists.-Life:Broch was born in Vienna to a prosperous Jewish family and worked for some time in his family's factory, though he maintained his literary interests privately...
, Modernist writer (d. 19511951 in literatureThe year 1951 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*E. E. Cummings and Rachel Carson are awarded Guggenheim Fellowships.*Flannery O'Connor is diagnosed with lupus....
) - November 21 - Harold NicolsonHarold NicolsonSir Harold George Nicolson KCVO CMG was an English diplomat, author, diarist and politician. He was the husband of writer Vita Sackville-West, their unusual relationship being described in their son's book, Portrait of a Marriage.-Early life:Nicolson was born in Tehran, Persia, the younger son of...
, British author (d. 19681968 in literatureThe year 1968 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Dean R. Koontz's first novel, Star Quest is published....
) - December 5 - Rose Wilder LaneRose Wilder LaneRose Wilder Lane was an American journalist, travel writer, novelist, and political theorist...
, journalist (d. 19681968 in literatureThe year 1968 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Dean R. Koontz's first novel, Star Quest is published....
)
Deaths
- May 15 - Emily DickinsonEmily DickinsonEmily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life...
, poet (b. 18301830 in literatureThe year 1830 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Amos Bronson Alcott marries Abby May.*Edgar Allan Poe takes up an appointment at the United States Military Academy, West Point....
) - May 17 - Erskine MayErskine May, 1st Baron FarnboroughSir Erskine May, 1st Baron Farnborough, KCB, PC, DCL was a British constitutional theorist. This derived from his career at the House of Commons.-Biography:...
, constitutional theorist (b. 18151815 in literatureThe year 1815 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* The Brothers Grimm complete the writing of Grimms' Fairy Tales.* First publication of the North American Review.-New books:*John Agg - A Month at Brussels...
) - July 21 - Maximilian Wolfgang DunckerMaximilian Wolfgang DunckerMaximilian Wolfgang Duncker was a German historian and politician.-Life:Duncker was born in Berlin, Province of Brandenburg, as the eldest son of the publisher Karl Duncker...
, historian (b. 18111811 in literatureThe year 1811 in literature involved some significant new books, including Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility.-New books:*Jane Austen - Sense and Sensibility*Amelia Beauclerc - Eva of Cambria*Mary Brunton - Self-Control...
) - August 9 - Samuel FergusonSamuel FergusonSir Samuel Ferguson was an Irish poet, barrister, antiquarian, artist and public servant. Perhaps the most important Ulster-Scot poet of the 19th century, because of his interest in Irish mythology and early Irish history he can be seen as a forerunner of William Butler Yeats and the other poets...
, poet (b. 18101810 in literatureThe year 1810 in literature involved some significant new books.-New books:*Catherine Cuthbertson - The Forest of Montalbano*Peter Middleton Darling - The Romance of the Highlands...
) - October 22 - Matilda Jane EvansMatilda Jane EvansMatilda Jane Evans was an Australian novelist, who wrote under the pseudonym Maud Jean Franc....
, novelist (b. 18271827 in literatureThe year 1827 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Samuel G. Goodrich publishes the first of the "Peter Parley" juvenile novels that would continue until 1860....
) - November 22 - Mary Chesnut, diarist (b. 18231823 in literatureThe year 1823 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Clement Clarke Moore's poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas introduces the character named "Santa Claus"....
) - December 12 - Johan Nicolai MadvigJohan Nicolai MadvigJohan Nicolai Madvig , was a Danish philologist and Kultus Minister.He was born on the island of Bornholm. He was educated at the classical school of Frederiksborg and the University of Copenhagen. In 1828 he became reader, and in 1829 professor of Latin language and literature at Copenhagen, and...
, philologist (b. 18041804 in literatureThe year 1804 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*John Keats' father dies from a fractured skull after falling from his horse.*Samuel Taylor Coleridge re-locates to Malta....
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