author
Brainard Gardner Smith
1846–1930
Best known for writing practical books on public speaking, this late-19th-century educator brought classroom clarity to the art of speaking well. He also appeared in collaborative fiction, showing a range that went beyond rhetoric manuals.
1 Audiobook
Eleven Possible Cases
by Frank R. Stockton, Edgar Fawcett, Franklin Fyles, Anna Katharine Green, Henry Harland, Ingersoll Lockwood, Joaquin Miller, Kirk Munroe, Brainard Gardner Smith, Maurice Thompson, A. C. (Andrew Carpenter) Wheeler
About the author
Brainard Gardner Smith was an American author and teacher active in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Reliable catalog and library records identify him as the author of Reading and Speaking, a guide to public speaking and vocal delivery that appeared in multiple editions and was aimed at helping readers speak with confidence and skill.
Sources available online also describe him as Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory at Hamilton College, and editions of Reading and Speaking name him as the Upson Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory there. Alongside his instructional writing, he was also a contributor to the multi-author volume Eleven Possible Cases.
Not every biographical detail is easy to verify today, but the picture that emerges is of a teacher-writer whose work was meant to be useful, direct, and encouraging. His surviving books still reflect that practical mission: to make speaking in public feel less mysterious and more learnable.