author
Charles Fenno Hoffman
1806–1884
A lively voice in early American letters, he moved easily among poetry, fiction, and magazine editing in New York’s Knickerbocker circle. His work is often remembered for its polished songs, frontier travel writing, and energetic role in literary journalism.
1 Audiobook
The Man in the Reservoir
by Charles Fenno Hoffman
About the author
Born in New York City in 1806, Charles Fenno Hoffman became an American author, poet, and editor closely associated with the Knickerbocker Group. He studied at Columbia, trained in law, and was admitted to the bar, but literature and journalism soon became the center of his career.
Hoffman wrote poetry, fiction, and travel books, and he helped shape the literary culture of his time through editorial work. Sources consulted agree that he founded the Knickerbocker Magazine and later edited the Literary World; he is also noted for popular songs and poems as well as works such as A Winter in the West and the novel Greyslaer.
Later accounts of his life note that he suffered a mental collapse in 1849 and spent the rest of his life in retirement. He died in 1884, leaving behind the record of a writer who was not only productive on the page but also deeply involved in the magazine world that helped define nineteenth-century American literature.