author
Charles Wyllys Elliott
1817–1883
An American writer and editor with wide-ranging interests, he moved easily from early New England history to landscape design, decorative arts, and supernatural lore. His books reflect a 19th-century curiosity about both the nation’s past and the look of everyday life.
2 Audiobooks
St. Domingo, its revolution and its hero, Toussaint Louverture.
by Charles Wyllys Elliott
Pottery and Porcelain, from early times down to the Philadelphia exhibition of 1876
by Charles Wyllys Elliott
About the author
Born in Guilford, Connecticut, on May 27, 1817, Charles Wyllys Elliott was an American author, historian, and editor. Reference works describe him as a novelist and historian, and record that he died on August 23, 1883.
His writing covered an unusually broad range of subjects. He published works on American history, including The New England History and a study of Toussaint Louverture and the revolution in St. Domingo. He also prepared The Book of American Interiors and wrote Pottery and Porcelain, from early times down to the Philadelphia exhibition of 1876, showing a strong interest in architecture, design, and the decorative arts.
Biographical notices also say that after time in mercantile life in New York, he studied horticulture and landscape gardening. That mix of practical experience and literary ambition helps explain the variety of his books: they often bring together history, taste, and a lively interest in how people shape the world around them.