author
Edwin Percy Whipple
1819–1886
A sharp-eyed American essayist and critic, he helped shape 19th-century literary conversation with lively lectures and thoughtful reviews. His writing brought big ideas about books, culture, and character to a broad audience.
1 Audiobook
The Great Speeches and Orations of Daniel Webster With an Essay on Daniel Webster as a Master of English Style
by Daniel Webster, Edwin Percy Whipple
About the author
Born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, in 1819, Edwin Percy Whipple became known as an American essayist, reviewer, and lecturer. He grew up in Salem and developed an early love of reading, later building a reputation in Boston literary circles through criticism that was learned, clear, and energetic.
Whipple wrote for major periodicals and became especially well known for books such as Essays and Reviews, Literature and Life, and Character and Characteristic Men. Alongside his writing, he was a popular public speaker, admired for talks on literature and notable historical figures.
He died in 1886 in Massachusetts, but his work remains part of the tradition of 19th-century American literary criticism. Readers interested in classic essays, cultural commentary, and the literary world of his era may find him an engaging voice.