Edwin Percy Whipple

author

Edwin Percy Whipple

1819–1886

A sharp, influential American essayist and literary critic, he helped shape 19th-century reading tastes through lively lectures and widely read reviews. His work brought together literary judgment, moral seriousness, and an accessible style that reached well beyond academic circles.

1 Audiobook

The Great Speeches and Orations of Daniel Webster

The Great Speeches and Orations of Daniel Webster

by Daniel Webster, Edwin Percy Whipple

About the author

Born on March 8, 1819, in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Edwin Percy Whipple became known as an American essayist, literary critic, and public lecturer. He built a reputation in Boston literary life through criticism that was both energetic and readable, helping introduce broad audiences to major writers and ideas.

Whipple wrote essays and reviews for leading periodicals and published books that gathered his thoughts on literature and public life. He was especially admired for his gift as a speaker, and his lectures made him a familiar figure in the cultural world of his time.

He died on June 16, 1886. Remembered for clear, spirited criticism rather than dry scholarship, he remains a notable voice in 19th-century American literary culture.