author
George William Curtis
1824–1892
A graceful 19th-century essayist and speaker, he brought literary polish to public debate while pushing for abolition, civil rights, and honest government. His work moves easily between travel writing, social commentary, and reform-minded journalism.
9 Audiobooks
Literary and Social Essays
by George William Curtis
Early Letters of George Wm. Curtis to John S. Dwight; Brook Farm and Concord
by George William Curtis
Prue and I
by George William Curtis
The Potiphar Papers
by George William Curtis
Trumps
by George William Curtis
From the Easy Chair, Volume 1
by George William Curtis
From the Easy Chair, Volume 3
by George William Curtis
Ars Recte Vivendi; Being Essays Contributed to "The Easy Chair"
by George William Curtis
From the Easy Chair, Volume 2
by George William Curtis
About the author
Born in Providence, Rhode Island, on February 24, 1824, George William Curtis became one of the best-known American men of letters of his era. Early in life he spent time at Brook Farm, the reform-minded Massachusetts community linked with Transcendentalist circles, and he later traveled in Europe, Egypt, and the Middle East—experiences that fed his writing and widened his public outlook.
Curtis built his reputation as an essayist, editor, lecturer, and orator. He wrote popular books including Nile Notes of a Howadji and The Potiphar Papers, and he became closely associated with Harper's Weekly, where his editorials and commentary reached a broad national audience. He was admired for a style that was elegant and witty, but also clear and accessible.
He is remembered not only as a writer but as a principled reformer. Curtis spoke forcefully against slavery, supported civil rights for African Americans, defended the rights of Native Americans, and became a leading advocate of civil service reform in the United States. He died on August 31, 1892, in Staten Island, New York, leaving behind a legacy that joins literary charm with public conscience.