author
George William Curtis
1824–1892
A graceful 19th-century essayist and speaker, he used his pen and public voice to argue for abolition, civil service reform, public education, and equal rights. His work blends literary charm with a steady belief that public life could be more honest and humane.
9 Audiobooks
Prue and I
by George William Curtis
Early Letters of George Wm. Curtis to John S. Dwight; Brook Farm and Concord
by George William Curtis
Literary and Social Essays
by George William Curtis
The Potiphar Papers
by George William Curtis
From the Easy Chair, Volume 1
by George William Curtis
Trumps
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, in 1824, George William Curtis became one of the best-known American essayists, editors, and lecturers of his time. Early in life he spent time at Brook Farm and near Concord, where he moved in the orbit of Ralph Waldo Emerson and other transcendentalist thinkers, experiences that helped shape both his literary voice and his reforming spirit.
Curtis first drew wide attention through travel writing based on journeys in Europe, Egypt, and the Middle East, and he later became closely associated with Harper's Weekly and Harper's Magazine. As a writer and public speaker, he was admired for a polished, conversational style that made serious ideas feel lively and accessible.
He is remembered not only as a man of letters but also as a committed reformer. Curtis spoke for the abolition of slavery, supported civil rights for African Americans and Native Americans, backed women's suffrage and public education, and became a leading advocate of civil service reform. He died in 1892, leaving a reputation for linking literature with civic conscience.