J. Breckenridge (John Breckenridge) Ellis

Born in Kentucky in 1870, J. Breckenridge Ellis wrote novels, poems, and nonfiction, building a career that reached across several kinds of writing. He studied at St. Mary’s College in Kentucky and became known for books that often drew on history, faith, and cultural life in the Americas.

Ellis is especially remembered for historical novels and for work shaped by his Catholic conversion. His writing includes titles such as Garcilaso, and his interests in Latin America were not only literary: he also served in U.S. diplomatic posts, including appointments in Mexico and South America.

He died in 1956, leaving behind a body of work that reflects both a literary imagination and a life spent in conversation with religion, politics, and international culture.