author
J. G. (Josiah Gilbert) Holland
1819–1881
A bestselling 19th-century American man of letters, he moved easily between poetry, fiction, essays, and magazine work. He was especially known in his lifetime for blending moral seriousness with an accessible, popular style.
5 Audiobooks
Bitter-Sweet: A Poem
by J. G. (Josiah Gilbert) Holland
Sevenoaks: A Story of Today
by J. G. (Josiah Gilbert) Holland
The Mistress of the Manse
by J. G. (Josiah Gilbert) Holland
Lessons in Life; A Series of Familiar Essays
by J. G. (Josiah Gilbert) Holland
Kathrina—A Poem
by J. G. (Josiah Gilbert) Holland
About the author
Born in Belchertown, Massachusetts, in 1819, J. G. Holland trained as a physician before turning to writing and editing. He became a widely read American author whose work ranged across novels, poems, essays, and advice-oriented writing.
Holland built much of his career in journalism and publishing. He edited the Springfield Republican for a time, wrote books including The Bay Path, Arthur Bonnicastle, and Bitter Sweet, and later became one of the founding editors of Scribner’s Monthly, an important literary magazine of the era.
Although he is less widely read now than he was in his own day, Holland was a major literary presence in post–Civil War America. He died in 1881, leaving behind a body of work that reflects both the ambitions of 19th-century American literature and the tastes of a broad popular audience.