author
James A. Porter
1836–1897
A Civil War bugler and bandmaster who later taught music in several Ohio towns, he turned to fiction after retiring from the classroom. His best-known work, A Prince of Anahuac (1894), blends storytelling with a historical imagination.
1 Audiobook
A Prince of Anahuac: A Histori-traditional Story Antedating the Aztec Empire
by James A. Porter
About the author
Born around 1836 in Bellefontaine, Ohio, he served in the U.S. Civil War as a bugler and bandmaster. After the war, he worked as a music teacher in Galion, Urbana, and Greenville, building a career in music before moving into literary work later in life.
After retiring from teaching, he wrote A Prince of Anahuac: A Histori-Traditional Story, published in Galion, Ohio, in 1894. The novel appears to be the work for which he is chiefly remembered today.
He died on January 13, 1897. Reliable sources found during this search confirm the broad outline of his life and career, but few personal details seem to have survived, which gives his single known novel an even stronger sense of historical curiosity.