author
James Dabney McCabe
1842–1883
A prolific 19th-century American writer, he turned major public events into vivid, fast-moving books for a broad audience. His work ranged from history and biography to travel writing, journalism, poetry, and plays.
3 Audiobooks
The Secrets of the Great City A Work Descriptive of the Virtues and the Vices, the Mysteries, Miseries and Crimes of New York City
by James Dabney McCabe
Great Fortunes, and How They Were Made
by James Dabney McCabe
Lights and Shadows of New York Life or, the Sights and Sensations of the Great City
by James Dabney McCabe
About the author
Born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1842, James Dabney McCabe Jr. became a remarkably productive author whose books helped popular readers make sense of the turbulent decades around and after the Civil War. He also wrote under the pseudonym Edward Winslow Martin.
McCabe published widely on history, current events, and public life, with works on riots, disasters, the Centennial era, and the travels of Ulysses S. Grant. Sources describe him as the author of more than 30 works, and his surviving papers suggest a career deeply tied to journalism and popular nonfiction.
He died in 1883, still relatively young, but left behind a large body of writing that captures the interests and anxieties of late 19th-century America. For listeners drawn to older narrative history and energetic period reportage, his books offer a lively window into the age that produced them.