author
James Thomas Fields
1817–1881
A lively force in 19th-century American literary life, he helped shape what readers found on their shelves as both a publisher and a writer. Best remembered for his work with Ticknor and Fields, he moved easily between business, editing, poetry, and friendship with many of the era’s major authors.
1 Audiobook
Yesterdays with Authors
by James Thomas Fields
About the author
Born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1817, James T. Fields went to Boston as a young man and learned the book trade early. He became one of the best-known publishers in the United States, eventually helping lead the firm of Ticknor and Fields, a major presence in American literary culture.
Fields was more than a businessman. He was also an editor, essayist, and poet, and he became especially associated with The Atlantic Monthly. His publishing career brought him into contact with many leading writers of the 19th century, and he earned a reputation for warmth, sociability, and a genuine enthusiasm for literature.
He died in Boston in 1881, but his name remains closely tied to the world of American books in an era when publishing was becoming a powerful cultural force. For listeners interested in the literary life behind the page, Fields offers a glimpse of the editor and publisher as a creative figure in his own right.