author
John Ames Mitchell
1845–1918
A sharp-eyed satirist of Gilded Age America, he helped found the original Life magazine and brought a cartoonist’s wit to his fiction. His work blends social comedy, visual flair, and a playful skepticism about modern life.
7 Audiobooks
The Pines of Lory
by John Ames Mitchell
The Last American A Fragment from the Journal of Khan-li, Prince of Dimph-yoo-chur and Admiral in the Persian Navy
by John Ames Mitchell
La lasta Usonano
by John Ames Mitchell
The Last American A Fragment from The Journal of Khan-li, Prince of Dimph-Yoo-Chur and Admiral in the Persian Navy
by John Ames Mitchell
Some Artists at the Fair
by Francis Davis Millet, W. Hamilton (William Hamilton) Gibson, Will H. (Will Hicok) Low, John Ames Mitchell, Francis Hopkinson Smith
Amos Judd
by John Ames Mitchell
Drowsy
by John Ames Mitchell
About the author
Born in New York City in 1845, John Ames Mitchell was an American publisher, artist, architect, and novelist. He is best remembered as the co-founder, editor, and publisher of the original Life magazine, launched in 1883 as a humor and general-interest weekly. Alongside his editorial work, he also contributed artwork and wrote fiction.
Mitchell studied architecture at Harvard and in Paris before turning toward publishing and illustration. That mix of training helps explain the look of his books and magazine work: they often feel carefully designed as well as sharply observed. He wrote several novels, including The Last American, a satirical future-history tale that remained one of his best-known books.
He died in 1918, but his career still stands out for its range. He moved easily between writing, drawing, editing, and design, and that versatility gives his work a lively, distinctive personality even now.