author

John Hendricks Bechtel

b. 1841

A prolific late-19th-century compiler and educator, he is best remembered for practical reference and speech books meant to help ordinary readers speak and write with confidence. His work ranges from pronunciation and elocution to mythology and religious selections, showing a broad interest in self-improvement and learning.

1 Audiobook

Slips of Speech : a Helpful Book for Everyone Who Aspires to Correct the Everyday Errors of Speaking

Slips of Speech : a Helpful Book for Everyone Who Aspires to Correct the Everyday Errors of Speaking

by John Hendricks Bechtel

About the author

Born in 1841, John Hendricks Bechtel was an American author and compiler whose books were aimed at general readers, students, and speakers. Library and catalog records connect him with works such as Advanced Elocution, A Dictionary of Mythology, and Slips of Speech, suggesting a career centered on language, public speaking, and accessible reference material.

His books have a distinctly practical feel. Rather than writing narrowly for specialists, he appears to have focused on useful guides and collections that could help readers with pronunciation, expression, reading, and everyday correctness in speech. That makes his work a good fit for listeners interested in older educational writing and the self-help tradition of the late 1800s.

Reliable biographical detail about his personal life is limited in the sources I could confirm here, so this overview stays close to what his published record clearly shows: a versatile 19th-century writer whose surviving books reflect curiosity, instruction, and a strong belief in improving communication.