author
John L. Stephens
1805–1852
Best known for vivid travel books that introduced many readers to the ancient Maya world, this nineteenth-century American writer combined sharp observation with a gift for adventure storytelling. His journeys with artist Frederick Catherwood helped make ruined cities in Central America and Mexico newly visible to a wide public.
4 Audiobooks
Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, Vol. II.
by John L. Stephens
Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, Vol. I.
by John L. Stephens
Incidents of Travel in Greece, Turkey, Russia, and Poland, Vol. 1 (of 2)
by John L. Stephens
Incidents of Travel in Greece, Turkey, Russia, and Poland, Vol. 2 (of 2)
by John L. Stephens
About the author
Born in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, in 1805, he trained as a lawyer in New York before turning to travel and writing. Early journeys through Europe and the Middle East fed the lively, accessible style that made his travel books popular with general readers.
He is most closely associated with his expeditions in Central America and Mexico in 1839–1840 and 1841–1842, when he traveled with the artist and architect Frederick Catherwood. Their work brought major Maya sites such as Copán and Palenque to broad public attention, and his books Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatán and Incidents of Travel in Yucatán became especially influential.
He also served as a diplomat and later became involved in the planning of the Panama Railroad. He died in New York in 1852, but his writing remained an important bridge between travel literature and the early popular study of ancient American civilizations.