author
Laurence Hutton
1843–1904
Best known as a literary critic and essayist, he brought books and theater to life for magazine readers in the late 19th century. His curiosity ranged far beyond reviewing, from travel and collecting to preserving literary and theatrical history.
4 Audiobooks
Literary Landmarks of Venice
by Laurence Hutton
A Boy I Knew and Four Dogs
by Laurence Hutton
Portraits in Plaster, from the Collection of Laurence Hutton
by Laurence Hutton
Curiosities of the American Stage
by Laurence Hutton
About the author
Born in New York City in 1843, Laurence Hutton became an American essayist, critic, editor, and lecturer whose writing reached a wide audience. He wrote for periodicals from an early age, served as dramatic critic for the New York Evening Mail, and later became literary editor of Harper's Magazine's "Literary Notes" department from 1886 to 1898.
Hutton was known for turning his broad interests into lively books and essays. He wrote on literature, the stage, travel, and social history, and he was especially drawn to literary personalities and the physical traces they left behind. That interest helped make him a notable collector, including a well-known collection of life and death masks associated with famous writers, artists, and public figures.
In his later years he was closely connected with Princeton, receiving an honorary M.A. in 1897 and serving as a lecturer in English from 1901 until his death in 1904. Remembered as both a man of letters and an enthusiastic cultural historian, he left behind a body of work that reflects the reading life of his era and a lasting archive of the people who shaped it.