author
M. (Maximilian) Schele de Vere
1820–1898
A Swedish-born scholar who built a long career at the University of Virginia, he wrote lively books on language, American culture, folklore, and the supernatural. His work moves easily between philology and popular history, making him an unusual and wide-ranging nineteenth-century voice.
1 Audiobook
Modern Magic
by M. (Maximilian) Schele de Vere
About the author
Born in Sweden in 1820, Maximilian Schele de Vere was educated in Europe before moving to the United States in the 1840s. He became a professor of modern languages at the University of Virginia and was also a founding member of the American Philological Society.
Alongside his academic career, he wrote extensively for general readers. His books explored subjects such as American English, place names, folklore, dreams, magic, and early American history, showing a curiosity that ranged well beyond the classroom.
Schele de Vere died in 1898, but his writing still offers a vivid glimpse of nineteenth-century scholarship at its most energetic and eclectic. Readers drawn to old studies of language, culture, and belief will find in his work a mix of learning, storytelling, and period charm.