author
M. Russell (Martin Russell) Thayer
1819–1906
A 19th-century lawyer, judge, congressman, and occasional poet, he wrote with the mix of public purpose and literary curiosity that marked much of his work. His books range from legal and political addresses to verses and translations published late in life.
1 Audiobook
The Great Victory—Its Cost and Its Value Address delivered at Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, July 4th, 1865
by M. Russell (Martin Russell) Thayer
About the author
Born in Virginia in 1819 and later active in Philadelphia, Martin Russell Thayer built a long career in law and public service. Reliable reference sources identify him as an American lawyer and politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania during the Civil War era, and records of his published works show that he also wrote under the name M. Russell Thayer.
His writing reflects those parallel lives. Surviving editions and library records connect him with speeches, legal and historical addresses, and political pamphlets, as well as later literary work including Verses and Translations: Stolen by the Author from His Leisure Hours from 1905. That range makes him an interesting figure for listeners who enjoy authors whose books grew out of public life rather than a purely literary career.
Thayer died in 1906. While he is remembered chiefly for his legal and political work, the record of his publications suggests a writer who kept returning to ideas, argument, and language throughout his life.