author

Percy Holmes Boynton

1875–1946

A longtime University of Chicago literature professor, he wrote lively, accessible criticism that helped readers make sense of American writing in the early twentieth century. His books often linked authors to the cultural moment around them, giving literary history a human scale.

1 Audiobook

A History of American Literature

A History of American Literature

by Percy Holmes Boynton

About the author

Born in Newark, New Jersey, on October 30, 1875, Percy Holmes Boynton studied at Amherst and Harvard before building a long academic career at the University of Chicago. University of Chicago records describe him as a member of the English faculty from the early 1900s until his retirement in 1941, and note that Amherst later awarded him a doctorate in literature.

Boynton is best remembered as a teacher, critic, and editor of American literature. Reference sources and library records connect him with books such as A History of American Literature, Some Contemporary Americans, More Contemporary Americans, and London in English Literature, along with editorial work on anthologies including American Poetry. His criticism aimed to be clear and readable, bringing major writers and literary movements into focus for students and general readers alike.

He died on July 8, 1946. Surviving records make his professional life much easier to trace than his personal image, and I could not confirm a suitable portrait from the sources available here.