author

Pliny Miles

1818–1865

An American writer, lecturer, and memory-system enthusiast, he ranged widely from poetry and educational manuals to one of the earliest English-language travel books on Iceland. His work has a lively nineteenth-century curiosity, mixing practical instruction with a taste for unusual subjects.

1 Audiobook

Norðurfari; or, Rambles in Iceland

Norðurfari; or, Rambles in Iceland

by Pliny Miles

About the author

Born in 1818 and dying in 1865, Pliny Miles was an American author best remembered today for the unusual range of his books. Surviving catalog records connect him with works such as The Sentiments of Flowers in Rhyme (1848), Mnemotechny, or the Art of Memory, and Norðurfari; or, Rambles in Iceland.

Miles seems to have had a special interest in systems of learning and recall. His writing on mnemotechnics shows him trying to make knowledge easier to remember, while his poetry and educational titles suggest a writer interested in both instruction and entertainment.

He is also notable as an early English-language writer on Iceland. Norðurfari points to a strong curiosity about travel, landscape, and culture, giving his work a broader reach than that of a specialist schoolbook author. I couldn't confirm a reliable portrait image for him from the sources I checked, so no profile image is included.