author
William A. McDermott
1863–1913
A late-19th-century American man of letters, he wrote with affection about books, writers, and the meeting point of literature and Catholic culture. His work has a warm, conversational feel that suits readers who enjoy literary sketches as much as stories.
1 Audiobook
Down at Caxton's
by William A. McDermott
About the author
William A. McDermott (1863–1913) was an American author remembered today for books including Down at Caxton's (1895), Pere Monnier's Ward (1898), and Birds and Books (1899). Surviving library and public-domain records consistently identify him with those dates and titles, even though detailed biographical information about his life appears to be scarce online.
His best-known work, Down at Caxton's, is a collection of literary sketches centered on American writers, with a clear interest in Catholic authors and the wider world of letters. Birds and Books shows another side of his writing, pairing literary interests with observations on birds and book collecting.
Because so little firmly sourced personal history is easy to confirm, he is best introduced through his books: a writer from the turn of the century who moved comfortably between criticism, fiction, and reflective essays. For modern listeners, that gives his work a distinctive charm—learned but approachable, and deeply interested in reading as a way of life.