author
William P. (William Peterfield) Trent
1862–1939
A leading American literary scholar of his era, this Virginia-born critic helped shape the study of English and American literature in universities and magazines alike. He is especially remembered for founding The Sewanee Review and for a long career at Columbia University.
1 Audiobook
A History of the United States
by Charles Kendall Adams, William P. (William Peterfield) Trent
About the author
Born in Richmond, Virginia, on November 10, 1862, William Peterfield Trent became an influential teacher, editor, and man of letters. He studied at the University of Virginia and Johns Hopkins University, then began his academic career at Sewanee: The University of the South, where he taught English and history.
While at Sewanee, he founded The Sewanee Review in 1892, a journal that would go on to have a long life in American literary culture. In 1900 he moved to Columbia University, where he served as professor of English literature for many years and built a reputation as a careful scholar and editor.
Trent wrote and edited a wide range of books, including literary criticism, biography, and large reference works. His career reflected a period when American universities were giving literature a more central place in higher education, and his work helped introduce generations of readers and students to major writers in English and American traditions. He died on December 7, 1939.