John Neal (writer)

This article is about the American writer. For the English football player and manager of the same name, see John Neal (footballer)

John Neal

John Neal (August 25, 1793 – June 20, 1876) was most notably an author and art/literary critic. He was also a man of diverse talents and objectives, many of which were pioneering in his day. His writing style was seminal in the new American style, whereby he refused to emulate British authors by writing strictly in a clean tone, instead writing more as he spoke and allowing his characters to speak gruffly, if the story called for it. However, his style was also undisciplined and often rambling, so despite their period significance, his literary work has drifted into obscurity. He was also an early women's rights advocate, prohibitionist, temperance advocate, accomplished lawyer, boxer, and architect.

Boyhood, Young Adulthood, and Early Business

Born on Free Street in Portland, Maine of Quaker parents, he attended school until the age of twelve whereupon he entered into business. For nine years he made a living as haberdasher, clerk, dry goods dealer, traveling penmanship tutor, and miniature artist, among other things, before entering law school in Baltimore, Maryland in 1815. It was to support himself while in school that he turned to the pen, writing for local periodicals. In short time, he turned to novels and poetry, publishing some six novels and two epic poems (under the pen name "Jehu O'Cataract") before leaving for England in 1824. He was proud of the expediency with which he threw off his volumes, often taking only a week to finish an entire novel.

English stint

John Neal's time in London (1824-1827) was a mission: to win recognition in Europe of American literature and demystify the land of his birth in the eyes of the British. He accomplished this by his work for Blackwood's Magazine, and one novel, published in England: Brother Jonathon, or the New Englanders. He wrote in his column for Blackwood's about American life and critiqued American authors. After a short trip to Paris, he returned to Portland, Maine.

Life back in Portland

When he returned to Portland in 1827, he was rather ill-received, as some of his writing, perhaps Errata (1823) in particular, was found particularly offensive by many there. Unbeknownst to his denouncers, his return to Portland was planned as merely a visit, but faced with such opposition, he decided to stay. In his autobiography, Wandering Recollections of a Somewhat Busy Life, he writes, “'Verily, verily,' said I, 'if they take that position, here I will stay, till I am both rooted and grounded – grounded in the graveyard, if nowhere else.'” Indeed he spent the rest of his life in Portland, re-establishing his law practice and a short-lived literary periodical called The Yankee. Through critique and encouragement, he lifted many an author or artist out of obscurity, among them Edgar Allan Poe, Benjamin Paul Akers, and Charles Codman. He maintained a solid physique into old age, reportedly throwing a stubborn cigar-smoker off a non-smoking trolley car at the age of 79.

Partial bibliography

• Keep Cool, 1817
• Battle of Niagara, 1818
• Goldau, or, the Maniac Helper, 1818
• Otho; a Tragedy in Five Acts, 1819
• Logan, 1822
• Seventy-six, 1823
• Randolph, 1823
• Errata, 1823
• Brother Jonathon, or the New Englanders, 1825
• Rachel Dyer, 1828
• Authorship, a Tale, 1830
• The Down-Easters, 1833
• One Word More, 1854
• True Womanhood. A Tale, 1859
• Wandering Recollections of a Somewhat Busy Life, 1869
• Great Mysteries and Little Plagues, 1870
• Portland Illustrated, 1874

References

• Windsor Dagget; A Down-East Yankee From the District of Maine; A.J. Huston, Publisher; 1920
• Neal, John; Wandering Recollections of a Somewhat Busy Life; Roberts Brothers, Publisher; 1869