Thomas Mayne Reid

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Thomas Mayne Reid

Thomas Mayne Reid (born April 4, 1818 in Ballyroney, County Down , † October 22, 1883 in London ) was a British writer .

Life

After completing a degree in theology, Reid first became a commercial teacher. In search of adventure, he embarked for America in 1839 and landed in New Orleans , where he stayed until late summer 1840. When the yellow fever broke out there, he fled to St. Louis . There he and other men went on a hunt in the Wild West during the winter . In the following six years he led an erratic wandering life and worked, among other things, as a cook, stoker on a Mississippi steamer, construction worker, storekeeper and school teacher.

In 1843 he went to Philadelphia . His first publication appeared in 1842 in the Pittsburg Morning Chronicle under the pseudonym The Poor Scholar in verse form. He then took a trade caravan to Santa Fe, New Mexico . In the spring of 1846 he accepted a position as a correspondent for the New York Herald . When the Mexican-American War broke out in the summer of 1846 , Reid signed up as a war volunteer in the fall and became second lieutenant in the 1st New York Volunteer Regiment. He was also engaged as a war correspondent by the New York newspaper Spirit of the Times . He took part in the Battle of Chapultepec and suffered a serious hip injury on September 13, 1847. Shortly afterwards he was promoted to captain and discharged from the army on May 5, 1848.

Reid then worked again as a correspondent in Philadelphia. When the Baden insurgent leader Friedrich Hecker appeared in the United States in 1848 , he joined his movement and embarked for Europe. By the time he arrived in Liverpool in 1849, however, the revolution was largely crushed. He first went to Ireland and then settled in London.

In 1850 his first novel The Rifle Rangers ( The Snipers ) was published, which was enthusiastically received and translated into almost all European languages. A first version of this novel, in which Reid processed his war experiences, was published as a private print in New York in 1849. In 1851 he met 13-year-old Elizabeth Hyde, whom he married in 1853. In 1851 his second novel The Scalp-hunters ( Die Scalpjäger ) was published, which, like his first work, is based on his own experiences. It has been translated into all cultural languages ​​and is considered one of the most important Indian novels of the 19th century.

By the time he died, Reid left behind more than 80 novels and youth publications. Most of his other stories take place in America, the others in Africa, Asia and on the sea. In 1867 he began writing for The Little Times newspaper. In October of the same year he went to America with his wife. In 1868 he signed a contract with Beadle and Adams in New York for a series of dime novels that he wrote for nine years.

After he had to have his hip wound treated again in St. Luke Hospital in 1870, he returned to England. From 1874 he could only move on crutches. From 1881 to 1882 he published The Boy's Illustrated magazine. As his popularity as a writer was waning, he last ran an estate near Ross-on-Wye . After his death he was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery . Several novels and writings for young people were published from his estate. In Germany, too, Reid was one of the most popular adventure writers, whose works found acceptance in contemporary lending libraries.

Works

At the campfire, or Die Büffeljäger by Capitain Mayne Reid, author of "Die Scalpjäger", "Die Büchsenschützen" etc. Translated from the English by WG Dragulin. Three volumes. Leipzig, 1855. Published by Christian Ernst Kollmann (American Library 145).

literature

  • Heinrich Pleticha, Siegfried Augustin: Lexicon of adventure and travel literature from Africa to Winnetou. Edition Erdmann in K. Thienemanns Verlag, Stuttgart, Vienna, Bern 1999, ISBN 3 522 60002 9

Web links

Wikisource: Thomas Mayne Reid  - Sources and full texts
Commons : Thomas Mayne Reid  - Collection of images, videos and audio files