Henry Cuyler Bunner (August 3, 1855 – May 11, 1896) was an American novelist, journalist and poet.[1] He is known mainly for Tower of Babel.
Henry Cuyler Bunner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 3, 1855 Oswego, New York, United states of America |
| Died | May 11, 1896 (aged 40) Nutley, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupation |
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| Notable works | Zenobia's Infidelity The Tower of Babel |
| Spouse | Alice Learned |
Bunner's works have been praised by librarians for its "technical dexterity, playfulness and smoothness of finish".
Biography
editBunner was born on August 3, 1855, in Oswego, New York, to Rudolph Bunner Jr. (1813–1875) and Ruth Keating Tuckerman (1821–1896) and was educated in New York City.[2] His paternal grandparents were Rudolph Bunner (1779–1837) and Elizabeth Church (1783–1867), the daughter of John Barker Church (1748–1818) and Angelica Schuyler (1756–1814).
From being a clerk in an importing house, he turned to journalism, and after some work as a reporter, and on the staff of the Arcadian (1873), he became in 1877 assistant editor of the comic weekly Puck. He soon assumed the editorship, which he held until his death. He developed Puck from a new struggling periodical into a powerful social and political organ.[2]
In 1886, he published a novel, "The Midge", followed in 1887 by "The Story of a New York House". Other efforts in fiction were his short stories and sketches: "Short Sixes" (1891), "More Short Sixes" (1894), "Made in France" (1893), "Zadoc Pine and Other Stories" (1891), "Love in Old Cloathes and Other Stories" (1896), and "Jersey Street and Jersey Lane" (1896).[2] Among his poetic works "Airs from Arcady and Elsewhere,"[3] published in 1884 and including one of his best known poems, "The Way to Arcady"; "Rowen" (1892), and "Poems" (1896), edited by his friend Brander Matthews and displaying a light play of imagination and a delicate workmanship.[4] He also wrote clever vers de société and parodies. One of his several plays (usually written in collaboration) was The Tower of Babel (1883).[2]
His short story Zenobia's Infidelity was made into a feature film called Zenobia starring Harry Langdon and Oliver Hardy by the Hal Roach Studio in 1939.[citation needed]
Personal life
editBunner married Alice Learned (1863–1952), daughter of Joshua Coit Learned (1819–1892), and granddaughter of Joshua Coit (1758–1798), U.S. Representative from Connecticut. Together, they had:
- Rudolph Bunner (1887–1888), who died young
- Ruth Tuckerman Bunner (1890–1946), who married Harold Edwin Dimock (1884–1967) in 1917,[5] brother of Edith Dimock (1876–1955), the artist.
- Philip Schuyler Bunner (1892–1892), who died young
- Laurence H. Bunner (1894–1974)
Bunner died on May 11, 1896, in Nutley, New Jersey.
References
edit- ^ Treasure Trove: A Collection of ICSE Poems and Short Stories. New Delhi: Evergreen Publications (INDIA) Ltd. 2020. p. 7. ISBN 9789350637005.
- ^ a b c d One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bunner, Henry Cuyler". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 799.
- ^ Bunner, Henry Cuyler biography. Airs From Arcady and Elsewhere. Wentworth Press via Amazon.com. ISBN 1103763946.
- ^ Henry Cuyler Bunning profile, mypoeticside.com. Accessed March 14, 2024.
- ^ Fourth Estate: A Weekly Newspaper for Publishers, Advertisers, Advertising and Allied Interests. Fourth Estate Publishing Company. November 10, 1917. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
External links
edit
- Works by Henry Cuyler Bunner at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Henry Cuyler Bunner at the Internet Archive
- Works by Henry Cuyler Bunner at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- Some H. C. Bunner stories, including 'What Mrs. Fortescue Did' and 'Zenobia's Infidelity' are read in Mister Ron's Basement Podcast, now indexed for your convenience.
- The Best American Humorous Short Stories by H. C. Bunner et al. Project Gutenberg eBook
- H. C. Bunner at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
