Browne, Charles (1834 - 1867)

Genre: General Fiction, Non-Fiction, Short Stories

Humorist/satirist Browne -- known popularly as Artemus Ward -- was born on April 26, 1834 in Waterford Flat, Maine, but lived most of his short life in Ohio, working as a columnist and writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. All of his writing was published under the name of Artemus Ward. Browne got to know Mark Twain while briefly, at a time when Browne was in his heyday and was able to offer encouragement to fellow-humorist Twain

Browne was the humorist and showman of his day, performing monologues on stage and writing books filled with comical misspellings. He lectured across the U.S. and overseas, dying of tuberculosis in Southampton, England, on Jan. 23, 1867 at the age of 33.

Selected Bibliography

  • Artmeus Ward, His Book (1862/1964)
  • Artemus Ward, His Travels (Pt I: Miscellaneous, Pt II: Among the Mormons) (1865/1981)
  • Artemus Ward Among the Fenians (1866)
  • Artemus Ward in London, and other papers (1867)
  • The Complete Works of Artemus Ward (1867/1970)
  • Artemus Ward's Panorama (as exhibited at the Egyptian Hall, London) (1869/1970, published by his executors; the British version was called Artemus Ward's Lecture (as delivered at the Egyptian Hall, London) and came out the same year)
  • Artemus Ward: Complete (1890)
  • Letters of Artemus Ward to Charles E. Wilson 1858-1861 (1900)
  • Artemus Ward's Best Stories (1912)
  • Selected Works of Artemus Ward (1924/1970)

Selected Resources

  • Artemus Ward (Charles Farrar Browne): A Biography and Bibliography, by Don Carlos Seitz (1919/1974)
  • Comic Relief: The Life and Laughter of Artemus Ward, by John Pullen (q.v.) (1983)
  • Papers may be found at the University of Virginia
  • Gutenberg Project text of all of the Artemus Ward books