The Oxford Companion to American Literature | O'Brien, Fitz-James
O'Brien, Fitz-James( c.1828–62), Irish-born journalist and author, came to the U.S. (c. 1852), where he was soon a conspicuous figure at Pfaff's Cellar and other New York bohemian rendezvous. Although he had previously contributed to Irish and English periodicals, his reputation is based on his writings for American journals, especially his rococo short stories dealing with psychological subjects reminiscent of Poe. The most notable of these, The Diamond Lens (Atlantic Monthly, Jan. 1858), tells of the inventor of a powerful microscope, who was enabled to see a sylph-like human being enclosed in a drop of water. After becoming obsessed by this fascinating creature, he went mad when she died. The Wondersmith and What Was It? were similar fantastic stories. O'Brien also wrote some plays and many commonplace verses. His most notable play was The Gentleman from Ireland (1854). He died from a wound received in a...
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