1868 | Literature
Literature
Nonfiction: Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (first complete edition, edited by John Bigelow) is published at Philadelphia and London. Franklin began the work in 1771 as a letter to his son William but died in 1790 without having finished it (see 1791); The American Beaver and His Works by anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan; Les Secrets de la prestidigitation et de la magie by Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, now 62, who gives step-by-step lessons.
Fiction: The Idiot (Idiot) by Fedor Dostoievski; The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins; Foul Play by Charles Reade and actor-playwright Dion Boucicault exposes the frauds responsible for the "coffin ships" that endanger the lives of seamen; "The Luck of Roaring Camp" by Overland Monthly editor (Francis) Bret Harte, 32, at San Francisco.
Poetry: Verses on Various Occasions by John Henry Newman, who includes his 1866 poem "The Dream of Gerontius"; The Voice of an Exile (La Voix d'un exile) by French-Canadian poet Louis-Honoré Fréchette, 28, who went to Chicago 2 years ago after being discharged from his journalist position for his liberal views (his verses idealize the French republic and attack the clerical and political dealings in his native Quebec Province); Specimens by Indiana-born Oregon poet Joaquin (originally Cincinnatus Hiner, or Heine) Miller, 31, who went west with his family, settled at Eugene about 16 years ago, made some money operating a pony express station, and in 1863 acquired the local newspaper, in which he published an article defending the legendary California outlaw Joaquín Murieta.
Juvenile: Elsie Dinsmore by Chillicothe, Ohio-born author Martha Farquharson (Finley), 40, who has written Sunday-school books and stories for New York and Philadelphia newspapers but taken up writing children's books to support herself after sustaining a debilitating injury. She will write the seven-volume Mildred series and the 12-volume Pewit's Nest series plus 27 more Elsie novels.