Thomas Mayne Reid (4 April 1818 – 22 October 1883) was an Irish-American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...

, who fought in the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

(1846–1848). His many works on American life describe colonial policy in the American colonies, the horrors of slave labour and the lives of American Indians. "Captain" Reid wrote adventure novels akin to those by Frederick Marryat and

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as '' Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

, and set mainly in the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

, the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

, and

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

. He was an admirer of

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

Biography

Early years

Reid was born in Ballyroney, a hamlet near

Katesbridge Katesbridge is a small hamlet in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is within the townland of Shannaghan, just off the main route from Castlewellan to Banbridge, and 4.3 miles (7 km) north of Rathfriland. The River Bann flows by the hamlet. ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to th ...

, in present day

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

, the son of Rev. Thomas Mayne Reid Sr., who was a senior clerk of the

General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland is the sovereign and highest court of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, and is thus the Church's governing body. The General Assembly normally meets annually, during the first full wee ...

. His father wanted him to become a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

minister, and in September 1834 he enrolled at the

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

. He stayed for four years, but lacked motivation to complete his studies and graduate. He headed back to Ballyroney to teach at a school. In December 1839 Reid boarded the ''Dumfriesshire'', bound for

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, arriving in January 1840 and soon finding a job as a corn factor's clerk in the corn market. After six months in New Orleans, he is said to have left for refusing to whip slaves. Reid later used Louisiana as the setting of one of his successful books, an anti-slavery novel entitled ''The Quadroon''. Reid then travelled to

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

, where on a plantation near

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

he tutored the children of Dr. Peyton Robertson. Some twenty years later, Reid would make mid-Tennessee the setting for his novel ''The Wild Huntress''. After Robertson's death, Reid founded a short-lived school in Nashville. In 1841 he found work as a clerk for a provision dealer in either

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the county seat of and only city in Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 14,520 (as of the 2020 census). Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, ...

, or

Natchitoches, Louisiana Natchitoches ( ; french: link=no, Les Natchitoches) is a small city and the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was name ...

(the latter seems likelier). Although Reid later claimed to have made several trips West in this period, on which he purportedly based some of his novels, the evidence for this is sketchy and confusing at best.

Literary career

In late 1842 Reid arrived in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, where he began writing prose and poetry for the Pittsburgh ''Morning Chronicle'' under a pen-name, the Poor Scholar. He also apparently worked as a carrier for the paper. His earliest verifiable work is a series of epic poems called ''Scenes in the West Indies''. In early 1843, Reid moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

for three years, working as a journalist and periodically publishing poetry in ''

Godey's Lady's Book ''Godey's Lady's Book'', alternatively known as ''Godey's Magazine and Lady's Book'', was an American women's magazine that was published in Philadelphia from 1830 to 1878. It was the most widely circulated magazine in the period before the Civil ...

'', ''Graham's Magazine'', the ''Ladies National Magazine'' and elsewhere, still using his Pittsburgh pseudonym. There he met

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

, who became a drinking companion for a time. Poe would later call Reid "a colossal but most picturesque liar. He fibs on a surprising scale but with the finish of an artist, and that is why I listen to him attentively." When the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the ...

began in the spring of 1846, Reid worked as a correspondent for the ''New York Herald'' in Newport, Rhode Island, which would likewise be the setting for a novel. At the time added the pen-name Ecolier to the Poor Scholar. On 23 November 1846, Reid joined the First New York Volunteer Infantry as a second lieutenant, leaving by ship with the regiment in January 1847. They camped for several weeks at Lobos Island before joining Major General Winfield Scott's invasion of Central Mexico, which began on 9 March at Vera Cruz. Reid as Ecolier was a correspondent for a New York paper, ''Spirit of the Times'', which published his ''Sketches by a Skirmisher''. On 13 September, at the

Battle of Chapultepec The Battle of Chapultepec was a battle between American forces and Mexican forces holding the strategically located Chapultepec Castle just outside Mexico City, fought 13 September 1847 during the Mexican–American War. The building, sitting ...

, Reid received a severe thigh wound while leading a charge. He was afterward promoted to first lieutenant for bravery in battle. On 5 May 1848 he resigned his commission and in July returned to New York with his regiment. ''Love's Martyr'', Reid's first play, was staged at the

Walnut Street Theater The Walnut Street Theatre, founded in 1809 at 825 Walnut Street, on the corner of S. 9th Street in the Washington Square West neighborhood of Philadelphia, is the oldest operating theatre in the United States. The venue is operated by the Walnu ...

, Philadelphia, for five nights in October 1848. He published ''War Life'', an account of his army service, on 27 June 1849. Learning of the Bavarian Revolution, Reid headed for England to volunteer, but after the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

crossing changed his mind and went home to Ireland instead. He soon moved to London and in 1850 published his first novel, ''The Rifle Rangers''. This was followed by ''The Scalp Hunters'' (1851; dedicated to Commodore Edwin W. Moore, whom he met in 1841), ''The Desert Home'' (1852), and ''The Boy Hunters'' (1853). The last, set in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

, was a "juvenile scientific travelogue" that become a favourite with young

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

, who became a Reid fan. That year Reid married 15-year-old Elizabeth Hyde, daughter of his publisher, G. W. Hyde, an English aristocrat. After time off with his new bride, Reid returned to writing. He continued to base his novels on his adventures in America. Several more were successful: ''The White Chief'' (1855), ''The Quadroon'' (1856), ''Osceola'' (1858) and ''

The Headless Horseman The Headless Horseman is a fictional character that appears in many venues. Headless Horseman may also refer to: * Headless Horseman ("Legend of Sleepy Hollow"), a character in the 1820 short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irvi ...

'' (1865). He spent money freely, including building in Gerrards Cross,

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

, a sprawling "Rancho", a reproduction of a Mexican

hacienda An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman '' latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchard ...

he had seen during the Mexican–American War, where he took to farming. This extravagance led to

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debto ...

in November 1866, from which he was discharged in January 1867. That October he left London for

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

, hoping to repeat his past success in the U.S.. He went back to New York in 1867 and founded the ''Onward Magazine'' there.Open Source Books
Internet Archive. Accessed 14 July 2007.

Last years

Reid lectured at

Steinway Hall Steinway Hall (German: ) is the name of buildings housing concert halls, showrooms and sales departments for Steinway & Sons pianos. The first Steinway Hall was opened in 1866 in New York City. Today, Steinway Halls and are located in cities such ...

in New York and published the novel ''The Helpless Hand'' in 1868, but America proved less kind than earlier. His wound at Chapultepec started to bother him and he was hospitalized for several months at St Luke in 1870. His wife hated America. After his hospital discharge they returned to England on 22 October 1870, to live at

Ross on Wye Ross-on-Wye ( Welsh: ''Rhosan ar Wy'') is a market town in England, near the border with Wales. It had a population of 10,582 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 11,309 in 2019. It lies in south-eastern Herefordshire, on the River Wye an ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouths ...

. Reid continued to write stories in England and reworked some earlier novels. "The Death Shot" was published in the

Penny Illustrated Paper The ''Penny Illustrated Paper'' was a cheap ( 1d.) illustrated London weekly newspaper that ran from 1861 to 1913. Premises Illustrated weekly newspapers had been pioneered by the ''Illustrated London News'' (published from 1842, costing fivepe ...

. In October 1874, an abscess formed on the knee of his wounded leg, leaving him unable to walk without crutches. He was joint editor with John Latey of ''The Boys' Illustrated News'' for ten months from 6 April 1881 and wrote for it "The Lost Mountain; a Tale of Sonora." About this time Reid's invention began to flag and he lost popularity, so that he turned to farming near Ross in Herefordshire, although he continued to write. His last novel, ''No Quarter'', set in the Parliamentary wars, and his last boys' book, ''The Land of Fire'', were published after his death on 22 October 1883. He was buried in

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederick ...

, now part of London. His tombstone quotes from ''The Scalp Hunters'': "This is 'weed prairie'; it is misnamed: It is the Garden of God."

Influence and legacy

Books such as the ''Young Voyagers'' had great popularity, especially with boys. His tales of the American West were also popular with children across Europe and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. Many became popular in Polish or Russian translation, including ''The Rifle Rangers'' (1850), ''Scalp Hunters'' (1851), ''Boy Hunters'' (1853), ''War Trail'' (1851), ''Boy Tar'' (1859), and ''Headless Horseman'' (1865/6).

Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Bor ...

recalled ''

'' as a favourite adventure novel of his childhood years – "which had given him a vision of the prairies and the great open spaces and the overarching sky." At 11, Nabokov even translated ''The Headless Horseman'' into

French alexandrine The French alexandrine (french: alexandrin) is a syllabic poetic metre of (nominally and typically) 12 syllables with a medial caesura dividing the line into two hemistichs (half-lines) of six syllables each. It was the dominant long line of Fren ...

Alexander Bek Alexander Alfredovich Bek (russian: Алекса́ндр Альфре́дович Бек; 2 November 1972), sometimes transliterated from the Russian Cyrillic as Aleksandr Bek or Anglicized to Alexander Beck, was a Soviet novelist and writer. Biog ...

mentions the well-read K. K. Rokossovky, future

Marshal of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union (russian: Маршал Советского Союза, Marshal sovetskogo soyuza, ) was the highest military rank of the Soviet Union. The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in 19 ...

, referring to Reid's work in early 1942. The Polish writer

Czesław Miłosz Czesław Miłosz (, also , ; 30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. Regarded as one of the great poets of the 20th century, he won the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature. In its citation, ...

cites Russian translations of Reid as well-remembered early reading matter, which allowed him to learn Russian and the Cyrillic alphabet. A chapter on Reid appears in his essay collection ''Emperor of the Earth'' (1976).

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

in ''Island, a Journey to Sakhalin'' (1893–94) mentions "Mayne Reid" in Chapter 10: "The morose, angry sea has spread itself boundlessly for thousands of versts. When a little boy has been reading Mayne Reid and his blanket falls off during the night, he starts shivering, and it is than that he dreams of such a sea." United States President

, in his autobiography, credits Reid with being a major early inspiration. The shy, asthmatic aristocrat, Teddy Roosevelt, would grow up to pursue naturalistic zoology and adventure travel. Russell Miller, in his biography of

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

, credits Reid as one of Conan Doyle's favourite childhood authors and a great influence on his writings. Although Reid called himself and is listed often as Captain, Francis B. Heitman's definitive ''Historical Register and Dictionary of the U.S. Army'' only shows him as a lieutenant.

Bibliography

Reid wrote about 75 novels and many short stories and sketches. *''The Rifle Rangers; or, Adventures in Southern Mexico'' (1850) *''The Scalp Hunters: A Romance of the Plain'' (1851) *''The Desert Home: The Adventures of a Lost Family in the Wilderness'' (1851) *''The Forest Exiles; or, The Perils of a Peruvian Family Amid the Wilds of the Amazon'' (1852) *''The White Chief; A Legend of North Mexico'' (1855) *''The Boy Hunters, or, Adventures in Search of a White Buffalo'' (1853) *''The Hunter's Feast; or, Conversations Around the Camp-fire'' (1856) *''The Bush Boys: History and Adventures of a Cape Farmer and His Family'' (1856) *''The Quadroon: or, A Lover's Adventures in Louisiana: in 3 volumes'' (1856) *''The War-trail: or, The Hunt of the Wild Horse; a Romance of the Prairie'' (1857) *''The Young Yagers, or, A Narrative of Hunting Adventures in Southern Africa'' (1857) *''The Plant Hunters; or, Adventures Among the Himalaya Mountains'' (1858) *''Osceola the Seminole, or, The Red Fawn of the Flower Land'' (1858) *''Wild Life; or, Adventures on the Frontier'' (1859) *''Odd People; or, Singular Races of Man'' (1860) *''The Lone Ranch'' (1860) *''The Scalp Hunters'' (1860) *''Bruin: The Great Bear Hunt'' (1860) *''The Lone Ranch: A Tale of the Staked Plain'' (1860) *''The Wild Huntress; or, The Big Squatter's Vengeance'' (1861) *''The Maroon: A Tale of Voodoo and Obeah'' (1862) *''Croquet'' (1863) *''The Cliff Climbers'' (1864) *''The Boy Slaves'' (1865) *''The Ocean Waifs: A Story of Adventure on Land and Sea'' (Ticknor and Fields, 1865) *''

'' (1866) *''The Giraffe Hunters'' (1867) *''Afloat in The Forest; or A Voyage Among the Tree-Tops'' (1867) *''The White Squaw'' (1868) *''The Headless Horseman: A Strange Story of Texas'' (1868) *''The Helpless Hand: A Tale of Backwoods Retribution'' (1868) *''The Planter Pirate: A Souvenir of Mississippi'' (1868) *"The Child Wife: A Tale of Two Worlds" (1869) *'' The Yellow Chief: A Romance of the Rocky Mountains'' (1869) *''The Fatal Cord'' (1869) *''The Castaways: A Story of Adventure in the Wilds of Borneo'' (1870) *''The Vee-Boers: A Tale of Adventure in Southern Africa'' (1870) *''The Finger of Fate'' (1872) *''The Death Shot; or, Tracked to Death'' (1873) *''The Cuban Patriot, or, The Beautiful Creole: An Episode of the Cuban Revolution'' (1873) *''The Death Shot'' (1874) *''The Giraffe Hunters'' (1876) *''The Flag of Distress, or A Story of the South Sea'' (1876) *''Gwen Wynn; A Romance of the Wye'' (1877) *''The Man-Eaters'' (1878) *''The Specter Barque: A Tale of the Pacific'' (1879) *''The Captain of the Rifles; or, The Queen of the Lakes: A Romance of the Mexican Valley'' (1879) *''The Land Pirates, or, The League of Devil's Island: A Tale of the Mississippi'' (1879) *''The Ocean Hunters, or, The Chase of the Leviathan: A Romance of Perilous Adventure'' (1881) *''Blue Dick, or, The Yellow Chief's Vengeance: A Romance of the Rocky Mountains'' (1883) *''The Hunters' Feast'' (serial 1854, book 1883) *''Gaspar, the Gaucho, or, Lost on the Pampas: A Tale of the Gran Chaco'' (1883) *''The Island Pirate: A Tale of the Mississippi'' (1884) *''The Land of Fire: A Tale of Adventure'' (1885) *''The Lost Mountain: A Tale of Sonora'' (1885) *''The Free Lances: A Romance of the Mexican Valley'' (1888) *''The Tiger Hunter: A Hero in Spite of Himself'' (1889) *''No Quarter!'' (1890) *''The White Gauntlet'' (1892) *''The Guerilla Chief and Other Tales'' *''The Bandolero, A Marriage among the Mountains'' *''The Boy Tar'' *''The Child Wife'' *''Ran Away to Sea'' (1857 : George Routledge and Sons)( *''Wood Rangers: The Trappers of Sonora'' *''The Young Voyageurs: Boy Hunters in the North'' (1854)

References

External links

Resources
''"Reid, Captain Mayne"'' Bio
- at the

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...

Libraries
Captain (Thomas) Mayne Reid
- Bio and selected free ebooks - at Athelstane
Mayne Reid Manuscripts, c. 1866, U. of North Carolina, Greensboro
*
''"Literary History American West"''
(PDF 8.7mb) - at

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Discipl ...

Sources * * *
Works by Mayne Reid
at Manybooks.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Thomas Mayne 1818 births 1883 deaths 19th-century American novelists American expatriates in England American male novelists Irish novelists Irish male writers People from County Down Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) American military personnel of the Mexican–American War 19th-century American male writers Children's writers from Northern Ireland