Henry Cuyler Bunner (August 3, 1855 – May 11, 1896) was an American novelist, journalist and poet. He is known mainly for ''Tower of Babel''. Bunner's works have been praised by librarians for its "technical dexterity, playfulness and smoothness of finish".

Biography

Bunner was born on August 3, 1855, in

Oswego, New York Oswego () is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Oswego is situated at the mouth of the Oswego River (New York), Osw ...

, to Rudolph Bunner Jr. (1813–1875) and Ruth Keating Tuckerman (1821–1896) and was educated in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. 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. 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). Among his poetic works ''Airs from Arcady and Elsewhere'', 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 James Brander Matthews (February 21, 1852 – March 31, 1929) was an American academic, writer and literary critic. He was the first full-time professor of dramatic literature at Columbia University in New York and played a significant role in est ...

and displaying a light play of imagination and a delicate workmanship. He also wrote clever ''

vers de société Vers may refer to: Places in France * Vers, Haute-Savoie, a commune in the Haute-Savoie ''département'' * Vers, Lot, a commune in the Lot ''département'' * Vers, Saône-et-Loire, a commune in the Saône-et-Loire ''département'' * Vers-e ...

'' and parodies. One of his several plays (usually written in collaboration) was ''The Tower of Babel'' (1883). His short story "Zenobia's Infidelity" was made into a feature film called ''

Zenobia Septimia Zenobia (Greek: Ζηνοβία, Palmyrene Aramaic: , ; 240 – c. 274) was a third-century queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria. Many legends surround her ancestry; she was probably not a commoner, and she married the ruler of the ...

'' starring

Harry Langdon Henry Philmore "Harry" Langdon (June 15, 1884 – December 22, 1944) was an American actor and comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films (where he had his greatest fame), and talkies.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', December 27 ...

and

Oliver Hardy Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his ...

by the

Hal Roach Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr. Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director and screenwriter, ...

Studio in 1939.

Personal life

Bunner married Alice Learned (1863–1952), daughter of Joshua Coit Learned (1819–1892), and granddaughter of

Joshua Coit Joshua Coit (October 7, 1758 – September 5, 1798) was an eighteenth-century American lawyer and politician. He served as a United States Representative from Connecticut. Early life and career Coit was born in New London in the Connecticut Col ...

(1758–1798),

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. Together, they had: * Rudolph Bunner (1887–1888) * Ruth Tuckerman Bunner (1890–1946), who married Harold Edwin Dimock (1884–1967) in 1917, brother of

Edith Dimock Edith Dimock (February 16, 1876 – October 28, 1955) was an American painter. Her work was exhibited at the 1913 Armory Show in New York. She married fellow artist, William Glackens, but continued to use her maiden name professionally after th ...

(1876–1955), the artist. * Philip Schuyler Bunner (1892–1892) * Laurence H. Bunner (1894–1974) Bunner died on May 11, 1896, in

Nutley, New Jersey Nutley is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 30,143, an increase of 1,773 (+6.2%) from the 2010 United ...

References

External links

* * *
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 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bunner, Henry 1855 births 1896 deaths Schuyler family People from Nutley, New Jersey People from Oswego, New York 19th-century American novelists 19th-century American poets American male novelists American male poets 19th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) Writers from Essex County, New Jersey