American Literature: Biographies

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Newell, Robert Henry

The Oxford Companion to American Literature | 1995 | | Copyright

Newell, Robert Henry (1836–1901), New York journalist and humorist, best known for his comic treatment of contemporary matters in newspapers, written under the pseudonym Orpheus C. Kerr. This name, a pun on the words “Office Seeker,” was suggested by the great number of political aspirants at the time of Lincoln's inauguration and became a stock character for political lampooning. Newell's writings, significant for their comic interpretation of Civil War history, are in the vein of the crackerbox philosophy of Jack Downing, and are marked by mock‐heroic jibing at solemnity, gross exaggeration or understatement, and purposeful misspelling. In addition to The Orpheus C. Kerr Papers (5 vols., 1862–71), under his own name Newell wrote sentimental verse; romantic fiction; The Cloven Foot (1870), a continuation of Dickens's unfinished The Mystery of Edwin Drood; and There Was Once a Man (1884), a novel attacking Darwinism. He married Adah Isaacs Menken.

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James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Newell, Robert Henry." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Newell, Robert Henry." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-NewellRobertHenry.html

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Newell, Robert Henry." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-NewellRobertHenry.html

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Orpheus C. Kerr

The Oxford Companion to American Literature | 1995 | | Copyright

Orpheus C. Kerr, pseudonym of R.H. Newell.

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James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Orpheus C. Kerr." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Orpheus C. Kerr." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-OrpheusCKerr.html

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Orpheus C. Kerr." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-OrpheusCKerr.html

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Kerr, Orpheus C.

The Oxford Companion to American Literature | 1995 | | Copyright

Kerr, Orpheus C., see Newell, R.H.

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James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Kerr, Orpheus C." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Kerr, Orpheus C." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-KerrOrpheusC.html

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Kerr, Orpheus C." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-KerrOrpheusC.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Newell Risdall was president of a school-equipment firm; Business associates... Newspaper article from: Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN); 2/17/2006
	OBITUARIES.(Obituaries) Newspaper article from: The Register Guard (Eugene, OR); 12/23/2009
	The tragedy, folly of a Baltimore Rebel's life.(TRAVEL)(THE CIVIL WAR) Newspaper article from: The Washington Times (Washington, DC); 7/28/2007