Bret Harte 1836 - 1902

Bret Harte At the height of his career, in the 1860s and 1870s, Bret Harte was one of the most famous and most highly paid American writers. His popular accounts of life in Gold Rush-era California, including short stories such as “The Luck of Roaring Camp” and “The Outcasts of Poker Flat,” seized the public imagination and made him an international celebrity. Harte’s invention of prototypical “western” characters—the shady prospector, the cynical gambler, the tough cowboy, the prostitute with a heart of gold—created the mythology through which Americans learned to understand the culture of the “Old West.” Combining realistic descriptions of the specific regional characteristics of California life with sentimental plots, Harte hit on a formula that delighted 19th century readers and continues to influence American narratives of the West.

Beginnings Born in Albany, New York Tutored at home by his schoolteacher father, Henry Harte Loved to read, especially Charles Dickens, and write; one of his poems was published when he was just 11 years old Relocated to NYC after Henry’s death in 1845 and then to San Francisco Harte’s mother married Colonel Andrew Williams, an early mayor of Oakland, CA During first 6 years in CA, Harte drifted from job to job – teacher, miner, stage coach guard for Wells Fargo (one of the brothers who founded American Express and formed Wells Fargo & Company to provide express and banking services to CA)

Career in Journalism Printer’s apprentice, journalist, and editorial assistant at The Humboldt Times and The Northern Californian 1865 - graduated to positions with larger newspapers and magazines of San Francisco As editor of the weekly Californian, commissioned pieces from the then unknown writer Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) – urged Twain to write some of the tall tales and stories of miners, resulting in “Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” that made Twain famous 1868 – hired as first editor of literary magazine Overland Monthly, a position that catapulted him to national fame when he used the magazine as the venue fro his best stories and his popular poem “Plain Language from Truthful James”

Harte’s Voice Unique blend of new and old Drew on his experiences in gold country to create characters, settings, and situations Explored the new genre of the short story with every element building to one unified effect Inspired by the classics but produced uniquely American parables Deal with some of man’s deepest concerns—life, death, friendship, love Had immense popular appeal – unstated theme that the greatest strength of America comes from its everyday people and that outward appearance and status are poor ways to judge human beings

Rise and Fall Received a flood of offers for editorial positions and professional opportunities across the country; headed East and looked forward to becoming a part of the Eastern literary establishment (Emerson, Thoreau, etc) 1871 – signed one-year contract for $10,000 (record-breaking salary for a writer at that time) with the Atlantic Monthly in Boston Promised AM a minimum of 12 stories and poems, but distracted by his status as a celebrity, he grew careless about meeting his obligations Perhaps he lost some of its vitality because he took himself out of the West AM did not renew contract and Harte found himself in need of income – began lecturing and writing plays but never again achieved success or acclaim he had come to expect

Rise and Fall Used his connections in political world to attain diplomatic posts with the consulates in Germany and Scotland Relieved of his positions in 1885 due to “inattention to duty” Live rest of his life in London with the wealthy Van de Velde family Remained a prolific writer until his death but, though he was favorably received in Europe, American critics generally dismissed his work as repetitive, formulaic, and overly sentimental Reputation declined during 20th century, but more recently scholars have begun to reassess his important contributions to the development of regionalism and the genre of western fiction

Harte’s Legacy Though his reputation had waned, Harte’s position in American literature is secure His ability to capture the “here today, gone tomorrow” life in mining camps enabled him to convey the uniqueness of that particular time and place A pioneer of a new kind of writing about America’s regional cultures, peoples, and dialects that came to be known as “local color”; his success inspired other writers to write about their own regions; local color writing became a major development in American literature in the late 1800s Also played a crucial role in the development and acceptance of the short story as a separate literary form of its own; his unpadded style, tight focus, and emotional impact were ideal for the form Shaped many images of the West that have become a permanent part of the folklore of America; created character types that have become the stock of countless Western tales