The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce

The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce

Thank you for checking out this book by Theophania Publishing. We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you soon. We have thousands of titles available, and we invite you to search for us by name, contact us via our website, or download our most recent catalogues. The Devil's Dictionary was begun in a weekly paper in 1881, and was continued in a desultory way at long intervals until 1906. In that year a large part of it was published in covers with the title 'The Cynic's Word Book', a name which the author had not the power to reject or happiness to approve. To quote the publishers of the present work: This more reverent title had previously been forced upon him by the religious scruples of the last newspaper in which a part of the work had appeared, with the natural consequence that when it came out in covers the country already had been flooded by its imitators with a score of 'cynic' books - 'The Cynic's This', 'The Cynic's That', and 'The Cynic's t'Other'. Most of these books were merely stupid, though some of them added the distinction of silliness. Among them, they brought the word 'cynic' into disfavor so deep that any book bearing it was discredited in advance of publication. Meantime, too, some of the enterprising humorists of the country had helped themselves to such parts of the work as served their needs, and many of its definitions, anecdotes, phrases and so forth, had become more or less current in popular speech. This explanation is made, not with any pride of priority in trifles, but in simple denial of possible charges of plagiarism, which is no trifle. In merely resuming his own the author hopes to be held guiltless by those to whom the work is addressed -- enlightened souls who prefer dry wines to sweet, sense to sentiment, wit to humor and clean English to slang. A conspicuous, and it is hope not unpleasant, feature of the book is its abundant illustrative quotations from eminent poets, chief of whom is that learned and ingenius cleric, Father Gassalasca Jape, S.J., whose lines bear his initials. To Father Jape's kindly encouragement and assistance the author of the prose text is greatly indebted.

Bierce, Ambrose: - Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842[2] - circa 1914[3]) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and Civil War veteran. Bierce's book The Devil's Dictionary was named as one of The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration.[4] His story An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge has been described as one of the most famous and frequently anthologized stories in American literature;[5] and his book Tales of Soldiers and Civilians(also published as In the Midst of Life) was named by the Grolier Club as one of the 100 most influential American books printed before 1900.[6] A prolific and versatile writer, Bierce was regarded as one of the most influential journalists in the United States, [7][8] and as a pioneering writer of realist fiction.[9] For his horror writing, Michael Dirda ranked him alongside Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft.[10] His war stories influenced Stephen Crane, Ernest Hemingway, and others, [11] and he was considered an influential and feared literary critic.[12] In recent decades Bierce has gained wider respect as a fabulist and for his poetry.[13][14] In December 1913, Bierce traveled to Chihuahua, Mexico, to gain first-hand experience of the Mexican Revolution.[15] He disappeared, and was rumored to be traveling with rebel troops. He was never seen again. Bierce was born in a log cabin at Horse Cave Creek in Meigs County, Ohio, on June 24, 1842, to Marcus Aurelius Bierce (1799-1876) and Laura Sherwood Bierce.[2] He was of entirely English ancestry: all of his forebears came to North America between 1620 and 1640 as part of the Great Puritan Migration.[16] He often wrote critically of both Puritan values and people who made a fuss about genealogy.[17] He was the tenth of thirteen children, all of whom were given names by their father beginning with the letter A: in order of birth, the Bierce siblings were Abigail, Amelia, Ann, Addison, Aurelius, Augustus, Almeda, Andrew, Albert, Ambrose, Arthur, Adelia, and Aurelia.[18] His mother was a descendant of William Bradford.[19] His parents were a poor but literary couple who instilled in him a deep love for books and writing.[2] Bierce grew up in Kosciusko County, Indiana, attending high school at the county seat, Warsaw.

SKU	GOR008845807
ISBN 13	9781508476535
ISBN 10	1508476535
Title	The Devil's Dictionary
Author	Ambrose Bierce
Condition	Very Good
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Year published	2015-02-14
Number of pages	154
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us