Emerson Bennett
Emerson Bennett was an American author born on March 16, 1822, in Hampden County, Massachusetts. His early life was marked by familial responsibilities after his father's death, which led him to abandon his college aspirations in favor of writing for income. Bennett initially published poetry and short stories, but it was his serialized novels that gained him significant attention, particularly with "The Bandits of the Osage: A Western Romance," which sold exceptionally well in the late 1840s. He experienced both commercial success and controversy, facing allegations of plagiarism that ultimately did not harm his sales. Bennett's writing typically featured adventure and romance set against the backdrop of the American West, reflecting the popular themes of the 19th century. Although his work was often criticized for being unoriginal and for embodying stereotypes, contemporary literary critics recognize the value of his stories for their insights into the American frontier. After a prolific career, Bennett ceased writing and spent his later years in Philadelphia, where he died on May 11, 1905. His legacy remains as a reflection of the dime novel genre and its appeal to the cultural landscape of his time.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Emerson Bennett
Author
- Born: March 16, 1822
- Birthplace: Near Monson, Hampden County, Massachusetts
- Died: May 11, 1905
- Place of death: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Biography
Emerson Bennett, the son of Bela and Polly Bennett, was born on March 16, 1822, at his family’s farm in Hampden County, Massachusetts, near Monson. He prepared for college at Monson Academy. After his father’s death in 1835, Bennett helped his mother until she married Jacob Thompson. Sixteen-year-old Bennett abandoned his college plans, and he became interested in writing to acquire income, not to achieve literary accolades.
In 1842, Bennett published The Brigand: A Poem, which a Knickerbocker Magazine reviewer loathed. The next year he submitted his story, “The Unknown Countess,” to a Philadelphia Dollar Magazinecompetition and was disappointed when he lost. Bennett moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he managed a hotel and solicited subscriptions to the Western Literary Journal and Monthly Review.
In 1845, Bennett was stunned when the Cincinnati Dollar Weekly Commercial printed “The Unknown Countess” without his permission. He contacted editor L. G. Curtis, who requested additional stories to satisfy customer demand. In 1846, Bennett’s first novel appeared serialized as The League of Miami. Bennett moved to Lawrenceburg, Indiana, in 1846 and edited more works of fiction. His writing profits swelled when Dollar Weekly Commercial serially printed The Bandits of the Osage: A Western Romance in spring 1847, selling all issues as well as twenty-thousand books. He traveled to Monson to celebrate, and by September he had married Eliza G. Daly. The couple initially lived in Cincinnati, where their son was born. Bennett increased his writing production to pay for his family’s needs. The Dollar Weekly Commercial prospered, enjoying circulation of approximately one hundred thousand because of Bennett’s stories.
Bennett’s wealth grew even more in 1848, when an estimated ninety-thousand copies of his books sold. But his notoriety attracted problems. In 1850, author Sidney Moss accused Bennett of plagiarizing his work, but Bennett’s publisher vouched that Bennett had given him the questioned manuscript and its sequel. The scandal did not affect sales of those two books, and customers bought one hundred thousand copies. By September, 1856, Bennett had agreed to print stories only in New York Ledger, helping that periodical outsell its competitors. Bennett was a member of the Philadelphia Chess Club and depicted that game in his stories. During the next decade, demand decreased for Bennett’s stories, and so he published Emerson Bennett’s Dollar Monthly in 1860. Twenty years later, he published Emerson Bennett’s Weekly: The Great Literary Paper of the Age, but readers had tired of his redundant plots and characters. Bennett stopped writing. He moved into Philadelphia’s Masonic Home, dying there on May 11, 1905.
Bennett benefitted from consumer demand for nineteenth century dime novels. His work was not extraordinary, but it appealed to people’s interest in satisfying adventure and romance stories, often set in the American West, which celebrated and rewarded heroes. Bennett produced compelling protagonists, and his plots were mostly unoriginal and often recycled, and they revealed his East Coast perspective and his stereotypes of minorities. Most contemporary reviewers, including Mark Twain, ridiculed him. Modern literary critics, though, consider Bennett’s works valuable for his depictions of the American frontier.