Edward Payson Roe

Edward Payson Roe
Edward Payson Roe
Born	Edward Payson Roe; March 7, 1838; Moodna Village, New Windsor, New York, United States of America
Died	July 19, 1888 (aged 50); Cornwall on Hudson, New York, United States of America
Resting place	Willow Dell Cemetery, Cornwall on Hudson, New York
Nationality	American
Education	Williams College, Auburn Theological Seminary
Notable work	Barriers Burned Away (1872); Without a Home (1881); Opening of a Chestnut Burr (1874);
Spouse(s)	Pauline Sands Roe

Edward Payson Roe (March 7, 1838 – July 19, 1888) was an American novelist, Presbyterian minister, horticulturist and historian.

Biography

Edward Payson Roe was born in the village of Moodna, now part of New Windsor, New York. He studied at Williams College and at Auburn Theological Seminary. In 1862 he became chaplain of the Second New York Cavalry, U.S.V., and in 1864 chaplain of Hampton Hospital, in Virginia. In 1866-74 he was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church at Highland Falls, New York. In 1874 he removed to Cornwall-on-Hudson, where he devoted himself to the writing of fiction and to horticulture. During the American Civil War, he wrote weekly letters to the New York Evangelist, and subsequently lectured on the war and wrote for periodicals.[1].

Writings

His novels were very popular in their day, especially with middle class readers in England and America, and were translated into several European languages. Their strong moral and religious purpose, did much to break down a Puritan prejudice in America against works of fiction. One of his most consistent criticisms was that his work resembled sermons. Among his novels were:[1]

Barriers Burned Away (1872), which first appeared as a serial in the Evangelist and made him widely known.
What Can she Do? (1873).
Opening of a Chestnut Burr (1874).
From Jest to Earnest (1875).
Near to Nature's Heart (1876).
A Knight of the Nineteenth Century (1877).
A Face Illumined (1878).
A Day of Fate (1880).
Without a Home (1881).
His Sombre Rivals (1883).
Nature's Serial Story (1884).
A Young Girl's Wooing (1884).
An Original Belle (1885).
Driven Back to Eden (1885).
He Fell in Love with his Wife (1886).
The Hornet's Nest: A Story of Love and War (1886).
The Earth Trembled (1887).
Miss Lou (left unfinished 1888).
Play and Profit in My Garden (1873).
Success with Small Fruits (1881).
The Home Acre (1887).
Found Yet Lost (1888).

Use in popular culture

Roe was mentioned in the Sinclair Lewis novel, Elmer Gantry. Elmer is said to have a volume of E.P. Roe novels among other volumes. Lewis also mentions Roe in his novel Work of Art.

His first novel inspired an eponymous movie Barriers Burned Away, released in 1925 by W.S. Van Dyke

References

One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Roe, Edward Payson". Encyclopædia Britannica. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 449–450.

Biography

Carey, G.O. (1985). Edward Payson Roe. Twayne's United States authors series. Twayne Publishers. ISBN 978-0-8057-7421-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

Works by Edward Payson Roe at Project Gutenberg
Works by or about Edward Payson Roe at Internet Archive
Works by Edward Payson Roe at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
The film adapted from his work: Barriers Burned Away on ImdB

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[EB1911-1] One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Roe, Edward Payson". Encyclopædia Britannica. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 449–450.