Neal, John

John Neal (1793 - 1876) was an American author and literary critic. Born in Portland, he started a dry goods business in Baltimore at 21. When it failed, he became the editor of The Portico. Nealalso worked in London to advocate American literature and history in Europe and published a novel there, Brother Jonathan, or the New Englanders (1825). Neal's first novel, Keep Cool, was published in 1817. He is important as the first American to employ colloquialism in his writings. ;

A celebrated voice of 19th-century literature, prolific writer and critic. Neal is best known for writing one of the earliest histories of American literature. One of the first American art critics, Neal was also an enthusiastic supporter of women’s rights.;