Charles Dudley Warner 1829 -1900

Charles Dudley Warner Birthplace, Plainfield, MA

Charles Dudley Warner (September 12, 1829 – October 20, 1900) was an American essayist, novelist, and a close friend of Mark Twain. Together, they co-authored the satirical novel The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today.

Born in Plainfield, Massachusetts, Warner was of Puritan descent. From ages six to fourteen, he lived in Charlemont, Massachusetts, which inspired his nostalgic portrayal of childhood in Being a Boy (1877). He later moved to Cazenovia, New York, and graduated from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, in 1851.

Warner’s career was diverse: he worked with a surveying party in Missouri, studied law at the University of Pennsylvania, and practiced law in Chicago from 1856 to 1860. Transitioning to journalism, he became assistant editor of The Hartford Press in 1860, rising to editor by 1861. When The Press merged with The Hartford Courant, he co-edited the publication with Joseph R. Hawley.

In 1884, Warner joined the editorial staff of Harper’s Magazine, where he contributed to The Editor’s Drawer until 1892, later taking charge of The Editor’s Study.

Warner passed away in Hartford, Connecticut, on October 20, 1900, and was laid to rest at Cedar Hill Cemetery, with Mark Twain serving as a pallbearer. To explore Warner’s writings, click the links below.