Bret Harte: Prince and Pauper

Now mostly forgotten, Bret Harte (1836-1902) was, according to Nissen, the ""first American author-celebrity."" He occupies an important place in the history of American writing: he helped document the California gold rush, shaped the scope of the short story, staked out themes for what would become ""the Western"" and developed a global following as his stories were reprinted around the world. Extensively researched, this is the first biography of the writer in nearly 70 years and mines extensive sources not previously available. Even though the author (a professor of American literature at the University of Oslo) cites contemporary literary theory in his introduction, his is a surprisingly traditional account. Nissen focuses, for the most part, on the usual matters: Harte's romantic liaisons, his relations with the press, his meetings with other famous writers and his eccentricities (although Harte's life seems only moderately eccentric in the end--its oddest aspect was his refusal to see his wife and children for 20 years while he worked as a diplomat abroad despite his profession, in frequent letters, of love and longing for them). Nissen, however, makes too much of situations that don't seem to merit attention, like Harte's conflicted feelings toward Mark Twain (who had a habit of bad-mouthing his contemporary). Nissen finds homoeroticism in this conflict--but his analysis is forced. To his credit, Nissen refrains from imposing an artificial wholeness or symmetry on Harte's life. Overall, the work is enjoyable and informative, a useful contribution to the history of American letters. (Apr.)