John Brown’s Body

This early work by Stephen Vincent Benét was originally published in 1928 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. ‘John Brown’s Body’ is a long poem that tells the story of the American Civil War and illuminates the lives of soldiers, leaders, and civilians. Stephen Vincent Benét was born on 22nd July 1898 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States. Benét was an accomplished writer at an early age, having had his first book published at 17 and submitting his third volume of poetry in lieu of a thesis for his degree. During his time at Yale, he was an influential figure at the ‘Yale Lit’ literary magazine, and a fellow member of the Elizabethan Club. Benét was also a part-time contributor for the early Time Magazine. Benét’s best known works are the book-length narrative poem American Civil War, John Brown’s Body (1928), for which he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1929, and two short stories, The Devil and Daniel Webster (1936) and By the Waters of Babylon (1937). Benét won a second Pulitzer Prize posthumously for his unfinished poem Western Star in 1944.