A Man on Fire: The Worlds of Thomas Wentworth Higginson

by Douglas Egerton

Few Americans covered as much ground as Thomas Wentworth Higginson. Born in 1823 to a family descended from Boston's Puritan founders, he attended Harvard, like all the men in his family, and prepared for the settled life of a minister. Instead, he rejected both privilege and convention, and embraced radical causes, attaching himself to nearly every major reform movement of the day, from women's rights to abolitionism. More than merely a fellow traveler, Higginson became a proponent of direct action. Wounded during an altercation with the police over an enslaved man who -in defiance of the Fugitive Slave Act-was fighting extradition to the South, Higginson wore the scar with pride. He became a member of Boston's Secret Six, supporting John Brown's raid and going to Bleeding Kansas with his rifle, prepared to put his life on the line. During the Civil War Higginson went to South Carolina and led one of the first Black regiments, the 1st Carolina Volunteers, into battle.

Man of action though he was, "Colonel" Higginson was also a writer and journalist, friend of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, and one of the founding editors of the Atlantic Magazine. Emily Dickinson sought out his advice and their correspondence attests both to Dickinson's genius and Higginson's attempt to help it reach a larger audience.

Until his death in 1911, Higginson played a role, often a leading and vocal part, in nearly every progressive movement of the 19th century, earning a place in studies of abolitionism, feminism, education, temperance, Victorian fiction, as well as films, novels, and books featuring Dickinson and Harriet Tubman (whom he met in South Carolina during the Civil War). These reveal only aspects of Higginson's storied life. Douglas Egerton's biography embraces all the facets of this American whirlwind, illuminating the ways in which Higginson's lifelong crusade for a more just world resonates today.

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, Civil War, American History

352 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 2024

Reviews

[Joseph Stieb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good, but I was a little bit disappointed with it nonetheless. Egerton ably shows the radical, eclectic, and courageous life that Egerton led. This included radical abolitionism (and a break from the apolitical Garrisonians), support for John Brown's Raid (He was one of the Secret Six), and a much more consistent feminism and pro-suffragism than most male abolitionists, who often sidelined women's issues. I didn't know that TWH was a disunionist, or someone who thought that the North should break with the South over the issue of slavery. Higginson was also a literary man who wrote extensively for the Atlantic and Harper's. Finally, he commanded a unit of black soldiers in South Carolina during the Civil War, where he and his men engaged in heavy combat and raids to free enslaved people.

TWH was clearly a great hero who deserves to be better known today. Still, the limitation of this book is that Egerton doesn't advance much of an argument as to A. what made TWH a significant historical figure, worthy of a somewhat long biography and B. what his story says about this era of history in a larger sense. Without these larger arguments for TWH's significance, you are left with a book that occasionally feels like a one-thing-after-another narrative without a unifying theme or point. Granted, TWH was a political and intellectual gadfly, so this was hard to do, but it doesn't seem like Egerton made much of a case for his significance and/or representativeness as a historical figure. So for me, this book fell a little short of some other recent Civil War biographies, such as Talmeez's book on Sumner.

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

One outstanding work on a great human, Thomas Wentworth Higginson. A refreshing read on his devotion, passion that would make present day wannabees tremble in their shoes. He fought not only for equality among the races, leading a all Black regiment in the Civil War, striving to see equal pay among those that served, women's right to vote and suffrage, and the mis-quality of the haves versus the have nots.

A emotional read, case in point, when his black soldiers earned their right to citizenship and their singing of "My county tis of thee" in jubilation of finally having a country and a flag to be proud of. America has a shameful past and present in regards to race. Thomas fought, spoke, traveled the globe delivering his mission and passion. "Let my memory perish, if only humanity may be free." Thomas is and lived what an American must strive to be. What America needs is leadership that Thomas, Frederick Douglas, William Lloyd Garrison et al gave to this nation.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wonderful book not only gives you an intimate portrait of Thomas Wentworth Higginson, but it provides a very detailed look at pre civil war politics and the array of positions staked out by various groups. I came away from this book fully understanding that the bloody and terrible civil war was inevitable. T.W. Higginson, without a doubt, is a true American hero.

[Braxton Schieler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Higginson was a prolific, really unbelievable man and Egerton's extensive research captures this as marvelously as can be. I don't agree with Higginson's optimism that all the problems of the world can be righted and so I find his life to be a bit sad and unfulfilled. Still, this book was really well done.

[Jeremy Enfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Man on Fire is a fascinating and essential biography that rescues Thomas Wentworth Higginson from the margins of history and repositions him as a central figure in America's long journey toward justice. Jane Lancaster has crafted a work that is both a scholarly achievement and an engaging read.