Knowra Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Bierce was an American writer and journalist known for Civil War fiction, dark satire, and The Devil’s Dictionary. He disappeared in Mexico around 1913, and his fate remains unknown.
American Civil War : A war fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865 between the Union and the Confederacy. Bierce served as a Union soldier, and the war became the setting for many of his best-known stories.
The Devil’s Dictionary : A satirical work by Bierce that gives deliberately cynical definitions to familiar words. This book is the clearest expression of his attack on conventional language and public virtue.
William Randolph Hearst : An American newspaper publisher who built a national media empire in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Bierce wrote for Hearst’s newspapers, including the San Francisco Examiner.
Meigs County, Ohio : A county in southeastern Ohio where Ambrose Bierce was born in 1842. Bierce’s early life began in a large, poor farming family in this rural county.
Mexican Revolution : An armed conflict and social revolution that began in Mexico in 1910 and continued through the 1920s. Bierce entered Mexico during the revolution, amid competing armies and unreliable communications.
Short story : A work of prose fiction usually shorter and more concentrated than a novel. Bierce’s reputation rests heavily on compact stories that turn sharply toward psychological or tragic effects.
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge : A short story by Bierce in which a condemned man experiences an apparent escape during his execution. Its disrupted sense of time exemplifies Bierce’s controlled use of surprise and psychological perspective.
Mark Twain : An American writer and humorist known for novels, travel writing, and social satire. Twain and Bierce shared a field of American literary humor, though Bierce’s satire was generally darker.
Indiana : A state in the Midwestern United States, settled by Bierce’s family during his childhood. Bierce grew up in Indiana, where his family’s circumstances and religious culture shaped his early years.
Chihuahua : A state in northern Mexico that was a major theater of revolutionary fighting. Bierce’s last known movements are often associated with revolutionary activity in Chihuahua.
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