Lucien Price
Encyclopedia
Junius Lucien Price who also published under the name Seymour Deming, was the author of more than a dozen books and a writer for publications such as The Boston Evening Transcript
and The Atlantic Monthly
. At the time of his death at age 81 he was still writing for the Boston Globe.
Price had a Yankee
grandfather, Abel Burt, who left Brimfield, Massachusetts
in the United States
and settled in Brimfield, Ohio
in the Connecticut Western Reserve
. "We were New England
transplantees," Price wrote of his family, "and we had two choices: either to rot or to grow." Price was born January 6, 1883 in Kent, Ohio
. A journalist there later reported that Price "immortalized fond memories of hometown" there. In his writing Price created "Woolwick," a pseudonym
for Kent, and described the place as "built on the banks of a steep river
gorge ... half railroad-junction
and half agrarian market
-town
".
Price attended Western Reserve Academy
in Hudson, Ohio
. He kept in close contact with his prep school
for the rest of his life and was regularly invited back for events. Prince had "lengthy and lively correspondence with Headmaster Joel B. Hayden" and, near the end of his life, made arrangements to transfer approximately 3,000 volumes of his personal library to Western Reserve Academy. There was for several years a "Lucien Price Room" suitable as classroom space and used to house some special items of the "Lucien Price Book Collection", but the room was phased out with the start of the new John D. Ong Library in the spring of 2000.
After his 1901 graduatuation from Western Reserve Academy, Price left Ohio and attended Harvard University
and graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors in 1907. He joined the staff of the Boston Evening Transcript as an editorial writer and arts reviewer from 1907 to 1914. He went on to create "an illustrious career as a writer and journalist" in Greater Boston
and wrote for the Boston Globe for the rest of his life.
Among Price's published work is a book based on recorded conversations with English
mathematician
and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead
, Dialogues of Alfred North Whitehead. He also published books on education as well as memoir
s of his early life in Ohio. Three of his books were published under the pseudonym "Seymour Deming".
In 1965, a year after the author's death, Mrs. F.H. Middleton of Hudson, Massachusetts
gave Price's personal papers and correspondence to Harvard where it is now housed in the Houghton Library of Harvard College
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
and takes up six boxes each three feet in length. A separate collection of his papers from 1951 to 1958 are kept at Columbia University
in New York City
. This group of material includes notes, manuscripts, typescripts, and galley proofs for Hellas Regained, October Rhapsody, and The Sacred Legion — three novels in Price's "All Souls" series.
Boston Evening Transcript
The Boston Evening Transcript was a daily afternoon newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts, published from July 24, 1830, to April 30, 1941.-Beginnings:...
and The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic is an American magazine founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1857. It was created as a literary and cultural commentary magazine. It quickly achieved a national reputation, which it held for more than a century. It was important for recognizing and publishing new writers and poets,...
. At the time of his death at age 81 he was still writing for the Boston Globe.
Price had a Yankee
Yankee
The term Yankee has several interrelated and often pejorative meanings, usually referring to people originating in the northeastern United States, or still more narrowly New England, where application of the term is largely restricted to descendants of the English settlers of the region.The...
grandfather, Abel Burt, who left Brimfield, Massachusetts
Brimfield, Massachusetts
Brimfield is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,609 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and settled in Brimfield, Ohio
Brimfield Township, Portage County, Ohio
Brimfield Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 7,963 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the southwestern part of the county, it borders the following townships and cities:...
in the Connecticut Western Reserve
Connecticut Western Reserve
The Connecticut Western Reserve was land claimed by Connecticut from 1662 to 1800 in the Northwest Territory in what is now northeastern Ohio.-History:...
. "We were New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
transplantees," Price wrote of his family, "and we had two choices: either to rot or to grow." Price was born January 6, 1883 in Kent, Ohio
Kent, Ohio
Kent is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the largest city in Portage County. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in Northeastern Ohio on the western edge of the county. The population was 27,906 at the 2000 United States Census and 28,904 in the 2010 Census...
. A journalist there later reported that Price "immortalized fond memories of hometown" there. In his writing Price created "Woolwick," a pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
for Kent, and described the place as "built on the banks of a steep river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
gorge ... half railroad-junction
Junction (rail)
A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge.This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes , 'points' and signalling.one or two tracks each meet at a junction, a fairly simple layout of tracks suffices to...
and half agrarian market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
-town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
".
Price attended Western Reserve Academy
Western Reserve Academy
Western Reserve Academy is a private, mid-sized, coeducational boarding and day college preparatory school located in Hudson, Ohio.-History:...
in Hudson, Ohio
Hudson, Ohio
Hudson is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 22,262 at the 2010 census. It is an affluent exurban community and is part of the Akron, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. He kept in close contact with his prep school
University-preparatory school
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
for the rest of his life and was regularly invited back for events. Prince had "lengthy and lively correspondence with Headmaster Joel B. Hayden" and, near the end of his life, made arrangements to transfer approximately 3,000 volumes of his personal library to Western Reserve Academy. There was for several years a "Lucien Price Room" suitable as classroom space and used to house some special items of the "Lucien Price Book Collection", but the room was phased out with the start of the new John D. Ong Library in the spring of 2000.
After his 1901 graduatuation from Western Reserve Academy, Price left Ohio and attended Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors in 1907. He joined the staff of the Boston Evening Transcript as an editorial writer and arts reviewer from 1907 to 1914. He went on to create "an illustrious career as a writer and journalist" in Greater Boston
Greater Boston
Greater Boston is the area of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts surrounding the city of Boston. Due to ambiguity in usage, the size of the area referred to can be anywhere between that of the metropolitan statistical area of Boston and that of the city's combined statistical area which includes...
and wrote for the Boston Globe for the rest of his life.
Among Price's published work is a book based on recorded conversations with English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead
Alfred North Whitehead
Alfred North Whitehead, OM FRS was an English mathematician who became a philosopher. He wrote on algebra, logic, foundations of mathematics, philosophy of science, physics, metaphysics, and education...
, Dialogues of Alfred North Whitehead. He also published books on education as well as memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
s of his early life in Ohio. Three of his books were published under the pseudonym "Seymour Deming".
In 1965, a year after the author's death, Mrs. F.H. Middleton of Hudson, Massachusetts
Hudson, Massachusetts
Hudson is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,063 at the 2010 census. The town is located in central Massachusetts, about a 40-minute drive, or about , west of Boston, and about a 20-minute drive, or about , northeast of Worcester.Before its...
gave Price's personal papers and correspondence to Harvard where it is now housed in the Houghton Library of Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
and takes up six boxes each three feet in length. A separate collection of his papers from 1951 to 1958 are kept at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. This group of material includes notes, manuscripts, typescripts, and galley proofs for Hellas Regained, October Rhapsody, and The Sacred Legion — three novels in Price's "All Souls" series.