The Journal of Julius Rodman

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The Journal of Julius Rodman, Being an Account of the First Passage across the Rocky Mountains of North America Ever Achieved by Civilized Man is an unfinished serial novel by American author Edgar Allan Poe.

[edit] Publication

Six installments of the novel were published in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine's January through June issues in 1840. At the time, Poe was a contributing editor of the journal. He was fired from the job in June 1840 by William Burton and refused to continue the novel.^[1]

[edit] Reception

In 1840, members of the United States Senate believed the story to be a true account. Robert Greenhow (1800-1854), a native of Richmond, Virginia whose family may have known Poe, wrote a paragraph about the work in U.S. Senate Document of the 26th Congress, 1st Session, Volume IV (1839-40), pages 140-141, entitled "Memoir, Historical and Political, on the Northwest Coast of North America, and the Adjacent Territories; Illustrated by a Map and a Geographical View of Those Countries". The document stated, "It is proper to notice here an account of an expedition across the American continent, made between 1791 and 1794, by a party of citizens of the United States, under the direction of Julius Rodman, whose journal has been recently discovered in Virginia, and is now in course of publication in a periodical magazine at Philadelphia." Greenhow admitted that the full expedition had not yet been completely reported.

This unintended "hoax" on the U.S. Senate suggests Poe's ability to add credibility to his fiction. In 1844, Greenhow's "Memoir" was expanded and reprinted in book form as The History of Oregon and California and Other Territogires on the North-West Coast of North America. In its second edition, references to Julius Rodman were removed, implying Greenhow learned of his error.^[2]

[edit] References