“Neal is altogether too much of a poet. He overdoes everything—pumps the lightning into you, till he is out of breath, and you, in a blaze.—In his lucid intervals, he appears to be a very sensible fellow; but, in his paroxysms—there is not a page of his, that wouldn’t take fire, in a high wind. He writes volume after volume, to the tune of three or four a-month; hardly one of which it is possible to read through: and yet, we could hardly open at a passage, without finding some evidence of extraordinary power—prodigious energy—or acute thinking. He is, undeniably, the most original writer, that America has produced—thinks himself the cleverest fellow in America—and does not scruple to say so.”
From Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, October, 1824. The magazine’s series on “American Writers” was written under the initials “X. Y. Z.” by John Neal, who was thus able to give his own critical opinion of himself anonymously. His opinion of his own writing has been shared by almost every one of his readers since.
American Writers. A series of papers contributed to Blackwood’s Magazine (1824–1825) by John Neal. Edited with notes and bibliography by Fred Lewis Pattee. Durham (North Carolina): Duke University Press, 1937. —The editor seems to take Neal seriously in a way that Neal himself would not, but here are Neal’s essays on American writers in one neatly printed volume, with fairly good OCR.
Account of the Great Conflagration in Protland, July 4th & 5th, 1866, by John Neal; and a New Business Guide, giving removals, changes in business, &c. Portland (Maine): Starbird & Twitchell, 1866.
Authorship, a tale. By a New Englander over-sea. Boston: Gray and Bowen, 1830.
Another copy.
Battle of Niagara, a poem, without notes, and Goldau, or the Maniac Harper. “Eagles! and Stars! and Rainbows!” By Jehu O’Cataract, Author of Keep Cool, &c. Baltimore: Published by N. G. Maxwell. From the Portico Press. Geo. W. Grater, printer. 1818.
The Battle of Niagara: Second edition—enlarged: with other poems. By John Neal. Baltimore: N. G. Maxwell, 1819.
Brother Jonathan: or, the New Englanders. Edinburgh: William Blackwood; London: T. Cadell, 1825.
The Down-Easters, &c. &c. &c. By John Neal. In two volumes [both included in this scan]. New-York: Harper & Brothers, 1833. —Also in separate volumes:
Errata; or The Works of Will. Adams. A tale by the author of Logan, Seventy Six, and Randolph. In two volumes [both included in this scan]. New-York: Printed for the Proprietors, 1823.
Great Mysteries and Little Plagues. By John Neal. Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1870.
Keep Cool, a novel. Written in hot weather. By Somebody, M.D.C. &c. &c. &c., author of sundry works of great merit—never published or read, from his-story. Reviewed by—Himself—“Esquire.” In two volumes [both included in this scan]. Baltimore: Published by Joseph Cushing. Wm. Wooddy, printer. 1817.
The same at Google Books. —These two copies both derive from the same scan, but the images are sometimes cut off differently, so that a page that is missing its left edge in HathiTrust may be intact at Google Books, and vice versa.
Logan, a Family History. By John Neal. Philadelphia: H. C. Carey & I. Lea, 1822.
Man. A discourse, before the United Brothers’ Society of Brown University, September 4, 1838. By John Neal. Providence: Knowles, Vose & Company, 1838.
One Word More: Intended for the reasoning and thoughtful among unbelievers. By John Neal. Boston: Crocker & Brewster, 1854.
Otho: A tragedy, in five acts. By John Neal. Boston: West, Richardson and Lord, 1819.
Our Country. An address delivered before the alumni of Waterville-College, July 29, 1830. By John Neal. Portland: S. Colman, 1830.
Portland Illustrated. By John Neal. Portland (Maine): W. S. Jones, 1874. —With numerous engravings.
Another copy.
Another copy.
Rachel Dyer. A North American story. By John Neal. Portland (Maine): Shirley and Hyde, 1828.
Randolph, a novel. By the author of Logan—and Seventy-Six. In two volumes [both included in this scan]. Published for whom it may concern, 1823. Different scans of the separate volumes:
True Womanhood: A tale: by John Neal. Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1859.
Wandering Recollections of a Somewhat Busy Life. An autobiography. By John Neal. Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1869.
Another copy.
Another copy.