Doylestown Historians To Explore Henry Mercer's Foray Into Publishing

DOYLESTOWN BOROUGH, PA — The Doylestown Historical Society and "Neshaminy: The Bucks County Historical and Literary Journal" are teaming up to present the inaugural lecture in its Abramson Art & Artist series: "No ‘Destitute Scribbler’: Henry C. Mercer’s Adventure in Publishing."

Drawing upon archival documents from the Mercer Museum, Professor Tom Sparrow from Slippery Rock University will illuminate Henry Mercer’s foray into the world of fiction, his use of local Doylestown landmarks including Fonthill Castle and Doyle’s Tavern, and why his only collection of ghost stories, "November Night Tales," though hailed as comparable to Edgar Allen Poe and Ambrose Bierce, ultimately fell into obscurity.

In speaking with Patch about his upcoming talk, Sparrow said it was during a tour of Fonthill Castle in 2019 that he learned that Mercer had published a book of supernatural stories before he died. A fan of gothic literature and the like, Sparrow said that sparked his interest.

"He was so busy with all the pursuits in his life, I wondered how this guy came to write a collection of stories and actually get them published as a book," said Sparrow. "I spent some time in the archive back in 2020 trying to piece together the story of how he came about getting them published. So the focus of my talk at the historical society will be the narrative about how he came about getting these things published."

Throughout the process, Sparrow said Mercer "met a bunch of obstacles along the way with publishers. It's kind of interesting to talk about how persistent he was in making sure he found a publisher before he died a couple of years later," said Sparrow.

While Sparrow said Mercer wasn't a writer who is on par with the likes of Poe or Bierce, the publisher he eventually found "wasn't afraid to compare him to some of those well-established and well-regarded authors. But that's part of the story - the nature of this guy who published his book was a flatterer, I found out."

Illustration by Pat Achilles from Henry Mercer’s Castle Valley.

During his talk, Sparrow will share "some of the intense and lively exchanges" between Mercer and his publisher. "Sometimes it was how Mercer wanted the book to look. Sometimes it was about how much control Mercer wanted to maintain or cede over the content of the stories. It's interesting to see the publisher-author interaction."

Mercer's finished product, ""November Night Tales," includes a compilation of seven short stories about ghosts and the supernatural world.

"Mercer was kind of an adventurer in his life. He was always seeking out new pursuits and adventurers. Sometimes I think he comes across as an Indiana Jones type of figure in his life," relates Sparrow. "I think the stories were a way of extending his love of adventure and taking it off in a new direction. He also wanted to write the kind of stories that he enjoyed reading personally."

And for him, it was all about Gothic literature and classic ghost stories.

"Each of the stories has some kind of intrigue to it," said Sparrow. "One of them involves a ghost. One of them involves a mad scientist-type-of-figure. Another involves a riverboat trip in Eastern Europe that's based on Mercer's actual experience traveling the river. They are each a little different in their own way. But each of them has their own supernatural element and you can't help but think that a few protagonists in the stories are maybe modeled after Mercer himself - the gentleman adventurer who goes out into the world exploring and finds himself involved in some strange events or characters.

Slippery Rock College professor Tom Sparrow.

"Visiting his castle, you get the impression that he's a guy with a certain type of imagination," said Sparrow. "I think of it as Gothic, just thinking about the design of his personal home. I was intrigued to find out what kind of stories came out of this guy's imagination - just based on what he designed at the Fonthill Castle and the Mercer Museum."

Local writer Daniel Dorian will also speak at the event on censorship and book banning, placing recent developments in Bucks County and across the country in historical context.

The event takes place at the Doylestown Historical Society, 56 S. Main Street, Doylestown 18901, on Wednesday, July 26 at 7 p.m. with Q&A to follow. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $10 here or by calling the Doylestown Historical Society or $15 at the door.

The latest edition of Neshaminy featuring Professor Sparrow’s work, Dorian’s essay and Mercer’s ghost story, “Castle Valley,” involving the discovery of a mysterious crystal that seems to have unmitigated supernatural powers, will be available for purchase at special event-only pricing.

The Abramson Art & Artist Series is a lecture series named in honor of the first publisher of Neshaminy and former President of the Doylestown Historical Society, Stuart Abramson. Neshaminy: The Bucks County Historical and Literary Journal is a co-publication of the Doylestown Historical Society and the Bucks County Writers Workshop. More information can be found at neshaminyjournal.org and doylestownhistorical.org.

Raised in the Poconos Mountains, Professor Sparrow teaches in the Department of Philosophy at Slippery Rock University. His previously published work includes many books and articles of academic philosophy, most recently "The Alphonso Lingis Reader" (University of Minnesota Press, 2018) and "True Detective and Philosophy: A Deeper Kind of Darkness" (Wiley-Blackwell, 2017). Inspired by a visit to Henry C. Mercer’s Fonthill, he has expanded his research to include the study of Gothic literature and the antiquarian ghost story.

Daniel Dorian was born in Paris in 1937. In 1962, as an actor he performed for the Renaud-Barrault Theater Company before immigrating to America. In New York, he attended Lee Strasberg’s Actors Studio, DJed a radio Hit Parade show for Radio Luxembourg, and performed a French poetry recital in U.S. universities. In the 1960s, he covered America for two major European outfits as a foreign correspondent. In the ’70s, he became PR for Air France; in 1979, he headed Sygma-USA, one of the top photo-news agencies in the world. In the 80s he started his own New York-based film production company.