The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 11, No. 65, March, 1863 A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics

"The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 11, No. 65, March, 1863" by Various is a magazine that explores literature, art, and politics in the 1860s, featuring essays examining important figures and ideas of the time. A highlight of the magazine, the opening article examines the art of biography, using the life of Christopher North as a central example, where it suggests that effective biography should capture a person's true character and spirit, while acknowledging the subject’s accomplishments. The piece critiques biographies that are overly formal and fail to reveal the individual's humanity, thus highlighting the importance of genuine portrayal over simple achievement-listing, as the literature of the time moves away from merely recounting lives towards presenting a rounded, humanized subject.