This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1845.
Events
January 10 – Robert Browning begins his correspondence with his future wife, fellow poet Elizabeth Barrett. On May 20 they meet for the first time. She begins writing her Sonnets from the Portuguese. January 29 – Edgar Allan Poe first publishes the narrative poem "The Raven", under his own name in The Evening Mirror of New York, of which he is a staff critic until February. It is rapidly reprinted across the United States and appears in book form by the end of the year. March- Walt Whitman publishes a short story, "Arrow-Tip" (later renamed "The Half-Breed"). April – Nathaniel Hawthorne first publishes the short story "P.'s Correspondence", a pioneering example of alternate history, in which deceased writers and political figures (such as Keats, Shelley and Byron) are described as still living, and vice versa. The story appears in The United States Magazine and Democratic Review and features in Hawthorne's Mosses from an Old Manse (1846). April 24 – Alfred de Musset and Honoré de Balzac are awarded the French Legion of Honour. c. May – Benjamin Disraeli's "Young England" roman à thèse, Sybil; or, The Two Nations, is published in London; he receives a £10,000 advance. Spring–Summer – The essays in Thomas de Quincey's Suspiria de Profundis appear in Blackwood's Magazine. October 1 – Prosper Mérimée's novella Carmen appears in its original form in Revue des deux Mondes. Book publication follows in 1846. December – The future American President Brevet Second Lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant plays Desdemona in an amateur production of Othello at Corpus Christi, Texas. December 30 – The American actress Charlotte Cushman plays Romeo to her sister Susan's Juliet in a production of Romeo and Juliet at the Haymarket Theatre in London. undated In Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württemberg, the agronomist Arthur Schott begins putting out chapbooks with samples from Romanian folklore; these feature the first recorded mentions of a trickster-like figure, Păcală (as Bakála). Varney the Vampire; or, the Feast of Blood begins serial publication as a 'penny dreadful' by Edward Lloyd in London, introducing many of the tropes of vampire fiction. It is probably written by James Malcolm Rymer and Thomas Preskett Prest.
New books
Fiction
James Fenimore Cooper
The Chainbearer
Satanstoe
Charles Dickens – The Cricket on the Hearth
Benjamin Disraeli – Sybil
Alexandre Dumas, père
Le Chevalier de Maison-Rouge
The Corsican Brothers
The Count of Monte Cristo (book publication concluded) The Regent's Daughter La Reine Margot Twenty Years After József Eötvös – A falu jegyzője (The Village Notary) Catherine Gore – The Snowstorm: A Christmas Story Nathaniel Hawthorne – P.'s Correspondence Geraldine Jewsbury – Zoe, A History of Two Lives Joaquim Manuel de Macedo – O moço loiro Frederick Marryat – The Mission, or Scenes in Africa Prosper Mérimée – Carmen J. M. Rymer – Ada the Betrayed; or, The Murder at the Old Smithy Arthur Schott – Bakála cycle Adele Schopenhauer – Anna: Ein Roman aus der nächsten Vergangenheit (Anna: a novel of the recent past) William Sewell – Hawkstone: a tale of and for England Robert Smith Surtees – Hillingdon Hall
Children
Hans Christian Andersen – New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Third Collection (Nye Eventyr. Første Bind. Tredie Samling) comprising "The Elf Mound" ("Elverhøi"), "The Red Shoes" ("De røde Skoe"), "The Jumpers" ("Springfyrene"), "The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep" ("Hyrdinden og Skorstensfejeren") and "Holger Danske" Ludwig Bechstein – Deutsches Märchenbuch (German Fairy-Tale Book) Heinrich Hoffmann – Der Struwwelpeter (Shock-headed Peter, original title: Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder mit 15 schön kolorierten Tafeln für Kinder von 3–6 Jahren, in verse)
Drama
Juan Eugenio Hartzenbusch – La Jura en Santa Gadea
Henrik Hertz – King René's Daughter (Kong Renés Datter) Anna Cora Mowatt – Fashion; or, Life in New York: a comedy Martins Pena – first performances As Casadas Solteiras O caixeiro da taverna O diletante
Os dois ou O inglês maquinista
Os três médicos
José Zorrilla – Traidor, inconfeso y mártir
Poetry
Edgar Allan Poe – "The Raven"