Henry Van Dyke

Author Code: AHVD

Educated at Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary, Van Dyke became pastor of the Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City. In 1899, he became professor of English Literature at Princeton, a position he would hold until 1923. From 1913 to 1916, he was the U.S. Minister to the Netherlands. He published his first book, The Reality of Religion, in 1884 and followed in 1887 with The Story of the Psalms. An avid fan of Tennyson, Van Dyke produced a number of poems in the Tennyson tradition. During his career he held many prestigious posts such as member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. A universally acclaimed literary critic, much of Van Dyke's work is still very readable today. His main works included Little Rivers (1895), Fisherman's Luck and Other Uncertain Things (1899), The Story of the Other Wise Man (1896), Books, Literature and the People (1900), The Poetry of the Psalms (1900), Counsels by the Way (1908) and Essays in Understanding (1929). He also produced numerous short stories, the best of which is probably The Blue Flower