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Ambrose Bierce

Born

in Meigs County, Ohio, The United States

June 24, 1842

Genre

Short Stories, Nonfiction, Poetry

Influences

Robert Ingersoll, H.L. Mencken, Voltaire, Joseph McCabe, Jack London, ...more

edit data

died perhaps 1914

Caustic wit and a strong sense of horror mark works, including In the Midst of Life (1891-1892) and The Devil's Dictionary (1906), of American writer Ambrose Gwinett Bierce.

People today best know this editorialist, journalist, and fabulist for his short story, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and his lexicon.

The informative sardonic view of human nature alongside his vehemence as a critic with his motto, "nothing matters," earned him the nickname "Bitter Bierce."

People knew Bierce despite his reputation as a searing critic, however, to encourage younger poet George Sterling and fiction author W.C. Morrow.

Bierce employed a distinctive style especially in his stories. This style often embraces an abrupt begin ...more

Combine Editions
Ambrose Bierce’s books

Average rating: 3.87 · 102,536 ratings · 9,641 reviews · 2,395 distinct works • Similar authors

	An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge 4.01 avg rating — 27,829 ratings — published 1890 — 461 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary 4.05 avg rating — 11,186 ratings — published 1906 — 1233 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ghost and Horror Stories of Ambrose Bierce 4.12 avg rating — 3,218 ratings — published 1964 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Complete Short Stories of Ambrose Bierce by Ambrose Bierce, Ernest Jerome Hopkins (Editor), Cathy N. Davidson (Foreword) 4.19 avg rating — 1,578 ratings — published 2000 — 20 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Damned Thing 3.52 avg rating — 1,614 ratings — published 1893 — 108 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Civil War Stories 3.89 avg rating — 1,245 ratings — published 1956 — 40 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	An Inhabitant of Carcosa 3.70 avg rating — 1,289 ratings — published 1886 — 20 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Can Such Things Be? 3.67 avg rating — 1,197 ratings — published 1893 — 289 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Monk and the Hangman's Daughter 3.73 avg rating — 1,146 ratings — published 1892 — 169 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and Other Stories 3.80 avg rating — 680 ratings — 153 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Ambrose Bierce…

Series by Ambrose Bierce

Collected Fiction (2 books)
by

Ambrose Bierce,

S.T. Joshi (Editor)

4.50 avg rating — 6 ratings

Quotes by Ambrose Bierce (?)

“Love, n. A temporary insanity curable by marriage.”
― Ambrose Bierce, The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary

tags: insanity, love, marriage

1735 likes

“Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.”
― Ambrose Bierce

1660 likes

“The covers of this book are too far apart.”
― Ambrose Bierce

tags: attributed-no-source, books, criticism, humor, wit

1602 likes

See all Ambrose Bierce's quotes »

Polls

May 2025 - Short Story/Novella Poll

The Machine Stops E.M. Forster

22 votes, 20.0%

The Signal-Man by Charles Dickens

19 votes, 17.3%

Stancliffe's Hotel by Charlotte Brontë

18 votes, 16.4%

The Lottery in Babylon by Jorge Luis Borges found in The Garden of Forking Paths

15 votes, 13.6%

The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole

12 votes, 10.9%

Silent Snow, Secret Snow by Conrad Aiken

7 votes, 6.4%

The Voice in the Night by William Hope Hodgson

6 votes, 5.5%

A Horseman in the Sky by Ambrose Bierce

6 votes, 5.5%

Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters

5 votes, 4.5%

Michael Kohlhaas: A Tale from an Old Chronicle by Heinrich von Kleist

0 votes, 0.0%

110 total votes

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