1839 in literature

See also: 1838 in literature, other events of 1839, 1840 in literature, list of years in literature.

Events

New books

• The Charterhouse of Parma – Stendhal
• Deerbrook – Harriet Martineau
• Diary in America – Frederick Marryat
• Jack Sheppard – William Harrison Ainsworth
• Marianna – Jules Sandeau
• Nicholas Nickleby – Charles Dickens
• The Phantom Ship – Frederick Marryat
• The Voyage of the Beagle – Charles Darwin

Births

• February 22 – Francis Pharcellus Church, American editor and publisher (+ 1906)
• April 18 – Henry Kendall, Australian poet (+ 1882)
• June 21 – Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, Brazilian poet and novelist (+ 1909)
• August 4 – Walter Horatio Pater, English writer (+ 1894)
• August 25 – Bret Harte (+ 1902)

Deaths

• April 11 – John Galt, novelist
• May 17 – Archibald Alison (Scottish author)
• May 21 – José María Heredia y Campuzano, Cuban poet
• September 4 – Hermann Olshausen, theologian

Awards