An American Hero by E.V. Lucas

Name: An American Hero
Author: E.V. Lucas

"An American Hero" by E. V. Lucas is a short essay tracing the true identity of William Allen Richardson, the man after whom a celebrated orange-hearted climbing rose was named. Lucas explains that he had previously published an essay posing the question of who William Allen Richardson was, and that the query provoked a flood of letters from readers, each offering a different and contradictory answer. The variety of responses, he argues, only confirmed how necessary it was to ask the question in the first place, since legend and myth had been allowed to grow unchecked around the name. The first letter Lucas received offered a pleasingly romantic account: that William Allen Richardson and his wife Ellen had together devoted their lives to cultivating an orange-coloured rose, naming it "William and Ellen Richardson" in celebration of their partnership, only for a printer to collapse the two names into the now-familiar single form. Lucas found this story agreeable and began repeating it in company, until an anonymous postcard from Paddington punctured the romance by claiming that William Allen Richardson had been the brother of another man's handy man, a connection asserted with so little ceremony that Lucas was struck less by the information itself than by the casualness with which the writer's brother apparently treated the proximity of so significant a figure. Further correspondents followed. One suggested Richardson had been gardener to a rose-loving duke. Another thought him a Scotsman who had gone to France to manage the Ducher nursery. Another proposed he was an American editor of a horticultural journal. A lady in Yorkshire relayed the testimony of a country vicar, himself a friend of Dean Hole, who believed Richardson had belonged to a Quaker family of that name with a property near Newry in the north of Ireland. This last account appealed to Lucas because it chimed with suspicions he had already expressed in his original essay, and he was nearly persuaded by it. Then a letter arrived from Louisville, Kentucky, from a Mr W. R. Belknap, who stated plainly that he was William Allen Richardson's nephew. Belknap's account was detailed and has since been corroborated by a second transatlantic source. According to Belknap, William Allen Richardson was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on 20 February 1819. When he was two years old his father moved the family to Lexington, Kentucky, where Richardson lived until his death in October 1892. He married Miss Mary Short, daughter of the botanist Charles Wilkins Short, who pursued his botanical and horticultural studies at his country estate, Hayfield, about five miles south-west of Louisville. Richardson established himself at an adjoining property called Ivywood and became deeply interested in the cultivation of roses, importing a considerable number of varieties. Through this activity he entered into correspondence with Madame Ducher, or Veuve Ducher, of Lyons, France. Richardson sent her a pale yellow rose that particularly interested her, and she wrote to tell him that a sport from it had appeared in her own garden which, if it could be successfully propagated, she intended to name in his honour. The result was the copperish-yellow climbing rose that bears his name. Lucas concludes that the mystery is now resolved and invites America to take proper pride in what he calls this feather in her cap. He does not think Richardson requires a monument of marble or bronze, since he already has one in every well-tended garden, more beautiful and likely more lasting than any such memorial. What he does insist is that the name should henceforth be sufficiently well known that no one need ever again ask the question he was once compelled to raise. He ends with a rueful aside on the damage this authentic history does to the charming but entirely fictitious tale of William and Ellen.

By E.V. Lucas · Genre: Essay, Biography, Historical Non-fiction · 1,321 words

First lines

Who was William Allen Richardson? I once asked. Since the publication of the volume of essays in which the problem was so tiresomely propounded many letters have reached me, each with its own solution. All are different; and their differences show how important it was that a warrior for truth should come forward and fling the question in the world's face. For the growth of legend and myth that has been endangering the fame of this noble deviser of an orange-hearted rose was becoming too rampant. Let me, therefore, who asked the question, now answer it; for I know. By dint of careful pruning I have removed the apocryphal, and the truth remains. William Allen Richardson was --

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An American Hero is listed on Textopian as a short story by E.V. Lucas, dated Date unknown.

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Work type: Short story
Author: E.V. Lucas
Date: Date unknown
Language: English
Genres: Essay, Biography, Historical Non-fiction, Humor, Literary Journalism
Length: 1,321 words
Structure: 1 section, 11 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th Grade)

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Genres

Essay — The work is explicitly presented as an essay investigating the identity of William Allen Richardson, with the author posing a question and systematically exploring various responses and theories.
Biography — The narrative culminates in a biographical account of William Allen Richardson's life, including his birth date, family connections, locations of residence, and horticultural achievements.
Historical Non-fiction — The work documents historical facts about rose cultivation, correspondence with European horticulturists, and the origins of a specific rose variety with verifiable details and sources.
Humor — The author employs witty, ironic commentary throughout, particularly in describing the absurdity of legends and the various conflicting accounts received, with playful jabs at human nature and complacency.