The Transatlantic Celebrity of Mr. O: Oratory and the Networks of Reputation in Early Nineteenth-Century Britain and America

Abstract

This essay examines the career of James Ogilvie, an innovative orator of the early nineteenth century—one of the first performers to attain celebrity in the United States—who subsequently sought to transfer his fame to Britain. Whereas most scholars scrutinise the phenomenon of celebrity by focusing on its reliance on print and consumer culture, this essay argues for the importance of social networks of friends, patrons and the cultivation of word-of-mouth reputation as a foundation for the creation of celebrity. This research demonstrates that even a socially inconsequential man might play an active role in engaging those networks to build his own fame. Ogilvie’s case also demonstrates the obstacles faced by performers who sought to translate celebrity from one social, national and media setting to another. By placing individual agency and social networks at the centre, this essay ultimately seeks to understand the phenomenon of celebrity in its early years.