John Neal and John Dunn Hunter

Abstract

Late in his 1869 autobiography, Wandering Recollections of a Somewhat Busy Life, John Neal introduces a distinction that might seem important in any autobiography. Substantial truth is not the same thing as circumstantial truth, Neal asserts, and the former is clearly more important, not least because attaining the latter is well-nigh impossible. He illustrates with an odd little story. Neal’s final word choice here invites reflection on how this story emblematizes his entire autobiographical endeavor, those “wandering recollections.” While John Dunn Hunter’s role may initially appear merely incidental to Neal’s substantial point, it is not. Nearly a half-century after meeting John Dunn Hunter in London in 1823, Neal is still working through the issues Hunter’s life and story brought up for him.