Edgar Saltus

Biography

Edgar Saltus (1855–1921) was an American novelist and essayist associated with the Decadent movement. Born into a wealthy New York family, he studied in Germany and at Columbia Law School before dedicating himself to literature. Saltus wrote novels of high-society intrigue marked by cynicism, epigrammatic wit, and a fascination with the darker aspects of human nature. His style—polished, mannered, and deliberately perverse—made him a unique figure in American letters, sometimes called the American Oscar Wilde. Though largely forgotten today, Saltus was admired by contemporaries for his stylistic brilliance.