See also: 1841 in literature, other events of 1842, 1843 in literature, list of years in literature.

Events

New Books

• The Adventures of Mr Ledbury - Albert Smith
• The Ambassador's Wife - Catherine Gore
• The Black Sheep - Honoré de Balzac
• Consuelo - George Sand
• Dead Souls - Nikolai Gogol
• Handy Andy - Samuel Lover
• The Mysteries of Paris - Eugène Sue
• The Overcoat - Nikolai Gogol
• Percival Keene - Frederick Marryat
• Le Rhin - Victor Hugo
• The Two Admirals - James Fenimore Cooper
• Zanoni - Edward George Bulwer-Lytton

Births

• February 4 - Arrigo Boito, poet (+ 1918)
• February 25 - Karl May, writer (+ 1912)
• June 24 - Ambrose Bierce (+ 1914)

Deaths

• Charlotte Dacre, author
• March 23 - Stendhal, writer

Awards