Wikipedia:Peer review/Richard Henry Savage/archive1

Richard Henry Savage
This peer review discussion has been closed. This article is about a worldly man who had two very strong careers, one as a military engineer and one as a writer. His greater fame came from his books which were all highly popular pulp novels, fast-moving and easy to read; nothing very snobby.

It gained GA a while back and has been resting quietly since then. I would like to push it farther to FA, but I don't have very much objectivity about it. New eyes would be very good! Binksternet (talk) 23:38, 23 February 2012 (UTC)

Brianboulton comments: Well done in developing the article on this interesting and diverse character. At present the prose requires some further attention, and there are issues of clarification and relevance. A general concern is that so little of the article deals with Savage's activity as a writer, which is highlighted in the first sentence and which is, you imply above, what he is chiefly remembered for. There is a legacy section with no legacy in it. Here are my detailed comments:-
 * Lead: MOS indicates a maximum of four paragraphs. For a relatively short (under 2000w) article, this lead is too long and should be cut back; a lead should be a broad-brush summary.
 * There is no reason for the single citation in the lead, since the same fact is given in the text and should be cited there.
 * Prose and general issues
 * "Savage joined with his family" → "Savage joined his family". The sentence containing this phrase is overlong, and should be split.
 * Some readers may wonder how Savage came to study law with a US Senator. Did he work in the senator's law office, or was this an informal arrangement?
 * "The Civil War found Savage immediately joining the Union Army but his father had him discharged for extreme youth." - very awkward phrasing. I suggest: "At the start of the Civil War Savage joined the Union Army, but his father secured his discharge on the grounds of his extreme youth".
 * In what capacity did Savage's father "push to keep California on the Union side" Did he have political influence?
 * Clarify whether his appointment as Collector of Internal Revenue was statewide or nationwide. The years 1861-73 are not part of the job title, so I would say : "...in which capacity he served between 1861 and 1873".
 * "Through his influence..." - "his" referring to whom? Lincoln? Please clarify. This is another of those sentences that needs reorganising and splitting. Why was Savage crossing the Panama isthmus? What are plebes?
 * What is the meaning of "brevet" when attached to a military rank?
 * Avoid POV or peacock terms such as "Savage served ably..."
 * "Through President Grant..." Explain how he was able to secure the assistance of Grant.
 * "Beginning in 1871, Savage traveled to Egypt..." Unless the journey took a very long time, you should delete "Beginning"
 * You serve with, not at the rank of captain, and to clarify that this captaincy was in the Egyptian Army. This is not altogether clear at the moment.
 * I, and maybe other readers, will wonder how, without any apparent training, Savage was able to serve as chief engineer to a railroad.
 * I'm not sure that the information about Savage's daughter's much later marriage has any relevance here.
 * Individuals such as Henry George should be properly introduced, rather than merely named and linked.
 * More clarity necessary about the publication dates of Savage's various books
 * The "Critical Review" section has one single review, which is hardly worthy of a section to itself. Is there no other recorded criticism of any of Savage's words? If not, it would be better to paraphrase the main points of the Overland Monthly review and tack this on to the previous section.
 * The beginning of the "New York" section is verbose and overdetailed. I recommend: "In 1896, Savage sued his publisher for $12,000 in unpaid royalties. The publisher..."
 * The first paragraph of this section seems somewhat anecdotal and disconnected. I recommend that you eliminate most of this and move more quickly to Savage's service in the Spanish-American War. Likewise, the last paragraph has nothing to do with New York life, and very little to do with Savage.
 * "Death and legacy" - where's the legacy?
 * Images
 * File:Richard Henry Savage.jpg The proper licence is PD-US, not PD-old. You can't claim auhor's life plus 70 years if the author of the image is unknown.
 * Same issue with File:Richard Henry Savage - signature.jpg
 * - and File:Richard Henry Savage 1890s.jpg

As I am not watching individual peer reviews, please ping my talkpage if you wish to raise any questions with me, or if you want me to take another look. Brianboulton (talk) 00:48, 29 February 2012 (UTC)


 * Thanks for the review! I have edited the article to address many of your points, except for the following:
 * US Senator law office, and President Grant: The sources are silent regarding how Savage came to be apprenticed to a senator and later given an assignment by President Grant. Binksternet (talk) 18:51, 8 March 2012 (UTC)