John R. Maynard is an American literary scholar whose work focuses on Victorian literature, literary theory, and the relationship between literature, culture, and sexuality. He is Professor Emeritus of English at New York University (NYU), where he taught from 1974 until his retirement in 2017.
Maynard studied at Harvard University, where he earned both his undergraduate and doctoral degrees. After early teaching roles, including a period at Harvard, he joined the English Department at NYU, eventually serving as department chair and later as chair of the university's Faculty Senators Council.
Much of Maynard's scholarship explores the ways literary texts reflect and shape cultural understandings, particularly in 19th-century Britain. His published works include studies on poets such as Robert Browning and Charlotte Brontë, and examinations of Victorian discourses on religion and sexuality.
For over two decades, Maynard co-edited "Victorian Literature and Culture", a scholarly journal that became a venue for emerging work in the field, including eco-criticism and Disability studies.
Maynard has received numerous fellowships and awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, and the Thomas J. Wilson Prize.