Addison Peale Russell was an American author of the later nineteenth century. He is remembered mainly for his Sub-Coelum

Sub-Coelum

Sub-Coelum: A Sky-Built Human World is an 1893 utopian fiction written by Addison Peale Russell. The book is one volume in the large body of utopian, dystopian, and speculative literature that characterized the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.-Genre:Scholar of the genre Jean Pfaelzer...

 — "his best book...a Utopian protest against materialistic socialism."

Russell was born in Ohio; his formal education ended with grammar school. At the age of sixteen he took a job as a printer for a newspaper; by nineteen he had worked his way up to editor and publisher of the Hillsboro, Ohio

Hillsboro, Ohio

Hillsboro is a city in and the county seat of Highland County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,605 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Hillsboro is located at ....

 News. He pursued a journalism career until he switched to politics and public service. He was made clerk of the Ohio Senate in 1850; he later represented Clinton County, Ohio

Clinton County, Ohio

Clinton County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 42,040. The 2008 Census Population Estimate places the figure at 43,200. It is named for former U.S. Vice-President George Clinton...

 in the Ohio House of Representatives

Ohio House of Representatives

The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate....

 in the 52nd General Assembly (1856–57) as a Republican, and was Ohio Secretary of State

Ohio Secretary of State

The Secretary of State is responsible for overseeing elections in the State of Ohio. The Secretary of State also is responsible for registering business entities and granting them the authority to do business within the state, registering secured transactions, and granting access to public...

 (1858–62). He was appointed Financial Agent for Ohio during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, stationed in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. He retired from public office in 1868 to pursue literature. He wrote seven books:

• Half Tints (1867)
• Library Notes (1875)
• Thomas Corwin (1882)
• Characteristics (1884)
• A Club of One (1887)
• In a Club Corner (1890)
• Sub-Coelum (1893).

Apart from his biographical survey of Thomas Corwin

Thomas Corwin

Thomas Corwin , also known as Tom Corwin and The Wagon Boy, was a politician from the state of Ohio who served as a prosecuting attorney, a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, the United States House of Representatives, and the United States Senate, and as the 15th Governor of Ohio 20th...

, an Ohio governor, Russell's books generally fall into the category of belles-lettres

Belles-lettres

Belles-lettres or belles lettres is a term that is used to describe a category of writing. A writer of belles-lettres is a belletrist. However, the boundaries of that category vary in different usages....

.