Burt L. Standish
Encyclopedia
William George "Gilbert" Patten (October 25, 1866 – January 16, 1945) was a writer of dime novel
s and is best known as author of the Frank Merriwell
stories, with the pen name Burt L. Standish.
in 1866. His father, a carpenter, and his mother were deeply religious pacifists. He entered Corinna Union Academy at fourteen, but when his father threatened that he would be put to work if he did not improve at school, Patten ran away to Biddeford, Maine
where he worked in a machine shop. When he returned home and told his father that he would become an author, he was given thirty days to prove himself. He sold his first two stories in this period to the dime novel company of Erastus Flavel Beadle
, and combined his resumed studies for the next four years with writing and publishing stories. When he was twenty, he married Alice Gardner, and in 1892 their son Harvan Barr Patten was born. They later divorced and Gilbert Patten would marry twice more.
Patten worked at the Pittsfield Advertiser before creating in 1888 his own newspaper, the Corinna Owl. He sold it the next year to the Advertiser, and devoted his time to the stories, mostly westerns, for Beadle's Half-Dime Library.
Meanwhile, he managed a semi-professional baseball team in 1890–1891 in Camden, Maine
before leaving for New York
. But after this season he again mostly worked as an author, working for Norman Munro
, and for most of his career for Street & Smith
.
He was a writer of dime novels. His first published dime novel was The Diamond Sport; or, The Double Face of Bed Rock, published in 1886 by Beadle. He wrote westerns with the pen name Wyoming Bill, but is best known for his sporting stories in the Frank Merriwell
series, written as Burt L. Standish.
Patten started writing the Merriwell stories in April 1896 for the publisher Street & Smith
and produced one each week, at a length of twenty thousand words, for twenty years. The series, which appeared in Tip-Top Weekly, was immensely popular, selling some 135,000 copies a week, and the brothers Frank and Dick Merriwell became icons of All-American sportsmanship, entering the jargon of sports commentators. Patten, however, never received any royalties for them, being paid up to $150 per story as a hack writer. The series was originally inspired by the success of the British Penny Dreadfuls like Jack Harkaway. Gibert Patten also contributed to the Frank Merriwell comic strip from 1928, and supervised the 1934 NBC
radio series.
In 1893, he hired Edward Stratemeyer
as a writer for the Street & Smith publication Good News.
From 1927 to 1930, Gilbert Patten would start a new series of Frank Merriwell stories, aided now by a few ghostwriters.
In 1930, Patten started his own publication, The Dime Novel, but only one issue appeared.
Apart from the Merriwell stories, Patten wrote 75 complete novels and an unknown number of stories. He estimated that he had written 40 million words as an author. In total, some 500 million of his books were in print, making him one of the best-selling fiction authors of all time.
He lived most of his life in Camden, Maine
, but moved to California in 1941. He died in Vista, California
in 1945.
Dime novel
Dime novel, though it has a specific meaning, has also become a catch-all term for several different forms of late 19th-century and early 20th-century U.S...
s and is best known as author of the Frank Merriwell
Frank Merriwell
Frank Merriwell is a fictional character appearing in a series of novels and short stories by Gilbert Patten, who wrote under the pseudonym Burt L. Standish...
stories, with the pen name Burt L. Standish.
Biography
Gilbert Patten was born in Corinna, MaineCorinna, Maine
Corinna is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,145 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Bangor, Maine metropolitan statistical area.-History:...
in 1866. His father, a carpenter, and his mother were deeply religious pacifists. He entered Corinna Union Academy at fourteen, but when his father threatened that he would be put to work if he did not improve at school, Patten ran away to Biddeford, Maine
Biddeford, Maine
Biddeford is a town in York County, Maine, United States. It is the largest town in the county, and is the sixth-largest in the state. It is the most southerly incorporated town in the state and the principal commercial center of York County. The population was 21,277 at the 2010 census...
where he worked in a machine shop. When he returned home and told his father that he would become an author, he was given thirty days to prove himself. He sold his first two stories in this period to the dime novel company of Erastus Flavel Beadle
Erastus Flavel Beadle
Erastus Flavel Beadle was a pioneer in publishing pulp fiction.-Biography:He was born in Oswego County, New York, United States, in 1821. He had a sibling: Irwin Pedro Beadle . They were the grandsons of Benjamin Beadle, a Revolutionary War soldier...
, and combined his resumed studies for the next four years with writing and publishing stories. When he was twenty, he married Alice Gardner, and in 1892 their son Harvan Barr Patten was born. They later divorced and Gilbert Patten would marry twice more.
Patten worked at the Pittsfield Advertiser before creating in 1888 his own newspaper, the Corinna Owl. He sold it the next year to the Advertiser, and devoted his time to the stories, mostly westerns, for Beadle's Half-Dime Library.
Meanwhile, he managed a semi-professional baseball team in 1890–1891 in Camden, Maine
Camden, Maine
Camden is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,254 at the 2000 census. The population of the town more than triples during the summer months, due to tourists and summer residents. Camden is a famous summer colony in the Mid-Coast region of Maine...
before leaving for New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. But after this season he again mostly worked as an author, working for Norman Munro
Norman Munro
Norman Leslie Munro was an American publisher.In 1873 Munro established the New York Family Story Paper, which gained a weekly circulation of 325,000. He also published Boys of New York, Our Boys, Munro's Library, and the American juvenile magazine Golden Hours in the late 19th century. One of his...
, and for most of his career for Street & Smith
Street & Smith
Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc. was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as pulp fiction and dime novels. They also published comic books and sporting yearbooks...
.
He was a writer of dime novels. His first published dime novel was The Diamond Sport; or, The Double Face of Bed Rock, published in 1886 by Beadle. He wrote westerns with the pen name Wyoming Bill, but is best known for his sporting stories in the Frank Merriwell
Frank Merriwell
Frank Merriwell is a fictional character appearing in a series of novels and short stories by Gilbert Patten, who wrote under the pseudonym Burt L. Standish...
series, written as Burt L. Standish.
Patten started writing the Merriwell stories in April 1896 for the publisher Street & Smith
Street & Smith
Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc. was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as pulp fiction and dime novels. They also published comic books and sporting yearbooks...
and produced one each week, at a length of twenty thousand words, for twenty years. The series, which appeared in Tip-Top Weekly, was immensely popular, selling some 135,000 copies a week, and the brothers Frank and Dick Merriwell became icons of All-American sportsmanship, entering the jargon of sports commentators. Patten, however, never received any royalties for them, being paid up to $150 per story as a hack writer. The series was originally inspired by the success of the British Penny Dreadfuls like Jack Harkaway. Gibert Patten also contributed to the Frank Merriwell comic strip from 1928, and supervised the 1934 NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
radio series.
In 1893, he hired Edward Stratemeyer
Edward Stratemeyer
Edward Stratemeyer was an American publisher and writer of books for children.He is one of the most prolific writers in the world, producing in excess of 1300 books himself, selling in excess of 500 million copies, and created the well-known fictional book series for juveniles including The Rover...
as a writer for the Street & Smith publication Good News.
From 1927 to 1930, Gilbert Patten would start a new series of Frank Merriwell stories, aided now by a few ghostwriters.
In 1930, Patten started his own publication, The Dime Novel, but only one issue appeared.
Apart from the Merriwell stories, Patten wrote 75 complete novels and an unknown number of stories. He estimated that he had written 40 million words as an author. In total, some 500 million of his books were in print, making him one of the best-selling fiction authors of all time.
He lived most of his life in Camden, Maine
Camden, Maine
Camden is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,254 at the 2000 census. The population of the town more than triples during the summer months, due to tourists and summer residents. Camden is a famous summer colony in the Mid-Coast region of Maine...
, but moved to California in 1941. He died in Vista, California
Vista, California
Vista is a city in north San Diego County, California. It was incorporated January 28, 1963 and became a charter city on June 13, 2007. Located just seven miles inland from the Pacific Ocean in northern San Diego County, the City of Vista has a Mediterranean climate...
in 1945.
As himself
- The Diamond Sport, 1886, 1 story
- Violet Vane, 8 stories between 1889 and 189
- The Deadwood Trail, 1 novel published by D. Appleton and Co. in 1904
- Football stories in Popular Magazine, a Street & Smith publication (1903)
- Cliff Stirling or Clif Sterling, a series of five sporting novels published by David McKay between 1910 and 1916
- Jack Lockwill, a 1927-1928 comic strip, different illustrators
As Burt L. Standish
- Frank Merriwell, 209 dime novels between 1896 and 1930 (some between 1927 and 1930 written by other authors with the same pen name), 28 of them reprinted as hard covers
- Big League, 16 episodes of baseball stories
As Emerson Bell
- Science fiction, e.g. In The Heart of the Earth (the pen name was also used by Edward Stratemeyer)
Other
- Boltwood of Yale
- On College Battlefields
- The Call of the Varsity
- The College Rebel