Biography

Edward Payson Roe was born in Moodna

Moodna

Moodna may refer to the following in the U.S. state of New York:*Moodna Creek, a tributary of the Hudson River*Moodna Viaduct, spans the above creek*USS Keokuk , at one time known as Moodna...

, Orange County, New York

Orange County, New York

Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley...

. He studied at Williams College

Williams College

Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...

 and at Auburn Theological Seminary

Auburn Theological Seminary

Auburn Theological Seminary was founded in 1818. Auburn Theological Seminary focuses on religious leadership development, movement-building, and research. Auburn is based in New York City and exists in covenant with the Presbyterian Church ....

. In 1862 He became chaplain

Chaplain

Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...

 of the Second New York Cavalry, U.S.V., and in 1864 chaplain of Hampton Hospital, in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. In 1866-74 he was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church at Highland Falls, New York

Highland Falls, New York

Highland Falls, formerly named Buttermilk Falls, is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 3,678 at the 2000 census. The village was founded in 1906...

. In 1874 he removed to Cornwall-on-Hudson, where he devoted himself to the writing of fiction

Fiction

Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...

 and to horticulture

Horticulture

Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...

. 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...

 he wrote weekly letters to the New York Evangelist, and subsequently lectured on the war and wrote for periodicals.

Writings

His novels were very popular in their day, especially with middle class

Middle class

The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....

 readers in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and America, and were translated into several European languages. Their strong moral

Moral

A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim...

 and religious purpose, and their being written by a clergyman, did much to break down a Puritan prejudice in America against works of fiction. Among his novels were;

• Barriers Burned Away (1872), which first appeared as a serial in the Evangelist and made him widely known.
• What Can she Do? (1873).
• Opening of a Chestnut Burr (1874).
• From Jest to Earnest (1875).
• Near to Natures Heart (1876).
• A Knight of the Nineteenth Century (1877).
• A Face Illumined (1878).
• A Day of Fate (1880).
• Without a Home (1881).
• His Sombre Rivals (1883).
• Natures Serial Story (1884).
• A Young Girls Wooing (1884).
• An Original Belle (1885).
• He Fell in Love with his Wife (1886).
• The Hornet's Nest: A Story of Love and War (1886).
• The Earth Trembled (1887).
• Miss Lou (left unfinished 1888).
• Play and Profit in My Garden (1873).
• Success with Small Fruits (1881).
• The Home Acre (1887).