Horace Elisha Scudder was a prolific American man of letters and editor.

Biography

He was born into a Boston family; his brothers were David Coit Scudder and Samuel Hubbard Scudder

Samuel Hubbard Scudder

Samuel Hubbard Scudder was an American entomologist and palaeontologist.Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Scudder may be most widely known for his essay on the importance of first-hand, careful observation in the natural sciences...

. He graduated from 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...

 in 1858, taught school 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...

, and subsequently, returned to Boston and devoted himself to literary work.

He is now best known for his children's books and the editorship he held of The Atlantic Monthly. He published the Bodley Books (1875–87) and was also an essayist, and produced large quantities of journalism that was printed anonymously. He was a correspondent of Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...

 and biographer of James Russell Lowell

James Russell Lowell

James Russell Lowell was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the Fireside Poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets who rivaled the popularity of British poets...

. He edited also The Riverside Magazine.

Scudder also prepared, with Mrs Taylor, the Life and Letters of Bayard Taylor

Bayard Taylor

Bayard Taylor was an American poet, literary critic, translator, and travel author.-Life and work:...

(1884) and was series editor for the extensive "American Commonwealths Series" for Houghton Mifflin

Houghton Mifflin

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is an educational and trade publisher in the United States. Headquartered in Boston's Back Bay, it publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults.-History:The company was...

.

Scudder may have been most famous for his 1884 work A History of the United State of America Preceded By a Narrative of the Discovery and Settlement of North America and of the Events Which Led to the Independence of the Thirteen English Colonies for the Use of Schools and Academies, which long set the standard for American history textbooks.

Works

• Seven Little People and Their Friends (1862)
• Life and Letters of David Coit Scudder (1864)
• Stories from my Attic (1869)
• Stories and Romances (1880)
• Noah Webster ("American Men of Letters," 1882)
• A History of the United State of America Preceded By a Narrative of the Discovery and Settlement of North America and of the Events Which Led to the Independence of the Thirteen English Colonies for the Use of Schools and Academies (1884 and later editions)
• History of the United States (1884)
• Men and Letters (1887), essays
• George Washington
  George Washington
  George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
  
  (1889)
• Childhood in Literature and Art (1894)
• Life of James Russell Lowell (1901)
• The Book of Fables and Folk Stories

External links

• Horace Elisha Scudder(1838 - 1902) The Baldwin Project