Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836–1907)
Author of The Story of a Bad Boy
About the Author
A native of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Thomas Bailey Aldrich lived during a time of great change in American literature. His literary conservatism and his resistance to the harsher outlooks of realism in part account for the neglect of him today. Nevertheless, his poetry and fiction were popular show more during his day, and he was a conscientious craftsman. At 16 he went to work in his uncle's New York countinghouse, but he spent his free time reading and writing poetry. His first published works, the sentimental "Ballad of Babie Bell" and The Bells (1855), a volume of verse, brought him immediate fame. He then devoted himself to literature. He became the editor of the weekly magazine, Every Saturday, and eventually of the prestigious Atlantic Monthly from 1881 to 1890. His mature lyrics were less sentimental than his early work, though he continued to follow the classical conventions of romantic poetry. His best short stories, particularly those collected in Marjorie Daw and Other Stories (1873) and Two Bites at a Cherry, with Other Tales (1894), show his use of regional local color, but his romantic plots rely on humor rather than realism for their appeal. Aldrich's first novel, The Story of a Bad Boy (1870), was unique in its depiction not of a "bad boy" but of a "natural boy," a type that anticipated Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer. Aldrich's other novels, although popular, were not as successful. Even as he foresaw the change in literary taste that would doom his own reputation, he remained steadfast in preferring the pleasant to the realistic, the conventional to the modern. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Thomas Bailey Aldrich at the age of 32
Courtesy of the NYPL Digital Gallery
(image use requires permission from the New York Public Library)
Courtesy of the NYPL Digital Gallery
(image use requires permission from the New York Public Library)
Works by Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Friar Jerome's beautiful book 5 copies
Cloth of gold, and other poems 3 copies
Prudence Palfrey: A Novel 3 copies
The Queen of Sheba 3 copies
Flower and Thorn 2 copies
The Second Son 2 copies
From Ponkapog to Pesth 2 copies
Young folks' Library: Tales of Fantasy, Stories of School and College Days, A Book of Famous Myths & Legends, The… (1943) 1 copy
A HIstória de Um Rapaz Mau 1 copy
Hasheesh [Poems (1863)] 1 copy
"Nocturne" 1 copy
"Lullaby" 1 copy
Mercedes, and later lyrics 1 copy
Associated Works
Civil War Memories: Nineteen Stories of Battle, Bravery, Love, and Tragedy (2000) — Contributor — 33 copies
The Romantic Friendship Reader: Love Stories Between Men in Victorian America (2003) — Contributor — 16 copies
The Forgotten Classics of Mystery, Volume II: An Omnibus of American Mysteries (1959) — Contributor — 5 copies
Representative American Short Stories — Contributor — 5 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1836-11-11
- Date of death
- 1907-03-19
- Burial location
- Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA
- Place of death
- Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Places of residence
- Boston, Massachusetts, USA
New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA - Occupations
- editor
poet
fiction writer
critic - Organizations
- American Academy of Arts and Letters (Literature ∙ 1898)
Atlantic Monthly
Members
Reviews
Lists
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 71
- Also by
- 27
- Members
- 820
- Popularity
- #31,114
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 7
- ISBNs
- 150
- Languages
- 2