Joseph Alexander Altsheler (April 29, 1862 – June 5, 1919) was an American newspaper reporter, editor and author of popular juvenile historical fiction. He was a prolific writer, and produced fifty novels and at least fifty-three short stories. Thirty-two of his novels were part of his seven series: The Civil War Series (8 volumes) The French and Indian War Series (6 volumes) The Gold Series (2 volumes) The Great West Series (2 volumes) The Texan Series (3 volumes) The World War Series (3 volumes) The Young Trailers Series (8 volumes)
Early life and education
Altsheler was born in Three Springs, Hart County, Kentucky, to Joseph and Louise (née Snoddy) Altsheler. He attended Liberty College in Glasgow, Kentucky, before entering Vanderbilt University.
Career
In 1885, he took a job at the Louisville Courier-Journal as a reporter and later worked as an editor. He started working for the New York World in 1892, first as the paper's Hawaiian correspondent and then as the editor of the World'''s tri-weekly magazine. Due to a lack of suitable stories, he began writing children's stories for the magazine.
Personal life
Altsheler married Sarah Boles on May 30, 1888; they had one son, Sidney.
Altsheler and his family were in Germany in 1914 when World War I began, and they were forced to remain in Germany for a time. The hardships the Altshelers endured in returning to the U.S. damaged Altsheler's health and rendered him a semi-invalid until his death. Upon returning to the U.S., he wrote The World War Series of books based on his ordeal.
Death
Altsheler died in New York City on June 5, 1919, aged 57; his obituary appeared in The Evening World, on June 6, 1919. His widow, Sarah, died 30 years later. Both are buried at the Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky.
Bibliography
Although each of the thirty-two novels constitutes an independent story, Altsheler suggested a reading order for each series (i.e., he numbered the volumes). The remaining eighteen novels can be read in any order. [Note, however, that A Knight of Philadelphia was later expanded through the addition of nineteen chapters and some minor tweaks to become Mr. Altsheler's novel In Hostile Red.]
His short stories are not ordered, however, readers may prefer to read them in the order in which they were published. The short story list below is displayed in chronological order with the publication dates shown alongside the titles.
All of the titles below are available in digital format for viewing and downloading from many websites. Some websites allow free access to all 100 titles. There are also several websites where 'omnibus' digital editions of Mr. Altsheler's works are available for purchase. Many of his works are available in hard copy (i.e., printed) format.
The Gold SeriesV1 The Rainbow of Gold (1898)V2 The Hidden Mine (1896)
The Young Trailers SeriesV1 The Young Trailers, a story of early Kentucky (1907) V2 The Forest Runners, a story of the great war trail in early Kentucky (1908) V3 The Keepers of the Trail, a story of the great woods (1916) V4 The Eyes of the Woods, a story of the ancient wilderness (1917) V5 The Free Rangers, a story of the early days along the Mississippi (1909) V6 The Riflemen of the Ohio, a story of early days along "the beautiful river" (1910) V7 The Scouts of the Valley, a story of Wyoming and the Chemung (1911) V8 The Border Watch, a story of the great chief's last stand (1912)
The French and Indian War SeriesV1 The Hunters of the Hills, a story of the French and Indian War (1916) V2 The Shadow of the North, a story of old New York and a lost campaign (1917) V3 The Rulers of the Lakes, a story of George and Champlain (1917) V4 The Masters of the Peaks, a story of the great north woods (1918) V5 The Lords of the Wild, a story of the old New York border (1919) V6 The Sun of Quebec, a story of a great crisis (1919)
The Texan SeriesV1 The Texan Star, the story of a great fight for liberty (1912) V2 The Texan Scouts, the story of the Alamo and Goliad (1913) V3 The Texan Triumph, a romance of the San Jacinto campaign (1913)
The Civil War SeriesV1 The Guns of Bull Run, a story of the Civil War's eve (1914) V2 The Guns of Shiloh, a story of the great western campaign (1914) V3 The Scouts of Stonewall, the story of the great valley campaign (1914) V4 The Sword of Antietam, a story of the nation's crisis (1914) V5 The Star of Gettysburg, a story of southern high tide (1915) V6 The Rock of Chickamauga, a story of the western crisis (1915) V7 The Shades of the Wilderness, a story of Lee's great stand (1916) V8 The Tree of Appomattox, a story of the Civil War's close (1916)