Stoddard, William O
Entry updated 12 September 2022. Tagged: Author.
(1835-1925) US editor, government official, inventor and author, Abraham Lincoln's Assistant Private Secretary 1861-1864, resigning for health reasons which also truncated his slightly later career as a United States Marshall in Arkansas. His patents were in the field of publishing. He began to publish fiction in 1869, producing in the end more than 100 volumes, mostly for young readers. Those of sf interest include two Lost Race novels: The Lost God of the Montezumas: A Story of the Alamo (1898), basically a western focusing on the discovery of relics of an ancient Aztec civilization, including a vast cache of gold; and Ned the Son of Webb: What He Did (1900), whose young protagonist Timeslips to Viking times, has adventures, but awakens back home. Ulric the Jarl: A Story of the Penitent Thief (1899) is Prehistoric SF which predates the exploits and influence of the Vikings, who are seen as Europe's spiritual parents. [JC]
William Osborn Stoddard
born Homer, New York: 24 September 1835
died Madison, New Jersey: 29 August 1925
works
- The Lost God of the Montezumas: A Story of the Alamo (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: J B Lippincott Company, 1898) [hb/]
- Ulric the Jarl: A Story of the Penitent Thief (New York: Eaton and Mains, 1899) [hb/]
- Ned the Son of Webb: What He Did (Boston, Massachusetts: Dana Estes and Company, 1900) [in the publisher's The Boy's Own Author Series: illus/hb/Victor A Searles]
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