William Taylor Adams pseudonym

Pseudonym

A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...

 Oliver Optic, was a noted academic, author, and Massachusetts state legislator. He was born in Medway, Massachusetts

Medway, Massachusetts

Medway is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. According to the 2010 Census, the town had a population of 12,752.-History:Medway was first settled in 1657 and was officially incorporated in 1713. At that time, Medway began as a farming community of two hundred thirty-three...

 in 1822 to Captain Laban Adams and Catherine Johnson Adams.
He became a teacher in the Boston, Massachusetts public schools in 1845, and remained in that capacity through 1865. In 1846, he married Sarah Jenkins, with whom he had two children. He served as a member of the School Board of Dorchester, Massachusetts

Dorchester, Massachusetts

Dorchester is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated and is today endearingly nicknamed "Dot" by its residents. Dorchester, including a large...

, for 14 years. In 1869, he became a member of the Massachusetts General Court

Massachusetts General Court

The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...

. He died in Dorchester in 1897.

His first book, Hatchie, the Guardian Slave (1853), was published under the pseudonym of Warren T. Ashton

He wrote more than 100 books of fiction for boys under the pseudonym "Oliver Optic," published in large part as series in Oliver Optic's Magazine, of which he was the editor. Among the more popular titles were:

• Indoors and Out (1855)
• The Boat Club (1855)
• Young America Abroad
• The Starry Flag
• Onward and Upward
• The Yacht Club

Other titles included stories about the 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 also wrote two novels, The Way of the World and Living Too Fast.

Adams' writing was criticized by Louisa May Alcott, among others. Alcott used her story Eight Cousins to deplore Adams' use of slang, his cast of bootblacks and newsboys, and his stories of police courts and saloons. Adams responded in kind, pointing out Alcott's own use of slang and improbable plot twists.

External links

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• Works by Oliver Optic at Internet Archive
  Internet Archive
  The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
  
   (scanned books original editions illustrated)
• http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=mediatype%3A%28texts%29%20-contributor%3Agutenberg%20AND%20%28subject%3A%22Adams%2C%20William%20Taylor%2C%201822-1897%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Adams%2C%20W.%20T.%20%28William%20Taylor%29%2C%201822-1897%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Adams%2C%20William%20T.%20%28William%20Taylor%29%2C%201822-1897%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Adams%2C%20William%20Taylor%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Adams%2C%20W.%20T.%20%28William%20Taylor%29%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Adams%2C%20William%20T.%20%28William%20Taylor%29%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22William%20Taylor%20Adams%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22William%20T.%20Adams%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22W.%20T.%20Adams%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Adams%2C%20William%20Taylor%2C%201822-1897%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Adams%2C%20William%20Taylor%2C%20Sir%2C%201822-1897%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Adams%2C%20W.%20T.%20%28William%20Taylor%29%2C%201822-1897%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Adams%2C%20William%20T.%20%28William%20Taylor%29%2C%201822-1897%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Adams%2C%20William%20Taylor%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Adams%2C%20W.%20T.%20%28William%20Taylor%29%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Adams%2C%20William%20T.%20%28William%20Taylor%29%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22William%20Taylor%20Adams%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22William%20T.%20Adams%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22W.%20T.%20Adams%22%20OR%20title%3A%22William%20Taylor%20Adams%22%20OR%20title%3A%22William%20T.%20Adams%22%20OR%20title%3A%22W.%20T.%20Adams%22%20OR%20description%3A%22William%20Taylor%20Adams%22%20OR%20description%3A%22William%20T.%20Adams%22%20OR%20description%3A%22W.%20T.%20Adams%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Adams%2C%20William%20Taylor%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Adams%2C%20W.%20T.%20%28William%20Taylor%29%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Adams%2C%20William%20T.%20%28William%20Taylor%29%22%29Works by William Taylor Adams] at Internet Archive
  Internet Archive
  The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...