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:

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.

The Gold Series

The Young Trailers Series

The French and Indian War Series

The Texan Series

The Civil War Series

The Great West Series

The World War Series

Other novels

Short stories (in chronological order by publication date)

Re-Issues

In 2019, Neo Books compiled four books as