Atlantic Narratives: Modern Short Stories; Second Series

A little-known early 20th-century fiction writer, this author published under the name Elizabeth Ashe and contributed stories to The Atlantic. Her surviving work points to a quiet but distinct place in the magazine culture of her time.

Kathleen Carman

1875–1959

An early 20th-century short-story writer whose work appeared in The Atlantic, she is remembered today largely through a single surviving published story, "The Debt." Though little biographical detail is widely documented, her writing still offers a glimpse of magazine fiction from its era.

Cornelia A. P. (Cornelia Atwood Pratt) Comer

1865–1929

A journalist turned novelist and story writer, she brought a sharp eye for people and social pressures to her fiction. Her work moves easily between magazine realism, family drama, and an early brush with speculative mystery.

Mazo De la Roche

1879–1961

Best known for the beloved Jalna novels, this Canadian author turned family tensions, rural life, and a vivid fictional world into international literary success. Her stories of the Whiteoak family made her one of the most widely read writers of her era.

A prolific American writer for children and young readers, she created warm, lively stories that turn everyday family life into adventure. Her books, including Rebecca Mary and The Very Small Person, have a gentle humor that still feels inviting.

An American diplomat, businessman, and novelist, he moved between public service and literary work with unusual ease. His career took him from U.S. consular posts in Europe to books and stories that still surface in classic-literature collections.

Rebecca Hooper Eastman

1877–1937

A novelist, short-story writer, journalist, and suffrage activist, she moved easily between politics and popular storytelling. She is best remembered for The Big Little Person: A Romance (1917), later adapted into a silent film.

William Addleman Ganoe

1881–1966

A career Army officer and military historian, he is best remembered for bringing the long story of the U.S. Army to a wide audience in clear, readable prose. His work blends a soldier’s firsthand understanding with a deep interest in the people, traditions, and institutions behind American military history.

Remembered for the short story "The Way of Life," this early 20th-century writer published in The Atlantic and moved in reform-minded circles of her time. The surviving record is slim, but her work still surfaces through public-domain archives and audiobook collections.

Best known for vivid nonfiction about work, industry, and life at sea, this early 20th-century American writer turned firsthand experience into lively books for general readers. His subjects ranged from coal mines and rail travel to naval service and the people who helped build modern America.

A little-known early 20th-century magazine writer, remembered today for short fiction that appeared in major American periodicals. The surviving record is sparse, which gives the work an air of discovery for modern listeners.

An early 20th-century writer with a strong interest in immigration, language, and California history, she published both fiction and nonfiction that reflect the social questions of her time.

A late-19th- and early-20th-century American writer, she published fiction in major magazines and left behind a small body of work that still feels vivid and readable today.

Edith Ronald Mirrielees

1878–1962

A pioneering Stanford teacher of creative writing, she helped shape generations of young writers, including John Steinbeck. She also wrote practical guides to storytelling and books about Stanford’s history.

Margaret Prescott Montague

1878–1955

Best known for vivid stories and novels rooted in the southern mountains, this early twentieth-century American writer brought West Virginia landscapes and local life onto the page. Her work ranges from regional fiction to sharper social satire, showing both affection and wit.

Edward Morlae

A firsthand World War I memoir brings readers into the French Foreign Legion through the eyes of an American volunteer. Best known for A Soldier of the Legion, this early 20th-century writer offers a vivid, close-up account of trench warfare and legion life.

Meredith Nicholson

1866–1947

A bestselling Indiana novelist, journalist, and diplomat, he wrote brisk, entertaining fiction that made him a national name in the early 1900s. Today he is especially remembered for The House of a Thousand Candles and for his place in Indiana's literary golden age.

Kathleen Thompson Norris

1880–1966

A hugely popular American novelist and newspaper columnist, she wrote stories that brought domestic life, moral choices, and everyday emotions to a wide early-20th-century readership. For decades, her novels were among the best-known bestselling fiction in the United States.

An early 20th-century American writer and journalist, she moved easily between literary retellings, short fiction, and even science fiction. Her work shows a gift for making big ideas and classic stories feel inviting to everyday readers.

Best known for warm, sharply observed fiction set in the American South, this early 20th-century writer turned her teaching experience into stories full of humor, character, and everyday life.

Elsie Singmaster

1879–1958

Best known for vivid stories rooted in Pennsylvania Dutch country, this prolific American writer brought small-town lives, family ties, and regional history to a wide audience. Her work ranged from novels and short stories to books for younger readers, with a Newbery Honor among her distinctions.

Charles Haskins Townsend

1859–1944

A leading American zoologist and naturalist, he helped shape public interest in marine life through decades of work at the New York Aquarium. His career also included major expeditions and early fisheries research that brought him into close contact with ocean life around the world.

A Chicago writer with a sharp eye for everyday lives, she moved easily between fiction, poetry, criticism, and social commentary. Her work grew out of the reform-minded literary world around Hull House and helped capture the spirit of early 20th-century Chicago.