author

Arthur Cosslett Smith

1852–1926

Best known for elegant, much-praised short story collections from the turn of the 20th century, this Rochester writer paired literary ambition with a lawyer’s career. His surviving work offers atmospheric fiction, including desert and romance settings, with a touch of period charm.

1 Audiobook

The Turquoise Cup, and, the Desert

The Turquoise Cup, and, the Desert

by Arthur Cosslett Smith

About the author

Arthur Cosslett Smith (1852–1926) was an American lawyer and author based in Rochester, New York. A page from the Sibley Watson Digital Archive identifies him as the husband of Elisabeth Storer Atkinson Smith and says he was best known for two highly praised story collections, The Monk and the Dancer (1900) and The Turquoise Cup (1903).

His best-known book still widely available today is The Turquoise Cup, and, the Desert, published in 1903 by Charles Scribner’s Sons. Project Gutenberg lists that title under his name, and other library and bookseller records note that the volume included illustrations by Maxfield Parrish.

Some biographical databases also describe Smith as a lawyer, and Rochester-area historical material places the family at 6 Sibley Place, with three children. Reliable portrait images were not clearly available from the sources I could confirm, so no profile image is included here.