C. A. (Charles Asbury) Stephens

Born in Norway, Maine, in 1844, Charles Asbury Stephens published under the name C. A. Stephens. He studied at Bowdoin College and went on to build a long writing career centered on short stories, articles, and books for younger readers.

Stephens is especially remembered for his many years with The Youth’s Companion, where he wrote fiction and nonfiction that ranged from travel narratives to tales shaped by Maine life. His work often draws on childhood recollection and local experience, which gives books like When Life Was Young their easy charm and vivid sense of time and place.

Alongside his storytelling, he was known for wide-ranging interests that included science and travel. That mix of observation and imagination helped make his writing feel both grounded and adventurous, and it still offers a welcoming glimpse into nineteenth-century New England and the reading world of his era.