author
Charles Burdett
1815–1862
A popular 19th-century American journalist and novelist, he wrote fast-moving historical romances and frontier adventures that once reached a wide audience. He is especially remembered today for books tied to American history, including stories about Aaron Burr and Kit Carson.
1 Audiobook
Life of Kit Carson, the Great Western Hunter and Guide
by Charles Burdett
About the author
Born in New York State in 1815, Charles Burdett built a career as a journalist and novelist in the mid-1800s. Reference works and library records credit him with a long list of novels and historical tales, and later family and biographical sources identify him as the adopted son of former U.S. vice president Aaron Burr.
His books range from domestic fiction to sensational historical storytelling. Among the works linked to him are Arthur Martin; or, The Mother's Trials, The Elliott Family; or, The Trials of New-York Seamstresses, Dora Barton, the Banker's Ward, Margaret Moncrieffe, the First Love of Aaron Burr, The Beautiful Spy, and Life of Kit Carson, the Great Western Hunter and Guide. The mix of city life, revolution-era intrigue, and western adventure helps explain why his writing appealed to such a broad popular readership.
Burdett died in 1862. Though he is not widely known now, his books offer a lively glimpse of the kinds of fiction and pseudo-history that captivated American readers in the 19th century.