author
Charles E. (Charles Edward) Bolton
1841–1901
A civic-minded Cleveland writer with a reformer’s eye, this late-19th-century author wrote about reading, public life, and social improvement. His work ranges from practical literary guidance to thoughtful essays and an early speculative novel.
1 Audiobook
The Harris-Ingram Experiment
by Charles E. (Charles Edward) Bolton
About the author
Born in 1841 and dying in 1901, Charles Edward Bolton was an American businessman, philanthropist, and author associated with Cleveland, Ohio. Reliable catalog and reference sources connect him with works including What to Read and How to Write, A Model Village of Homes, and Other Papers, and the posthumously published novel The Harris-Ingram Experiment.
Sources also describe him as active in civic and educational work. He edited publications for the Cleveland Educational Bureau, and library-style author records note that he served as mayor of East Cleveland from 1899 to 1901. His writing suggests a strong interest in practical culture, public improvement, and the everyday habits that help communities grow.
Bolton was also the husband of writer Sarah Knowles Bolton, and together they were part of a lively literary and reform-minded world in the late 1800s. Although he is not widely known today, his books still offer a revealing glimpse of the era’s faith in education, civic responsibility, and better living.