author
Charles Weathers Bump
1872–1908
A Baltimore journalist and storyteller, this early-20th-century writer moved easily between newspaper work, local history, and short fiction. His books often turn toward regional settings and a slightly whimsical, old-fashioned charm.
1 Audiobook
The Mermaid of Druid Lake, and Other Stories
by Charles Weathers Bump
About the author
Born in Baltimore in 1872, Charles Weathers Bump was an American journalist and author whose work was closely tied to Maryland life. Reliable catalog and bibliographic sources show that he wrote Down the Historic Susquehanna (1899), The Mermaid of Druid Lake, and Other Stories (1906), and His Baltimore Madonna, and Other Stories (1906).
Biographical references describe him as a graduate of Johns Hopkins who worked for the Baltimore Sun, including as a reporter and later in editorial and dramatic-criticism roles. That background helps explain the mix of local color, historical interest, and polished magazine-style storytelling found in his writing.
Bump died in 1908 at just 35 years old. Although he is not widely known today, his surviving books preserve a lively glimpse of Baltimore literary culture and the tastes of readers at the turn of the 20th century.