author

E. Cutler (Ephraim Cutler) Shedd

Best known today for classroom Latin books and the travel-flavored children's title Our Little Persian Cousin, this early-20th-century writer left behind practical, approachable works for young readers and students. His published record suggests a teacherly voice shaped by language study and a knack for making unfamiliar worlds feel closer.

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Our Little Persian Cousin

Our Little Persian Cousin

by E. Cutler (Ephraim Cutler) Shedd

About the author

E. Cutler Shedd, also published as Ephraim Cutler Shedd, is an elusive figure in the historical record, but his surviving books give a clear sense of his interests. Library and bookseller records connect him with The First Latin Book (1901), A First Latin Book; the Word-Value Text-book (1906), The Word-Value; First Latin Book (1907), and Word Lists for Livy (1900), all centered on teaching Latin in a practical way.

He is also credited by Project Gutenberg and other catalog records with Our Little Persian Cousin, part of a once-popular series that introduced young readers to life in other countries through story. Taken together, these works suggest an author comfortable moving between schoolroom instruction and accessible cultural writing for children.

Because biographical details about Shedd are hard to confirm from reliable online sources, much of his personal life remains unclear. What can be said with confidence is that his books continued to circulate long after publication, and they still offer a glimpse of an era when language learning and children's world literature were closely tied to curiosity, character, and education.