author
Harriet Putnam
b. 1862
Best remembered for writing short, approachable history books for children, this early 20th-century author turned big American stories into simple reading for young audiences. Her surviving works focus on presidents and Abraham Lincoln, using deliberately easy one-syllable language.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Very little biographical information about this author has been easy to confirm, but library records consistently identify Harriet Putnam as an American writer born in 1862. She is associated with juvenile historical books published by McLoughlin Brothers in the early 1900s.
Her best-known books include Lives of the Presidents, in Words of One Syllable (1903) and The Life of Abraham Lincoln for Young People, Told in Words of One Syllable (1905). These books were designed to make history accessible to children by using especially simple vocabulary.
Because reliable personal details appear to be scarce, her published work tells us the most about her legacy: she wrote clear, educational biographies that introduced young readers to major figures in American history.