author
Maximilian Foster
1872–1943
A journalist turned storyteller, he wrote brisk, popular fiction that reached magazine readers across the United States and later found its way into silent films. His work moves easily between social comedy, drama, and the polished storytelling style of the early twentieth century.
1 Audiobook
Rich Man, Poor Man
by Maximilian Foster
About the author
Born in San Francisco in 1872, Maximilian Foster was an American writer, playwright, and journalist. Sources about him are not fully consistent on the exact birth year, but library and author records agree that he died in 1943 and that he built a career in both newspapers and fiction.
Foster published novels and short fiction during the late 1800s and early 1900s, with work appearing in magazines such as Everybody's Magazine and, according to multiple biographical records, The Saturday Evening Post. His known books include Corrie Who?, Rich Man, Poor Man, The Trap, I Want to Be a Lady, Bubbles, Shoestrings, and The Whistling Man.
His stories also had a life beyond the page. Several were adapted for the screen in the silent era, and he is still remembered today as one of those versatile early twentieth-century authors who could move comfortably between journalism, popular fiction, and stage or screen work.