author

Oliver Optic

1822–1897

A 19th-century American storyteller and educator, he wrote lively adventure books for young readers under the pen name Oliver Optic. His tales of ships, schools, and moral choices made him one of the best-known juvenile authors of his era.

70 Audiobooks

The picnic party : A story for little folks

by Oliver Optic

Through by daylight : Or, the young engineer of the Lake Shore Railroad

by Oliver Optic

Four Young Explorers; Or, Sight-Seeing in the Tropics

by Oliver Optic

Watch and Wait; or, The Young Fugitives

by Oliver Optic

The Birthday Party: A Story for Little Folks

by Oliver Optic

The Boat Club; or, The Bunkers of Rippleton

by Oliver Optic

The Yacht Club; or, The Young Boat-Builder

by Oliver Optic

An Undivided Union

by Oliver Optic, Edward Stratemeyer

Down the River; Or, Buck Bradford and His Tyrants

by Oliver Optic

The gold thimble : A story for little folks

by Oliver Optic

Fighting for the Right

by Oliver Optic

In School and Out; or, The Conquest of Richard Grant.

by Oliver Optic

Down the Rhine; Or, Young America in Germany

by Oliver Optic

A Lieutenant at Eighteen

by Oliver Optic

On The Blockade

by Oliver Optic

The Christmas gift : A story for little folks

by Oliver Optic

Uncle Ben : A story for little folks

by Oliver Optic

Brother Against Brother; Or, The War on the Border

by Oliver Optic

Down South; or, Yacht Adventure in Florida

by Oliver Optic

A Spelling-Book for Advanced Classes

by Oliver Optic

Breaking Away; or, The Fortunes of a Student

by Oliver Optic

Within The Enemy's Lines

by Oliver Optic

Robinson Crusoe, Jr. : A story for little folks

by Oliver Optic

Work and Win; Or, Noddy Newman on a Cruise

by Oliver Optic

Now or Never; Or, The Adventures of Bobby Bright

by Oliver Optic

Poor and Proud; Or, The Fortunes of Katy Redburn: A Story for Young Folks

by Oliver Optic

Up The Baltic; Or, Young America in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark

by Oliver Optic

Across India; Or, Live Boys in the Far East

by Oliver Optic

In the Saddle

by Oliver Optic

Taken by the Enemy

by Oliver Optic

Up the River; or, Yachting on the Mississippi

by Oliver Optic

Field and Forest; Or, The Fortunes of a Farmer

by Oliver Optic

The little merchant : A story for little folks

by Oliver Optic

Cringle and cross-tree : Or, the sea swashes of a sailor

by Oliver Optic

The Coming Wave; Or, The Hidden Treasure of High Rock

by Oliver Optic

Little By Little; or, The Cruise of the Flyaway

by Oliver Optic

Hope and Have; or, Fanny Grant Among the Indians: A Story for Young People

by Oliver Optic

Vine and Olive; Or, Young America in Spain and Portugal

by Oliver Optic

Stand By The Union

by Oliver Optic

A Victorious Union

by Oliver Optic

Outward Bound Or, Young America Afloat: A Story of Travel and Adventure

by Oliver Optic

On Time; or, Bound to Get There

by Oliver Optic

Little Bobtail; or, The Wreck of the Penobscot.

by Oliver Optic

Freaks of Fortune; or, Half Round the World

by Oliver Optic

Make or Break; or, The Rich Man's Daughter

by Oliver Optic

Dolly and I: A Story for Little Folks

by Oliver Optic

All Adrift; Or, The Goldwing Club

by Oliver Optic

Dikes and Ditches; Or, Young America in Holland and Belgium

by Oliver Optic

Careless Kate: A Story for Little Folks

by Oliver Optic

Desk and Debit; or, The Catastrophes of a Clerk

by Oliver Optic

The Young Lieutenant; or, The Adventures of an Army Officer

by Oliver Optic

All Aboard; or, Life on the Lake

by Oliver Optic

Try Again; Or, the Trials and Triumphs of Harry West. A Story for Young Folks

by Oliver Optic

Our Standard-Bearer; Or, The Life of General Uysses S. Grant

by Oliver Optic

Brave Old Salt; or, Life on the Quarter Deck: A Story of the Great Rebellion

by Oliver Optic

The Soldier Boy; or, Tom Somers in the Army: A Story of the Great Rebellion

by Oliver Optic

Northern Lands; Or, Young America in Russia and Prussia

by Oliver Optic

Asiatic Breezes; Or, Students on The Wing

by Oliver Optic

Stem to Stern; or, building the boat

by Oliver Optic

Plane and Plank; or, The Mishaps of a Mechanic

by Oliver Optic

Living Too Fast; Or, The Confessions of a Bank Officer

by Oliver Optic

All Taut; or, Rigging the boat

by Oliver Optic

Haste and Waste; Or, the Young Pilot of Lake Champlain. A Story for Young People

by Oliver Optic

Square and Compasses; Or, Building the House

by Oliver Optic

Seek and Find; or, The Adventures of a Smart Boy

by Oliver Optic

Proud and Lazy: A Story for Little Folks

by Oliver Optic

Now or Never; Or, The Adventures of Bobby Bright: A Story for Young Folks

by Oliver Optic

Fighting Joe; Or, The Fortunes of a Staff Officer. A Story of the Great Rebellion

by Oliver Optic

Snug Harbor; or, The Champlain Mechanics

by Oliver Optic

Ready About; or, Sailing the Boat

by Oliver Optic

About the author

Born William Taylor Adams in Medway, Massachusetts, in 1822, he became a teacher and later a school administrator before building a hugely popular writing career. He is best remembered by his pen name, Oliver Optic, under which he published many adventure stories for young readers.

His books often mixed fast-moving plots with lessons about character, responsibility, and courage. Sea stories, travel adventures, and school tales were especially important in his work, and his background in education helped shape the direct, readable style that made his fiction widely popular.

Adams also had a public life beyond writing: reliable biographical sources describe him as an educator and politician as well as an author. He died in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1897, but Oliver Optic remained a familiar name in classic children's literature long afterward.