author
Paul Anderson
1880–1956
Best known for adventurous fiction for younger readers, this American writer brought ancient Rome and New England school life vividly to life. He also had a second creative career as a respected photographer, giving his work an unusual mix of storytelling and visual detail.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1880, Paul Lewis Anderson studied electrical engineering at Lehigh University before changing course and opening a portrait studio in East Orange, New Jersey, in 1910. He became known as both a photographer and a writer, building a career that moved comfortably between visual art and storytelling.
As an author, he wrote young adult historical novels, especially books set in ancient Rome, along with novels about life at a New England boys' prep school. He also published many outdoors-focused short stories in magazines including Boys' Life and The Outdoorsman, which helped make him a familiar name to younger readers of his time.
Anderson died in 1956. Though he is remembered in photography history as well, his fiction still stands out for its sense of adventure and its effort to make the distant past feel immediate and readable.