author
Samuel Hopkins Adams
1871–1958
An energetic muckraking journalist turned bestselling novelist, he wrote with a reporter’s eye for scandal, public health, and the quirks of American life. His work ranged from hard-hitting magazine exposés to popular fiction that inspired major films, including the story behind It Happened One Night.
16 Audiobooks
The Mystery
by Stewart Edward White, Samuel Hopkins Adams
From a Bench in Our Square
by Samuel Hopkins Adams
The Unspeakable Perk
by Samuel Hopkins Adams
The Secret of Lonesome Cove
by Samuel Hopkins Adams
Wanted: A Husband. A Novel
by Samuel Hopkins Adams
Success: A Novel
by Samuel Hopkins Adams
The Beggar's Purse: A Fairy Tale of Familiar Finance
by Samuel Hopkins Adams
The Great American Fraud The Patent Medicine Evil
by Samuel Hopkins Adams
Little Miss Grouch A Narrative Based on the Log of Alexander Forsyth Smith's Maiden Transatlantic Voyage
by Samuel Hopkins Adams
Flaming Youth
by Samuel Hopkins Adams
Average Jones
by Samuel Hopkins Adams
The Clarion
by Samuel Hopkins Adams
The Health Master
by Samuel Hopkins Adams
Our Square and the People in It
by Samuel Hopkins Adams
Common Cause: A Novel of the War in America
by Samuel Hopkins Adams
The Flying Death
by Samuel Hopkins Adams
About the author
Born in Dunkirk, New York, on January 26, 1871, Samuel Hopkins Adams built his career first as a newspaper reporter and then as a magazine writer. After graduating from Hamilton College in 1891, he worked for the New York Sun before moving into the magazine world, where he became known as one of the early 20th century's notable muckrakers.
He is especially remembered for his 1905 Collier’s series "The Great American Fraud," which exposed the patent medicine industry and helped stir public support for stronger food and drug regulation. Adams later wrote more than 50 books, including fiction, biography, and investigative works, and he had a gift for turning social observation into lively storytelling.
Many readers now meet him through his fiction. His novella "Night Bus" became the basis for the classic film It Happened One Night, and his novel Incredible Era was adapted as the film The Magnificent Yankee. He died in Beaufort, South Carolina, on November 15, 1958, leaving behind a body of work that blends crusading journalism with brisk, entertaining narrative.