Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1836, Thomas Bailey Aldrich became an American poet, short-story writer, critic, and editor. Part of his childhood was spent in New Orleans before he returned to New England, and those early years later fed into some of his best-known writing.

Aldrich wrote poems, travel pieces, novels, and especially short fiction, but many readers remember him most for The Story of a Bad Boy (1870), a lively, semi-autobiographical book drawn from boyhood experience. Reference works also credit him with helping shape the modern short story through his craftsmanship and use of surprise endings.

He also had a major literary career as an editor. Aldrich led The Atlantic Monthly for many years, giving him an influential place in American literary culture as well as a lasting reputation beyond his own books. He died in Boston in 1907.