author
William Gilmore Simms
1806–1870
A major voice in 19th-century Southern literature, this prolific writer produced novels, poems, histories, and essays that were widely read in his own time. His stories often draw on the American Revolution, frontier life, and the culture of the South he knew so well.
5 Audiobooks
The Life of Francis Marion
by William Gilmore Simms
Guy Rivers: A Tale of Georgia
by William Gilmore Simms
The Lily and the Totem; or, The Huguenots in Florida
by William Gilmore Simms
Charlemont; Or, The Pride of the Village. a Tale of Kentucky
by William Gilmore Simms
Confession; Or, The Blind Heart. A Domestic Story
by William Gilmore Simms
About the author
Born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1806, William Gilmore Simms grew up in difficult circumstances after his mother died when he was an infant. He was raised largely by his grandmother, while his father spent long periods away, and those early family stories and memories of the South helped shape the historical imagination that would define much of his writing.
Simms became one of the most productive American authors of the 19th century. He wrote poetry, fiction, history, biography, criticism, and journalism, and was especially known for historical novels set in the South. Among his best-known works are The Yemassee, The Partisan, and The Wigwam and the Cabin. In his lifetime he was a prominent literary figure, admired by many readers and critics for his energy, storytelling, and deep engagement with American subjects.
He died in Charleston in 1870. Although his reputation changed over the years, Simms remains an important figure for readers interested in early American literature and the literary history of the South.