Wilmer M. (Wilmer Mateo) Ely

author

Wilmer M. (Wilmer Mateo) Ely

Best known for the early 20th-century Boy Chums adventures, this American writer sent young readers into the Florida Everglades, coastal waters, and Gulf with plenty of danger and outdoor excitement. His stories mix fast-moving action with vivid regional settings that still give them a strong sense of place.

3 Audiobooks

The Boy Chums in the Florida Jungle or, Charlie West and Walter Hazard with the Seminole Indians

The Boy Chums in the Florida Jungle or, Charlie West and Walter Hazard with the Seminole Indians

by Wilmer M. (Wilmer Mateo) Ely

The Boy Chums Cruising in Florida Waters or, The Perils and Dangers of the Fishing Fleet

The Boy Chums Cruising in Florida Waters or, The Perils and Dangers of the Fishing Fleet

by Wilmer M. (Wilmer Mateo) Ely

The Boy Chums in the Gulf of Mexico or, On a Dangerous Cruise with the Greek Spongers

The Boy Chums in the Gulf of Mexico or, On a Dangerous Cruise with the Greek Spongers

by Wilmer M. (Wilmer Mateo) Ely

About the author

Wilmer M. Ely was an American writer of juvenile adventure fiction. Library and public-domain sources identify him as living from 1874 to 1917, and he is chiefly remembered for the Boy Chums books.

His best-known novels include The Boy Chums in the Forest, The Boy Chums on Indian River, The Boy Chums Cruising in Florida Waters, The Boy Chums in the Gulf of Mexico, and The Boy Chums in the Florida Jungle. These stories follow young companions through hazardous trips in and around Florida, drawing on wilderness travel, boating, and survival adventures.

Because Ely's work is now widely available through projects like Project Gutenberg and LibriVox, new readers can still discover the brisk, serialized style of adventure fiction that entertained many young readers in the early 1900s.