Thomas Bailey Aldrich
(born Nov. 11, 1836,
Portsmouth
, N.H., U.S.?died March 19, 1907, Boston) was a poet, short-story writer, and editor whose use of the surprise ending influenced the development of the
short story
. He drew upon his childhood experiences in
New Hampshire
in his popular classic
The Story of a Bad Boy
(1870).
Aldrich left school at 13 to work as a merchant’s clerk in
New York City
and soon began to contribute to various newspapers and magazines. After publication of his first book of verse,
The Bells
(1855), he became junior literary critic on the
New York Evening Mirror
and later subeditor of the
Home Journal
. From 1881 to 1890 he was editor of
The Atlantic Monthly
.
Britannica Quiz
Classic Children’s Books Quiz
His poems, which reflect the cultural atmosphere of
New England
and his frequent European tours, were published in such volumes as
Cloth of Gold
(1874),
Flower and Thorn
(1877),
Mercedes and Later Lyrics
(1884), and
Windham Towers
(1890).
His best known
prose
is
Marjorie Daw and Other People
(1873), a collection of short stories.