Oliver Optic (1822 - 1897)

William Taylor Adams, pseudonym Oliver Optic, was a noted academic, author, and a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Adams first began to write at the age of 28, and his first book, Hatchie, the Guardian Slave (1853), was published under the pseudonym of Warren T. Ashton. It was only a modest success, but Adams was undaunted. In 1855 Adams produced his first real hit, the initial volume in the Boat Club series. Adams continued to write until he died in Dorchester, March 27, 1897. Among his best-known works were the two "Blue and Gray" series, which were set during the Civil War.