Donald Barr Chidsey (May 14, 1902 – March 17, 1981) was an American writer, biographer, historian, novelist and writer of

adventure fiction Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of Romance (prose fiction)#Definition, romance fiction. History In t ...

Biography

Donald Barr Chidsey was born in

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...

, on May 14, 1902. He worked at the ''Elizabeth Daily Journal'', and traveled widely in his youth. He lived in

Lyme, Connecticut Lyme is a New England town, town in New London County, Connecticut, New London County, Connecticut, United States, situated on the eastern side of the Connecticut River. The population was 2,352 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Lyme i ...

for many years. In 1935 he married Shirley Chidsey (born Elinor Shirley Stewart) and went with her to

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

, where she sailed in his boat and helped to manage a

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

. While they made friends with a number of writers, including

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

. Shirley separated from him in February 1940. She went to join the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...

(OSS) (

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

’s forerunner), in 1943 she worked in the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

to keep the unique

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

mine in

Katanga province Katanga was one of the four large provinces created in the Belgian Congo in 1914. It was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Tanganyika Province, Tanganyika, Hau ...

Shinkolobwe Shinkolobwe, or Kasolo, or Chinkolobew, or Shainkolobwe, was a radium and uranium mine in the Haut-Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), located 20 km west of Likasi (formerly Jadotville), 20 km south of Kamb ...

out of the hands of the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

. The uranium was later used in the creation of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Along with artist

W. Langdon Kihn Wilfred (or William) Langdon Kihn (September 5, 1898 – December 12, 1957) was a portrait painter and illustrator specializing in portraits of American Indians. Life and career He was born in Brooklyn, New York, son of Alfred Charles Kihn and ...

, Chidsey was a Democratic candidate for the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an ...

from the town of Lyme, in the November 2, 1948 election. Donald Barr Chidsey died on March 17, 1981, in Lawrence Memorial Hospital at

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...

Writings

Chidsey wrote more than fifty books. Chidsey began his writing career as a contributor to the

pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...

s, especially '' Argosy'' and ''

Adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

''. Chidsey wrote crime fiction for '' Black Mask'' and ''Dime Detective'' magazines. Server, Lee, ''Encyclopedia of Pulp Fiction Writers''. New York : Facts on File, 2008. (pp. 63-64) Chidsey wrote several historical novels, in the "

swashbuckler A swashbuckler is a genre of European adventure literature that focuses on a heroic protagonist stock character who is skilled in swordsmanship, acrobatics, guile and possesses chivalrous ideals. A "swashbuckler" protagonist is heroic, daring, ...

" style of

Rafael Sabatini Rafael Sabatini (29 April 1875 – 13 February 1950) was an Italian-born British writer of romance and adventure novels. He is best known for his worldwide bestsellers: ''The Sea Hawk'' (1915), ''Scaramouche'' (1921), ''Captain Blood'' (a.k.a ...

. These included ''This Bright Sword'' (1957) about the return of

Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...

to England.McGarry, Daniel D. McGarry, White, Sarah Harriman, ''Historical Fiction Guide: Annotated Chronological, Geographical, and Topical List of Five Thousand Selected Historical Novels''. Scarecrow Press, New York, 1963 (pp. 59, 104, 179, 354) ''Captain Bashful'' (1955) and ''Reluctant Cavalier'' (1960), are set in

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...

England. ''His Majesty's Highwayman'' (1958) is about a young man forced to join a gang of highwaymen in eighteenth-century England. ''Stronghold'' (1948) is set against the backdrop of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. Alden Whitman called him "an old hand at light writing." According to

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

, Chidsey "is known for his popular American histories, and has a nose for a good story." He lived in

for many years.

Works

Biographies

* Sir Walter Raleigh, That Damned Upstart * Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Elizabeth's Racketeer * Marlborough, The Portrait of a Conqueror * John The Great (boxing champion

John L. Sullivan John Lawrence Sullivan (October 15, 1858 – February 2, 1918), known simply as John L. among his admirers, and dubbed the "Boston Strong Boy" by the press, was an American boxer recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing ...

) * Bonnie Prince Charlie * The World of Samuel Adams * Andrew Jackson, Hero * Elizabeth I: A Great Life in Brief * The Gentleman from New York: A Life of

Roscoe Conkling Roscoe Conkling (October 30, 1829April 18, 1888) was an American lawyer and Republican politician who represented New York in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. He is remembered today as the leader of the ...

Histories

* The American Privateers * And Tyler Too * The Battle of New Orleans * The Birth of the Constitution * The California Gold Rush * The Day They Sank the Lusitania * The French and Indian War: An Informal History * Goodbye to Gunpowder: An Informal History * The Great Conspiracy:

Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805. Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexand ...

and His Strange Doings in the West * The Great Separation * July 4, 1776: The dramatic story of the first four days of July 1776 * Lewis and Clark: The Great Adventure * The Louisiana Purchase: the story of the biggest real estate deal in history * The Loyalists: the story of those Americans who fought against independence * Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Jefferson * On and Off the Wagon * The Panama Canal * Shackleton's Voyage * The Siege of Boston: an on-the-scene account of the beginning of the American Revolution * The Spanish–American War: a behind-the-scenes account of the war in Cuba * The Tide Turns * Valley Forge * Victory at Yorktown * The War in the North: an informal history of the American Revolution in and near Canada * The War in the South: an informal history of the Carolinas and Georgia in the American Revolution * The War with Mexico * The Wars in Barbary: Arab piracy and the birth of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Novels

* Buccaneer's Blade * Captain Adam * Captain Bashful * Captain Crossbones * Each One Was Alone * Edge of Piracy * Fancy-Man * The Flaming Island * His Majesty's Highwayman * The Legion of the Lost * Lord of the Isles * Marooned * The Naked Sword * Panama Passage * The Pipes Are Calling * Pistols in the Morning * Reluctant Cavalier * Rod Rides High * Singapore Passage * Stronghold * This Bright Sword * Weeping is for Women * The Wickedest Pilgrim

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chidsey, Donald Barr 1902 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American historians American male novelists 20th-century American novelists American historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period Writers of historical fiction set in the modern age Connecticut Democrats 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers