Meredith Nicholson (December 9, 1866 – December 21, 1947) was a best-selling author from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, United States, a politician, and a diplomat.

Biography

Nicholson was born on December 9, 1866, in

Crawfordsville, Indiana Crawfordsville is a city in Montgomery County in west central Indiana, United States, west by northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,306. The city is the county seat of Montgomery County, the only cha ...

, to Edward Willis Nicholson and the former Emily Meredith. Largely self-taught, Nicholson began a newspaper career in 1884 at the ''Indianapolis Sentinel.'' He moved to the ''

Indianapolis News The ''Indianapolis News'' was an evening newspaper published for 130 years, beginning December 7, 1869, and ending on October 1, 1999. The "Great Hoosier Daily," as it was known, at one time held the largest circulation in the state of Indiana. ...

'' the following year, where he remained until 1897. He wrote ''Short Flights'' in 1891, and continued to

publish Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

extensively, both poetry and

prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the f ...

until 1928. During the first quarter of the 20th century, Nicholson, along with

Booth Tarkington Newton Booth Tarkington (July 29, 1869 – May 19, 1946) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1918) and '' Alice Adams'' (1921). He is one of only four novelists to win the Pulitze ...

George Ade George Ade (February 9, 1866 – May 16, 1944) was an American writer, syndicated newspaper columnist, and playwright who gained national notoriety at the turn of the 20th century with his "Stories of the Streets and of the Town", a column that ...

, and

James Whitcomb Riley James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849 – July 22, 1916) was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry. His ...

helped to create a Golden Age of literature in Indiana. Three of his books from that era were national bestsellers: ''The House of a Thousand Candles'' ( #4 in 1906), ''The Port of Missing Men'' ( #3 in 1907), and ''A Hoosier Chronicle'' ( #5 in 1912). In 1928, Nicholson entered

Democratic party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politics, and served for two years as a city councillor in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

. He rose through the ranks of the Democratic party and was rewarded with appointments as

envoy Envoy or Envoys may refer to: Diplomacy * Diplomacy, in general * Envoy (title) * Special envoy, a type of diplomatic rank Brands *Airspeed Envoy, a 1930s British light transport aircraft *Envoy (automobile), an automobile brand used to sell Br ...

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, and

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

. Nicholson was married first to Eugenie Clementine Kountze, daughter of

Herman Kountze Herman Kountze (August 21, 1833 – November 20, 1906) was a powerful and influential pioneer banker in Omaha, Nebraska, during the late 19th century. After organizing the Kountze Brothers Bank in 1857 as the second bank in Omaha, Herman and ...

, and then to Dorothy Wolfe Lannon, whom he later divorced. Nicholson died on December 21, 1947, in Indianapolis, aged 81, and is buried in the

Crown Hill Cemetery Crown Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located at 700 West 38th Street in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana. The privately owned cemetery was established in 1863 at Strawberry Hill, whose summit was renamed "The Crown", a high poi ...

Chronological bibliography

1891: ''Short Flights'', The Bowen-Merrill Co.
1900: ''The Hoosiers'', The Macmillan Company
1903: ''The Main Chance'', The Bobbs-Merrill Company
1904: ''Zelda Dameron'', The Bobbs-Merrill Company
1905: ''The House of a Thousand Candles'', The Bobbs-Merrill Company
1906: ''Poems'' The Bobbs-Merrill Company
1907: ''The Port of Missing Men'', The Bobbs-Merrill Company; ''Rosalind at Red Gate'', The Bobbs-Merrill Company
1908: ''The Little Brown Jug at Kildare'', The Bobbs-Merrill Company
1909: ''The Lords of High Decision'', Doubleday, Page & Company
1916: ''The Siege of the Seven Suitors'', Houghton Mifflin Company
1912: ''A Hoosier Chronicle'', Houghton Mifflin Company; ''The Provincial American and Other Papers'', Houghton Mifflin Company
1913: ''Otherwise Phyllis'', Houghton Mifflin Company
1914: ''The Poet'', Houghton Mifflin Company
1916: ''The Proof of the Pudding'', Houghton Mifflin Company
1917: ''The Madness of May'', Charles Scribner's Sons; ''A Reversible Santa Claus'', Houghton Mifflin Company
1918: ''The Valley of Democracy'', Charles Scribner's Sons
1919: ''Lady Larkspur'', Charles Scribner's Sons
1920: ''Blacksheep! Blacksheep!'', Charles Scribner's Sons
1921: ''The Man in the Street'', Charles Scribner's Sons
1922: ''Best Laid Schemes'', Charles Scribner's Sons; ''Broken Barriers'', Charles Scribner's Sons
1923: ''Honor Bright: A Comedy in Three Acts'' (with Kenyon Nicholson), Samuel French; ''The Hope of Happiness'', Charles Scribner's Sons
1925: ''And They Lived Happily Ever After!'', Charles Scribner's Sons
1928: ''The Cavalier of Tennessee'', The Bobbs-Merrill Company
1929 ''Old Familiar Faces'', The Bobbs-Merrill Company

Filmography

*''

The Port of Missing Men ''The Port of Missing Men'' is a lost 1914 silent film drama directed by Francis Powers and starring Arnold Daly. It is based on a novel by Meredith Nicholson. Cast *Arnold Daly Arnold Daly (October 22, 1875 – January 13, 1927) was an A ...

'', directed by Francis Powers (1914, based on the novel ''The Port of Missing Men'') *''

The House of a Thousand Candles ''The House of a Thousand Candles'' is a 1936 American thriller film directed by Arthur Lubin and starring Phillips Holmes, Mae Clarke and Irving Pichel. It is based on the 1906 novel by Meredith Nicholson. The novel had been filmed twice before, ...

'', directed by

Thomas N. Heffron Thomas N. Heffron (June 13, 1872 – May 24, 1951) was a screenwriter, actor, and a director. He was born in Nevada, He worked as an attorney and danced in vaudeville before he began his career in film with Thanhousr in 1911, eventually landing ...

(1915, based on the novel ''The House of a Thousand Candles'') *''

Langdon's Legacy ''Langdon's Legacy'' is a lost 1916 silent comedy-drama film directed by Otis Turner and starring J. Warren Kerrigan and Lois Wilson. It was produced and distributed by Universal Film Manufacturing Company.''Pictorial History of the Silent Scr ...

'', directed by

Otis Turner Otis Turner (November 29, 1862 – March 28, 1918) was an American director, screenwriter and producer. Between 1908 and 1917, he directed more than 130 films and wrote 40 scenarios. He was born in Fairfield, Indiana, and died in Los Angele ...

(1916) *''

The Lords of High Decision ''The Lords of High Decision'' is a 1916 American silent drama film, directed by Jack Harvey. It stars Cyril Scott, Joseph W. Girard, and William Welsh. Cast *Cyril Scott - Wayne Craighill * Joseph W. Girard - Colonel Graighill * William Welsh ...

'', directed by Jack Harvey (1916, based on the novel ''The Lords of High Decision'') *', directed by

(1918, based on the short story ''The Hopper'') *''

Haunting Shadows ''Haunting Shadows'' is a 1919 American silent comedy film directed by Henry King and starring H.B. Warner, Edward Peil Sr., and Charles Hill Mailes.''Guide to the Silent Years of American Cinema'', p. 166 It was based on 1906 novel which had ...

'', directed by Henry King (1919, based on the novel ''The House of a Thousand Candles'') *'' Broken Barriers'', directed by

Reginald Barker Reginald C. Barker (April 2, 1886 – February 23, 1945) was a pioneer film director. Biography Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Barker's family moved to Scotland when he was an infant and then to the United States. Living in California, ...

(1924, based on the novel ''Broken Barriers'') *''

'', directed by

Arthur Lubin Arthur Lubin (July 25, 1898 – May 11, 1995) was an American film director and producer who directed several ''Abbott & Costello'' films, ''Phantom of the Opera'' (1943), the ''Francis the Talking Mule'' series and created the talking-horse TV se ...

(1935, based on the novel ''The House of a Thousand Candles'')

Sources

* * Russo, Dorothy Ritter and Sullivan, Thelma Lois
"Meredith Nicholson" (pp. 69–172)
in ''Bibliographical studies of seven authors of Crawfordsville, Indiana'', Indianapolis : Indiana Historical Society, 1952.

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholson, Meredith 1866 births 1947 deaths 19th-century American novelists 20th-century American novelists American male novelists Politicians from Indianapolis Writers from Indianapolis American diplomats Burials at Crown Hill Cemetery Indiana Democrats 19th-century American male writers 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Indiana