Samuel Shellabarger (18 May 1888 – 21 March 1954) was an American educator and author of both scholarly works and best-selling

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...

s. Born 18 May 1888 in Washington, D.C., Shellabarger was orphaned in infancy, upon the death of both his father Robert and his mother Elizabeth, in January 1889. Samuel resultantly was raised in the household of his paternal grandfather also named

Samuel Shellabarger Samuel Shellabarger (18 May 1888 – 21 March 1954) was an American educator and author of both scholarly works and best-selling historical novels. Born 18 May 1888 in Washington, D.C., Shellabarger was orphaned in infancy, upon the death of bot ...

, a noted lawyer who had served in Congress during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

and as Minister to Portugal. The younger Samuel Shellabarger's travels with his grandfather would prove invaluable in the provision of background material for the former's historical novels. Shellabarger attended private schools and in 1909 graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

, where he would later teach. After studying for a year at

Munich University The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous oper ...

in Germany, he resumed his studies at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

and

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

. Despite taking a year off to serve in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he received his doctorate in 1917. In 1915 he married Vivan Georgia Lovegrove Borg whom he had met the year before during a vacation in Sweden. They had four children, but the two boys died: one as an infant and the other serving in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. From 1938 to 1946 Samuel Shellabarger served as the head of

Columbus School for Girls Columbus School for Girls (CSG) is a private, all-girls college-preparatory day school located in Bexley, Ohio, United States, an enclave of Columbus. It serves students from 3 years old to 12th grade and it is the only all-girls high school in ...

in Columbus, Ohio. Shellabarger himself died of a heart attack at his

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of w ...

home on 21 March 1954. Having already published some scholarly works and not wanting to undermine their credibility by publishing fiction, Shellabarger used pen names for his first mysteries and romances: "John Esteven" and then "Peter Loring." He continued to write scholarly works and to teach, but his historical novels proved so popular that he soon started using his own name on them. Some of them were best-sellers and were made into movies.

Works of fiction

* ''The Door of Death'' (1928 as John Esteven) * ''The Chevalier Bayard'' (1928) * ''The Black Gale'' (1929) * ''Voodoo. A Murder Mystery'' (1930 as John Esteven) * ''By Night at Dinsmore'' (1935 as John Esteven) * ''Lord Chesterfield and His World'' (1935) * ''While Murder Waits'' (1936-37 as John Esteven) * ''Graveyard Watch'' (1938 as John Esteven) * ''Blind Man's Night'' (1938 as John Esteven) * ''Assurance Double Sure'' (1939 as John Esteven) * ''Grief Before Night'' (1938 as Peter Loring) * ''Miss Rolling Stone Who Travels Alone'' (1939 as Peter Loring) * ''Captain from Castile'' (1946) (1947 film starring

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James (193 ...

Cesar Romero Cesar Julio Romero Jr. (February 15, 1907 – January 1, 1994) was an American actor and activist. He was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years. His wide range of screen roles included Latin lovers, historical figures in c ...

, Lee J. Cobb) * ''

Prince of Foxes ''Prince of Foxes'' is a 1947 historical novel by Samuel Shellabarger, following the adventures of the fictional Andrea Orsini, a captain in the service of Cesare Borgia during his conquest of the Romagna. Plot introduction Andrea Zoppo, an Ita ...

'' (1947) (1949 film starring

and

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

) * ''The King's Cavalier'' (1950) * ''Lord Vanity'' (1953) * ''The Token'' (1955) * ''Tolbecken'' (1956)

External links

*
Biography and Bibliography of Samuel Shellabarger by Jesse F. Knight
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shellabarger, Samuel 1888 births 1954 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers American historical novelists American male novelists Harvard University alumni Princeton University alumni Writers from Washington, D.C.