William Simonds (October 30, 1822 – July 7, 1859) was an American author who usually used the pen-name Walter Aimwell.
He was born in
Charlestown,
, and his father died when he was young.
After attending school at
Salem and spending some time in learning the jewelry business at
Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by E ...
, he was apprenticed to a
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
printer in 1837. While thus engaged he wrote his first book, "The Pleasant Way" (1841), which was published by the Massachusetts Sabbath-school society. This was followed in 1845 by "The Sinner's Friend," which was also well received.
In December, 1845, he left the printing-office where he had spent nearly nine years, and early in 1846 began the publication of "The Boston Saturday Rambler," of which, after the first six months, he became the sole editor. In November, 1850, "The Rambler" was merged in the "New England Farmer," of which Simonds was general editor until his death. In 1848 he began the publication of a monthly entitled "The Pictorial National Library," but was unable to issue it longer than eighteen months. Mr. Simonds was convinced that he had a mission to perform in writing for the young, and he employed every means in his power to render his tales natural and attractive, and to make them accurate reflections of life. He died in
Winchester, Massachusetts
Winchester is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, located 8.2 miles (13.2 km) north of downtown Boston as part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. It is also one of the List of Massachusetts locations by per capita income, wealt ...
.
His chief work is "The Aimwell Stories," written under the pen-name of Walter Aimwell. These stories deal chiefly with New England farm-life. Their titles are:
#Oscar; or, The Boy Who Had His Own Way (1854)
#Clinton; or, Boy Life in the Country (1853)
#Ella; or, Turning over a New Leaf (1855)
#Whistler; or, The Manly Boy (1856)
#Marcus; or, The Boy Tamer (1857)
#Jessie; or, Trying To Be Somebody (1858)
#Jerry; or, The Sailor Boy Ashore (1863)
The second book of the series, "Clinton", was published first. Simonds intended to extend the series to twelve volumes, but lived to complete only six. The last one, "Jerry," was left unfinished, and to it is added a memoir of the author.
Besides these books he published "Thoughts for the Thoughtless" (Boston, 1851); "The Boy's Own Guide" (1852); and "The Boy's Book of Morals and Manners" (1855).
Notes
References
Biography from 19th-Century Girls' Series website*
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Simonds, William
1822 births
1859 deaths
American children's writers