Edward Payson Roe

Edward Payson Roe (1838–1888) was one of the most popular American novelists of the late nineteenth century. Born in Moodna, New York, he graduated from Williams College and Auburn Theological Seminary before becoming a Presbyterian minister. During the Civil War, he served as chaplain of the Second New York Cavalry and later of a hospital in Washington, D.C., experiences that later enriched his fiction.

His first novel, Barriers Burned Away (1872), set against the Great Chicago Fire, became an immediate bestseller and launched his literary career. Roe's fiction blended evangelical Christian morality with romance, domestic drama, and keen observation of nature and everyday life, appealing strongly to the middle-class readers of his era. His other major novels include What Can She Do? (1873), Opening a Chestnut Burr (1874), A Knight of the Nineteenth Century (1877), Without a Home (1881), An Original Belle (1885), which drew on his wartime memories, and He Fell in Love with His Wife (1886). He also wrote nature essays and books for young readers, such as Driven Back to Eden (1885).

Roe died in 1888 in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York. Although largely forgotten today, his novels sold millions of copies and were translated into many languages, securing his place in the history of American popular fiction.