William Taylor Adams (July 30, 1822 - March 27, 1897), pseudonym Oliver Optic, was a noted academic, author, and a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Adams first began to write at the age of 28, and his first book, Hatchie, the Guardian Slave (1853), was published under the pseudonym of Warren T. Ashton. It was only a modest success, but Adams was undaunted. In 1854 Adams produced his first real hit, the initial volume in the Boat Club series. Among his best-known works were the two "Blue and Gray" series, which were set during the Civil War. Adams wrote well over 100 books in total, most of them for a boy audience, and the majority of these in series of four to six volumes.
