Meredith Nicholson

Meredith Nicholson was an American author, diplomat, and politician. He wrote bestselling novels and short stories in the early 20th century. His most famous works include The House of a Thousand Candles (1905), The Port of Missing Men (1907), and A Hoosier Chronicle (1912).

Meredith Nicholson was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, and grew up in a family that valued education and literature. Nicholson attended Indiana University but, in 1884, left before earning a degree to pursue a career as a journalist.

His debut book was a collection of poems, Short Flights (1891). In 1906 he had another volume, Poems. Nicholson did not owe his fame to them, although they were favorably noticed. He is best known as a novelist and essayist.

The tipping point was the publication of Hoosiers in 1900. Later his The House of a Thousand Candles (1906), The Port of Missing Men ( 1907), and A Hoosier Chronicle (1912) became national bestsellers and were widely read across the country, solidifying Nicholson's reputation as a skilled storyteller and capturing the spirit of the Midwest.

With Booth Tarkington, George Ade, and James Whitcomb Riley, he helped to establish a period known as the Golden Age of Literature in Indiana.

In addition to his writing, Meredith Nicholson was involved in politics. He wrote for the Republican Party and was a delegate to several Republican National Conventions. As a result, he served as the U.S. Minister to Paraguay and Venezuela. Nicholson also ran for the U.S. Senate in Indiana in 1930.

Meredith Nicholson died in Indianapolis, aged 81.