Edward Sylvester Ellis began his half-century literary career in 1860 with a tale of Indian fighting on the post-Revolutionary American frontier; by the time he ceased to write, his subjects included aeroplanes and motorcars. In between, he had been one of the most prolific and widely read writers of American boys' books of all time and done much to create the romantic myth of the American West.

Since Ellis was perhaps the most extensive user of pseudonyms in American literary history, it is virtually impossible to tell how many works he actually wrote. Ellis scholar Denis R. Rogers estimates that he wrote at least 467 major works during his active writing years from 1860 to 1915. Additionally, Rogers credits Ellis with a monumental total of from 523 to more than 650 minor works such as sketches, articles, and poems. Of this vast output the bulk consists of works for children, though Ellis also turned...