Edmund Lester Pearson Popular Books

Edmund Lester Pearson Biography & Facts

Edmund Lester Pearson (1880–1937) was an American librarian and writer. He was a writer of the "true crime" literary genre. He is best known for his account of the notorious Lizzie Borden murder case. Early life Pearson was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, on February 11, 1880. He graduated from Harvard College in 1902. His first publication was in a school periodical, The Harvard Advocate. In 1904, he graduated with a Bachelor of Library Science from the New York State Library School at Albany, which was previously the Columbia School of Library Service. His thesis was a bibliography of Theodore Roosevelt. Career After graduation he first worked as a librarian at the Washington D.C. Public Library, where he met his wife, then Miss Mary Jane Sellers. They did not have any children. In 1906 he moved to the Library of Congress as an assistant in the Copyright Division. In 1908 he became the acting librarian of the Military Information Division of the War Department. From 1906 to 1920 he wrote a weekly column, "The Librarian", for the newspaper the Boston Evening Transcript. The column consisted of humorous essays and stories. The stories often featured the fictional Ezra Beesly Free Public Library of the town of Baxter, as well as other fictional persons and places. In a column from 1907, Pearson printed a paragraph supposedly from an old librarian's almanac. Response from colleagues and friends led him to expand it to a 34-page pamphlet that was published in 1909 as The Old Librarian's Almanack. On the title page the Almanack is described as "a very rare pamphlet first published in New Haven Connecticut in 1773 and now reprinted for the first time." The pamphlet was reviewed seriously by The New York Sun, The Nation, The New York Times, and several other publications, before the hoax was generally known. In 1927 the magazine Public Libraries called the hoax "a good piece of foolery, bright, clever, with the verisimilitude of authenticity." Even today, a humorous faux-medieval Curse Against Book Stealers from the pamphlet continues to be portrayed as real.From 1909 to 1914, Pearson lived in Newburyport and wrote several books. He wrote stories based on his childhood in The Believing Years and The Voyage of the Hoppergrass. He published some of his columns from the Librarian in The Library and the Librarian, The Librarian at Play, and The Secret Book. During this time he also served on the board of trustees of the Newburyport Public Library. In 1914, Pearson and his wife moved to New York City and from 1914 to 1927 he worked at the New York Public Library as the Editor of Publications. Starting in 1914, Pearson wrote a series of columns about books for national periodicals such as The Nation (column name: Books and Men), The Dial, the Weekly Review (later called the Independent and Weekly Review) (column names: Books and the News, New Books and Old), and The Outlook (column name: The Book Table). He also wrote book reviews for many publications including The Saturday Review of Literature. He wrote three books about books, Books in Black or Red, Queer Books, and Dime Novels. His work of writing was interrupted briefly during the First World War when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant, but did not serve overseas.In 1924 he published his best-known work, Studies in Murder, with its signature essay on Lizzie Borden of Fall River. In the years to follow, Pearson published other studies on American criminal cases, including Murder at Smutty Nose and Other Murders and Five Murders although these had limited popularity in comparison to his first landmark work on American crime. He maintained an extensive personal correspondence with the Scottish crime writer, William Roughead, the two writers offering support and encouragement to each other in their chosen field of "matters criminous". In 1934 Pearson went to Hollywood to serve as an uncredited writer for the films Bride of Frankenstein and Werewolf of London. Death and legacy Pearson died on August 8, 1937, at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City of bronchial pneumonia. He was buried in the family plot in the Oak Hill Cemetery, in the city of his birth, Newburyport.Norman D. Stevens has been active in keeping alive the writings of Edmond Pearson by collecting a portion of the Librarian column in a book of the same name. Stevens is the director of the Molesworth Institute which presents the Edmund Lester Pearson Library Humor Award which has rewarded and encouraged a new generation of library humorists. Professor Jack Matthews, called Pearson "a writer of acknowledged distinction" and "a bibliophile in the grand old manner." He also remarks that Pearson was "ahead of his time in his interest in popular culture and popular fiction." More than this, Matthews says that Pearson "had wit, he knew things, he cared about the world, and he understood language."In 2008, the Library of America selected Pearson's story "The "Hell Benders" or The Story of a Wayside Tavern"” for inclusion in its two-century retrospective of American True Crime. Publications Books written by Pearson The Old Librarian's Almanack (1909) The Library and the Librarian (1910) The Librarian at Play (1911) The Believing Years (1912) (autobiography) The Voyage of the Hoppergrass (1913) (autobiography) The Secret Book (1914) Theodore Roosevelt (1920) Books in Black or Red (1923) Studies in Murder (1924) Murder at Smutty Nose and Other Murders (1926) Five Murders, with a Final Note on the Borden Case (1928) Queer Books (1928) Dime novels; or, Following an Old Trail in Popular Literature (1929) Instigation of the Devil (1930) More Studies in Murder (1936) Trial of Lizzie Borden, edited, with a History of the Case (1937) Masterpieces of Murder (1963) Murders that Baffled the Experts (1967) The Adventure of the Lost Manuscripts & One Other (1974) The Librarian: Selections from the Column of That Name (1976)Books edited by Pearson Frankenstein: or the Modern Prometheus. by Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Printed with an introduction by Edmund Lester Pearson. New York, Limited Editions Club, 1934. The Autobiography of a Criminal. by Tufts, Henry. Edited by Edmund Lester Pearson. New York, Duffield and Company, 1930.References External links Edmund Pearson at IMDb Works by Edmund Lester Pearson at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Edmund Pearson at Internet Archive Works by Edmund Pearson at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks) http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/aEdmund+Lester+Pearson+Collection./aedmund+lester+pearson+collection/1%2C2%2C630%2CB/exact&FF=aedmund+lester+pearson+collection&1%2C626%2C/indexsort=- Edmund Lester Pearson's personal library] at New York Public Library About The Old Librarian's Almanack Edmund Pearson at Find a Grave. Discover the Edmund Lester Pearson popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Edmund Lester Pearson books.

Best Seller Edmund Lester Pearson Books of 2024

  • The Four Loves synopsis, comments

    The Four Loves

    C. S. Lewis

    The Four Loves summarizes four kinds of human loveaffection, friendship, erotic love, and the love of God. Masterful without being magisterial, this book's wise, gentle, candi...

  • Hot Off the Press synopsis, comments

    Hot Off the Press

    Lexy Timms

    "This is what really happened… reported by a free press, for a free people…" Wes Shaw leads a secret double life. As the secret owner of a billion dollar newspap...

  • The Art of War synopsis, comments

    The Art of War

    Sun Tzu

    An Apple Books Classic edition. It’s believed that Sun Tzu wrote this Chinese military primer during the 5th century BChundreds of years before the Bible. The book’s 13 chapters ex...

  • Peace on Earth synopsis, comments

    Peace on Earth

    Maia Ross

    Crime never takes a holiday. Why should Irma? Irma Abercrombie is an energetic retiree with a shadowy past, a mean right hook, and a profound love of Christmas. Surrounded by seaso...

  • Alpha synopsis, comments

    Alpha

    Sybil Bartel

    Billionaire. Mercenary. Navy SEAL. The Teams trained me to be a killer. War taught me to be ruthless. Then an illfated mission proved I was human. Combat wounded, cut loose by the ...

  • My Paper Heart synopsis, comments

    My Paper Heart

    Magan Vernon

    One piece of paper can change everything After my parents received the letter I failed out of college, they didn't ask questions. They just sent me to work for my great aunt i...

  • Christmas in Sweetbriar Cove synopsis, comments

    Christmas in Sweetbriar Cove

    Melody Grace

    Celebrate the holidays in Sweetbriar Cove with this festive romance collection, containing two sizzling smalltown holiday stories perfect for fans of Tessa Bailey, Sophie Kinsella...

  • Becoming Lady Dalton synopsis, comments

    Becoming Lady Dalton

    Carrie Lomax

    A dance of desire and deceit... In the glittering world of London's ton, Mrs. Viola Cartwright revels in her newfound freedom as a lady of leisureuntil a series of jewel theft...

  • Saltwater Cove synopsis, comments

    Saltwater Cove

    Amelia Addler

    Second chances...and the secrets that sabotage them. At 48 years old, Margie Clifton never expected to be starting her life all over again. But when her brother gifts her a propert...

  • Just Me synopsis, comments

    Just Me

    Lexy Timms

    We all need somewhere where we feel safe… After leaving her abusive husband, Katherine Marshall is out on her own for the first time. She's hopped from city to city to avoid t...

  • Finding Cinderella synopsis, comments

    Finding Cinderella

    Colleen Hoover

    #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Starts with Us and It Ends With Us writes a free novella about the search for happily ever after. A chance encounter in the dark leads ei...

  • Escape, A New Life synopsis, comments

    Escape, A New Life

    David J Antocci

    To save herself, she had to lose everything. Trapped in a tropical paradise with no memory of how she got there, Abby is thrust into a fight for her life. Hunted by a madman, and c...

  • Noxious synopsis, comments

    Noxious

    Lexy Timms

    Stop setting yourself on fire to keep someone else warm. Brady and Levi have been together since high school, since before he became famous and started thinking only about himself....

  • Inception of Gold synopsis, comments

    Inception of Gold

    Lexy Timms

    Things are not as bad as they seem. They are worse. Being the personal assistant to a narcissistic actress who just happens to own the key to my family's undoing isn't ex...

  • Rogue Alpha synopsis, comments

    Rogue Alpha

    Kimber White

    One touch made her crave him. But the pull of fate could be the path to ruin. College student Laura Prince lands a plum internship deep in the Michigan wilderness. When she discove...

  • Pretty Little Lies synopsis, comments

    Pretty Little Lies

    Ivy Thorn

    Four years ago, Nicolo Marchetti took my innocence. But he left me with something else Nicolo almost took everything from me. My virginity, my reputation, and very nearly my future...

  • How to Choose a Guy in 10 Days synopsis, comments

    How to Choose a Guy in 10 Days

    Lila Monroe

    The only thing more hilarious than the movies is… real life?! Fall in love with the sizzling grumpysunshine romantic comedy perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Ali Hazlewood! ...

  • The Cupcake Cottage synopsis, comments

    The Cupcake Cottage

    Jean Oram

    NHL player Maverick Blades could fall in love with anyone... But he had to fall for a woman who falls under the Bro Code as untouchablehis best friend’s beautiful ex, DaisyMae Ray....

  • Meditations synopsis, comments

    Meditations

    Emperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius

    Meditations is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 161–180 CE, setting forth his ideas on Stoic philosophy.

  • Death at Hazel House synopsis, comments

    Death at Hazel House

    Betty Rowlands

    ‘Riveting, can't put it down! I love this story… a wonderfully twisted tale of a crime that has more twists than I thought possible... fantastic.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars ...

  • Law of Attraction synopsis, comments

    Law of Attraction

    Jordan Hollis

    How to Finally Overcome the Hurdles of Manifesting Proven, effective and enjoyable ways to help you manifest faster… Right now, think of something that makes you successful. If you...

  • Never Enough synopsis, comments

    Never Enough

    Lexy Timms

    Be good enough never is... Anthony Accardi is a man on a mission: make his father's watch company a success while bringing in millions of dollars. To do that, he needs an assi...

  • The Scarlet Letter synopsis, comments

    The Scarlet Letter

    Nathaniel Hawthorne

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Hester Prynne lives in infamy. After committing adultery and bearing a child with a man whose name she refuses to divulge, the heroine of Nathaniel ...

  • The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes synopsis, comments

    The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

    Arthur Conan Doyle

    An Apple Books Classic You get not one, not two, but 25 gripping mysteries in Arthur Conan Doyle’s first of five collections of Sherlock Holmes short stories. Follow the brilliant ...

  • Whiskey Girl synopsis, comments

    Whiskey Girl

    Melissa Belle

    They'll do anything for each other…except commit. Logan Wild isn’t just the hottest broncriding cowboy in Texas. He’s also my best friendwith benefits. And that’s all we’ll ev...

  • Good Guy synopsis, comments

    Good Guy

    Kate Meader

    He's a Special Forces veteran making his pro hockey debut. She's a dogged sports reporter determined to get a scoop. She's also his best friend's widow . . . Fa...

  • Silver Santa synopsis, comments

    Silver Santa

    Lacey Silks

    Trapped together on Christmas, their unintended onenight stand becomes a lifechanging encounter amidst the snow. Laura Young's professional role as a security guard at the Sil...

  • His Girl Next Door synopsis, comments

    His Girl Next Door

    Khardine Gray

    From USA Today Bestselling author Khardine Gray comes a sizzling hot single dad romance you won't want to miss. No strings attached fun with the ubergorgeous single d...

  • Become A Better Version of Yourself synopsis, comments

    Become A Better Version of Yourself

    Ben Leighton

    This ebook contains golden nuggets on how to motivate, inspire and improve your current situation. It encompasses the holistic view of self improvement from mental& emotion...

  • The Seduction Series Boxset synopsis, comments

    The Seduction Series Boxset

    Roxy Sloane

    “Sensual, thrilling and wild!”   Discover the bestselling series in one collection: THE SEDUCTION, THE BARGAIN, and THE INVITATION. Perfect for fans of Ana Huang, Sierra S...

  • School of Potential synopsis, comments

    School of Potential

    W.J. May

    USA Today Bestselling author, W.J. May brings you a continuation of the international bestselling series, The Chronicles of Kerrigan! Come back and enjoy the famous characters, or ...

  • Tempting the King synopsis, comments

    Tempting the King

    Jessa York

    An escaped Mafia Queen, hiding from her past. A Mafia King who wants to claim her… Giselle They think I'm lostbut I know better. I can never be found. The path I've creat...

  • The Holy Bible - King James Version synopsis, comments

    The Holy Bible - King James Version

    King James

    Holy Bible King James Version Few Sample Paragraphs from The Holy Bible eBook, Genesis (OT) 1 Gen. 1 IN the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was with...

  • Assisting the Bosshole synopsis, comments

    Assisting the Bosshole

    Kristin MacQueen

    No hot water? Check Missed the train? Check Broke my heel? Check Dropped my coffee? Check My first day of my new job can’t possibly go worse, right? Wrong. When I meet Parker Scott...

  • The Next Girl synopsis, comments

    The Next Girl

    Carla Kovach

    IF YOU ONLY READ ONE BOOK THIS YEAR, MAKE IT THE NEXT GIRL... You thought he’d come to save you. You were wrong. ‘ Absolutely the best thriller I’ve read this year! ’ Goodreads Rev...

  • Silenced Girls synopsis, comments

    Silenced Girls

    Roger Stelljes

    “ Wow wow wow!  Grips you in a choke hold and  does not let go … Oozes suspense and  bonechilling twists and turns .  Astonishing … One of those...

  • You Are Kind synopsis, comments

    You Are Kind

    Michael Gordon

    A little kindness goes a long way. How can you help encourage your kids to be kind from a young age? Teach kindness to preschoolers Acts of kindness can be fun, easy, and make a ...

  • Once Upon A One-Night Stand synopsis, comments

    Once Upon A One-Night Stand

    Zoey Locke

    At first sight, there was electrifying chemistry.  So why not go for it? After all, Lynx Grove, the city's most eligible bachelor, wants to claim her, at least for th...

  • Eternal synopsis, comments

    Eternal

    W.J. May

    She will fight for what is hers. When the king is murdered, Katerina, his only daughter, must flee for her life. She finds herself on a strange and dangerous path. Alone for the fi...

  • A Bookshop to Die For synopsis, comments

    A Bookshop to Die For

    M.P. Black

    Ditching her fiancé at the altar, Alice Hartford bolts to her childhood hometown to reconnect with the last, happy remnant of her past: her mom's old bookstore. But the bookst...

  • The Icing on the Cake synopsis, comments

    The Icing on the Cake

    Linda Seed

    She’s a baker without a kitchen. He’s got a double oven to spare. It’s a recipe for success, until his mother starts stirring up trouble … Cassie Jordan has a sweet dream to open a...

  • Pride and Prejudice synopsis, comments

    Pride and Prejudice

    Jane Austen

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Jane Austen’s beloved classic opens with this witty and very memorable line: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possessio...

  • Dream Psychology synopsis, comments

    Dream Psychology

    Sigmund Freud

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Written by the founding father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud’s 1899 book is the definitive text on learning to interpret dreams. Freud’s groundbr...

  • Get Lucky synopsis, comments

    Get Lucky

    Lila Monroe

    Fall for the hot and hilarious romcom spin on 'The Hangover', perfect for fans of Tessa Bailey, Ali Hazelwood, and Emily Henry! What happens when you wake up in a hotel s...

  • Enemies With Benefits synopsis, comments

    Enemies With Benefits

    Roxie Noir

    I don’t love him. I don’t even like him. I just want him. Eli Loveless was my nemesis from the first day of kindergarten until we graduated high school. Everything I did, he had to...

  • The Odyssey synopsis, comments

    The Odyssey

    Homer

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Homer’s eighthcentury epic poem is a companion to The Iliad . It tells the story of Odysseus, who journeys by ship for 10 years after the Trojan War...

  • Bewitching a Highlander synopsis, comments

    Bewitching a Highlander

    Roma Cordon

    Defying all for the love of a bewitching lass. Breena MacRae, a healer from Skye with a touch of witchery in her blood, embarks on a dangerous search for her missing father. She ar...

  • Teased by Fire synopsis, comments

    Teased by Fire

    Molly O'Hare

    From USA Today bestselling author Molly O’Hare comes an enemiestolovers, older brother’s best friend, romantic comedy with a curvy, antisocial, supernaturalobsessed, allyearround h...

  • The Target synopsis, comments

    The Target

    Lexy Timms

    When you seek revenge be sure to dig two graves… Revenge was the only thing I had going for me. It kept me awake at night and drove me into desperate situations in dive bars across...

  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz synopsis, comments

    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

    L. Frank Baum

    An Apple Books Classic edition. You’ve seen the iconic 1939 movie, but do you know about the talking field mice, the Winkies, and the Witch of the North that appear in the original...