Description

Charles Jacobs Peterson (1818-87) was an American author and publisher born in Philadelphia, and although he studied law at the University of Pennsylvania he never practiced. He became an owner and partner in The Saturday Evening Post and editor at Graham's Magazine early in his career and in 1842 founded Peterson's Magazine. This became a popular women's journal which he edited until his death. He wrote a number of novels, some appearing in serial form in Graham's Magazine or Peterson's prior to book publication, and his best known work is The Cabin and Parlor; or, Slaves and Masters (1852), written under the pseudonym of J Thornton Randolph and published by his brother's company. This was an early example of the Anti-Tom literature which arose in response to Uncle Tom's Cabin in which Peterson was not necessarily defending slavery but advocating a gradual end as opposed to immediate destruction of the institution which would fracture the country. After the outbreak of the American Civil War he was clearly on the Union side. Kate Aylsford (1855) is an historical romance set in the New Jersey Pine Barrens during the American Revolution. The imaginative plot mixes actual history, local myth, adventure and romance, together with good characterization, including a cameo appearance by George Washington.