Educated at Harvard University where he graduated in 1839 in theology, Hale was from a reknowned Boston family which included the statesman Edward Everett and the Revolutionary War martyr, Nathan Hale. Hale became the pastor of the church of Unity in Worcester in 1846 and of the South Congregational church in Boston in 1856. Although his first story, A Tale of a Salamander, had been published in 1842, his writing career actually took off with the publication of the short story, My Double and How He Undid Me, in the Atlantic Monthly in 1859. He continued to contribute to the Atlantic over the years and in 1863, his best-known story, The Man Without A Country, was published. In 1903, he became the chaplain of the U.S. Senate. A statue has been raised to him in the Boston Public Garden. Hale also helped to found the Unitarian Church of America. His other works include How to Do It (1871), Ups and Downs (1873), Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (1873), In His Name (1873), Crusoe in New York & Other Tales (1880), Fortunes of Rachel (1884), Franklin in France (1888), The Life of Christopher Columbus (1891), Afloat and Ashore (1891), New England Boyhood (1893), Susan's Escort (1895), Aunt Caroline's Present (1895), Ralph Waldo Emerson (1899), Kingdom of God (1900) and Tarry at Home Travels (1906). |
