In the Saddle

In the Saddle is one of Oliver Optic’s many novels for boys, possibly part of his Civil War cavalry series or his wider western adventure fiction. The in the saddle phrase points to the cavalry or horseback setting that the novel develops around, with the protagonist’s mounted service or western adventure providing the framework for the standard moral and character development of the wider Optic catalogue.

Oliver Optic was the pen name of William Taylor Adams, a Massachusetts writer who became one of the most prolific producers of boys’ fiction in mid to late nineteenth century America with more than a hundred novels. His various series covered military, naval, western, travel, and trade settings across the wider catalogue.

For scholars of nineteenth century American children’s literature or of the wider career of Oliver Optic, the various novels in his catalogue are essential. Many are now in the public domain.