Charles Jacobs Peterson


Charles Jacobs Peterson was an American author and publisher.

Biography

Peterson was born in Philadelphia and studied law at the University of Pennsylvania, but never practiced law. 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.
In 1852, Peterson published the novel The Cabin and Parlor; or, Slaves and Masters under the pseudonym J. Thornton Randolph, an early example of the Anti-Tom literature which arose in response to Uncle Tom's Cabin. It was published by T.B. Peterson, Ltd.; Theophilus B. Peterson was one of Charles' brothers and a leading publisher of cheap and sensational fiction. Peterson was not necessarily defending the institution of slavery, but instead a gradualism for ending of slavery in future instead of a destruction which would fracture the United States. After the American Civil War broke out, he was clearly on the Union side.

Selected bibliography

Some were originally published in serial form in Graham's Magazine or Peterson's: