James Otis

James Otis is a pseudonym of James Otis Kaler (1848-1912) born in Winterport USA. He wrote over 150 adventure and patriotic biographies that had great appeal for his boy readers. Many were in series and intended for classroom use. Where series names are used below only those that are HNF are listed.

At 13, Kaler left home to become a reporter in Boston. When he was only 16, he provided news coverage of Civil War battles and events. He continued in the newspaper profession as a writer and editor. In 1898, Kaler returned to Maine to become the first superintendent of schools for the city of South Portland that had just separated from Cape Elizabeth. The city later named an elementary school in his honor. In the early 1970s, Kaler's sons and grandchildren presented the city with a collection of Kaler manuscripts, books, and letters. The materials are located in the South Portland Public Library and can be viewed by scholars and interested readers.

Many of his novels are not copyright in many countries and some are available as free eBooks in the online store

AOS Naval Fiction

Series: Young Patriot Series

A Cruise with Paul Jones (aka The Navy Boys Cruise with Paul Jones) : 1778: David Carlton is picked up from a wreck by the American sloop Ranger and becomes a powder monkey **

Series: n/a

At the Siege of Havana: The Experience of Three Boys Serving Under Israel Putnam in 1762 (aka The Navy Boys at the Siege of Havana)**

When we Destroyed the Gaspee: a story of Narragansett Bay in 1772

The Capture of the Laughing Mary: A Story of Three New York Boys in 1776 (aka The Navy Boys in New York Bay)**

With Perry on Lake Erie: A Tale of 1812

The Cruise of the Enterprise: being a story of the struggle and defeat of the French privateering expedition against the United States in 1799

Afloat in Freedom’s Cause: The Story of Two Boys in the War of 1812 (aka The Navy Boys on Lake Ontario) : serving on Lake Ontario **

Amos Dunkel, Oarsman (aka A Struggle for Freedom; The Story of Young Amos Dunkel, Oarsman in the Whale Boat Navy, in 1776 OR The Navy Boys on Long Island Sound: A Story of the Whale Boat Navy of 1776) : in the whale boat navy based in Long Island Sound during 1776 **

With Rodgers on the President: The Story of the Cruise Wherein the Flagship Fired the First Hostile Shot in the War with Great Britain for the Rights of American Seamen

With Preble at Tripoli: A Story of "Old Ironsides" and the Tripolitan War

With Porter in the Essex: a story of his famous cruise in Southern waters during the War of 1812

** These books were re-published under alternate titles as part of the 'Navy Boys' series