James Fenimore Cooper was a nineteenth-century American author and political critic. Esteemed by many for his Romantic style, Cooper became popular for his depiction of Native Americans in fiction. Before Cooper considered himself a writer, he was expelled from Yale University, served as a midshipman for the United States Navy, and became a gentleman farmer. Cooper wrote many notable works including The Pioneers, The Last of the Mohicans, and The Red Rover, which was adapted and performed on stage in 1828. Cooper passed away in 1851 at the age of 61.

Washington Irving fue un autor, ensayista, biógrafo, historiador y diplomático estadounidense. Realizó estudios de Derecho, pero su vocación se interesaba más por el periodismo y la escritura que por la abogacía. En 1802 comenzó a escribir artículos en periódicos de Nueva York. En 1815 se fue a vivir a Liverpool y allí trabó amistad con importantes hombres de letras: sir Walter Scott y Thomas Moore, entre otros. Escribió algunos ensayos y relatos bajo el seudónimo de Geoffrey Crayon. Considerado el mentor de autores como Nathaniel Hawthorne, el hispanista Henry Wadsworth Longfellow y Edgar Allan Poe, entre su obra destacan los siguientes títulos:  Cuentos de la Alhambra, Los buscadores de tesoros, La conquista de Granada, La leyenda de Sleepy Hollow o la biografía George Washington.En 1846, regresó a Sunnyside (EE. UU.), su casa de campo, y allí falleció en 1859.

Andy Adams was born in Indiana to pioneer parents. In the early 1880s he moved to Texas, where he spent the next ten years driving cattle along the Western trail. At the age of forty-three, he published The Log of a Cowboy, his most successful book. He died in Colorado Springs in 1935.

Samuel Merwin, Sr. (1874-1936) was an Illinois-born playwright. Working as the editor of Success magazine, Merwin traveled to China to study the opium trade. He wrote The Trufflers, Anthony the Absolute, Lady Can Do, and Bad Penny. Merwin collaborated with Chicagoan Henry Kitchell Webster (1875-1932) on The Short Line War and Comrade John. Webster also wrote The Real Adventure, A King in Khaki, and The Banker and the Bear: The Story of a Corner in Lard.