The Lawton Girl

Frederic began his writing career as a reporter and editor for the Utica Observer, honing his skills as a sharp observer of society and its intricacies. These skills came in handy when Frederic's friendship with Democratic presidential candidate Grover Cleveland lost him his job with a Republican leaning newspaper, spurring the author to devote himself more seriously to fiction. Frederic's work is marked by its jounalistic detail, apparent in the vivid descriptions and character studies of such key works as The Damnation of Theron Ware (1896).