Jessie

Aimwell Series #6

by Walter Aimwell

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301 pages, Nook

First published November 21, 2009

About the author

Walter Aimwell was the pen-name of William Simonds. Simonds was the third of four sons. His father died when he was six. Soon after, his family moved to Salem.

After attending school at Salem and spending some time in learning the jewelry business at Lynn, Massachusetts, he was apprenticed to a Boston printer in 1837. While thus engaged he wrote his first book, "The Pleasant Way" (1841), which was published by the Massachusetts Sabbath-school society. This was followed in 1845 by "The Sinner's Friend," which was also well received.
In December, 1845, he left the printing-office where he had spent nearly nine years, and early in 1846 began the publication of "The Boston Saturday Rambler," of which, after the first six months, he became the sole editor. In November, 1850, "The Rambler" was merged in the "New England Farmer," of which Simonds was general editor until his death. In 1848 he began the publication of a monthly entitled "The Pictorial National Library," but was unable to issue it longer than eighteen months. Mr. Simonds was convinced that he had a mission to perform in writing for the young, and he employed every means in his power to render his tales natural and attractive, and to make them accurate reflections of life. He died in Winchester, Massachusetts.

He published instructive books for children under the pseudonym, Walter Aimwell, notably the 'Aimwell Series', in which '[e]ach volume... [was] complete and independent of itself [with] a connecting thread [running] through the series'. Characters from previous books were often mentioned and a footnote provided with information about the other book in the series.

This marketing strategy, used for the first time in publishing history increased Simonds' sales.