Gilbert Patten

William George "Gilbert" Patten (October 25, 1866 – January 16, 1945), best known as the creator of the Frank Merriwell stories under the pen name Burt L. Standish, was a dime novelist. Patten published 75 books and an unknown number of short stories. He estimated that as a novelist, he had written 40 million words. His works have sold over 500 million copies worldwide, making him one of the best-selling fiction authors of all time.

He was a novelist who specialized in dime novels. The Diamond Sport; or, The Double Face of Bed Rock, published by Beadle in 1886, was his first published dime fiction. He authored westerns under the pen name Wyoming Bill, but his sporting stories in the Frank Merriwell series, which he wrote under the name Burt L. Standish, are his most well-known works. Patten began writing the Merriwell stories for the publisher Street & Smith in April 1896, and for the next twenty years, he delivered one per week, totaling 20,000 words. The serial, which ran in Tip-Top Weekly, was hugely successful, selling over 135,000 copies a week, and the Merriwell brothers became icons of All-American sportsmanship, with their names appearing in sports commentators' lingo.

Detailed Information:

Min. estimated sales: 125 million

Max. estimated sales: 500 million

Original language: English

Genre and/or major works: Adolescent adventures

Number of books: 209