06 - Lights and Shadows
Thomas Bailey Aldrich’s journey begins in the vibrant streets of New Orleans, where his father relocated from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. After a decade, Aldrich returned to Portsmouth to prepare for college, a formative chapter of his life vividly captured in his semi-autobiographical novel, *The Story of a Bad Boy* (1870). In this groundbreaking work, young Tom Bailey emerges as a relatable hero, heralded by critics as one of the first realistic portrayals of childhood in American literature—laying the groundwork for future classics like *Adventures of Huckleberry Finn*. Aldrichs literary…
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