Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Forgotten Authors I've Rediscovered

Time for another edition of Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly book-themed meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today is another "freebie," where participants choose their own theme, so I thought it would be fun to highlight a number of the more obscure authors whose books I've rediscovered over the past couple of years, mostly since getting my Kindle gave me access to the treasure-trove of the public domain. I've been like a kid in a candy shop! Here are my favorites—clicking the linked names will take you to any reviews or other posts related to these authors that I've done here on my blog:

1. B.M. Bower

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time you've probably seen many mentions and reviews of Bower, my favorite Western author. Though she had a long and successful writing career, her name is not as well known, except perhaps by real fans of the genre.

2. Booth Tarkington

Tarkington seems to be often dismissed as a second-rate classic by the critics...but since when do I listen to the critics? I've enjoyed his novels much more than some supposed to be better, and I especially enjoy their flavor of the times they were written.

3. Anna Katharine Green

An early American mystery author, who wrote from the 1870s until shortly before WWI—sometimes called the "Mother of Detective Fiction," but again, not well known outside fans of the genre. Her books are intricately plotted and filled with delicious period atmosphere and melodrama.

4. Kathleen Thompson Norris

An early-20th-century author of popular fiction whose charming, heartfelt stories of family life and romance I've been absolutely loving lately.

5. Melville Davisson Post

Another lesser-known American mystery author, with a lush, beautiful writing style and often unique settings for his stories.

6. Cornelia Meigs

Though she was a Newberry Medal and three-time Newberry Honor winner (best known for a biography of Louisa May Alcott), much of Meigs' historical fiction for children and young adults seems to have fallen by the wayside. I've always been captivated by her beautiful writing and was delighted to learn recently that she wrote many more books than I was aware of.

7. Henry Herbert Knibbs

Another early Western writer whose books I've enjoyed, enough to make him a solid secondary favorite for me in the Western genre.

8. Christopher Morley

I've only read three of Morley's books so far (I have a knack for choosing books and authors unheard-of by my local library), but I found them all charming, and am planning to try and track down some more.

9. Myrtle Reed

Another writer of popular romantic fiction from the early 1900s—I've read a couple of her books which I liked and one that I loved.

10. Mary Roberts Rinehart

The only reason I'm putting Rinehart last is that she's not exactly forgotten or unknown, especially to mystery readers. Actually, I've only read one of her mysteries so far. But I have read and enjoyed several of her non-mystery works, which I think do fit the definition of 'forgotten,' and it's for those that I'm including her in this list.

Have you read any of these authors? Who are some of your favorite obscure or forgotten writers?