Archives West Finding Aid

Theodore Victor Olsen was a popular author of western novels and stories. He was born in Rheinlander, Wisconsin on April 25, 1932 and died there of a stroke on July 13, 1993. He was educated at Stevens Point State College (now University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point), earning his B.S. in 1955. To Olsen's credit are 40 novels and numerous short stories; some of these attributed to the pseudonyms Joshua Stark, Christopher Storm and Cass Willoughby. Although Olsen sold his first novel only months after his college graduation, the first years of his career were difficult. The popular pulp western magazine had declined, closing an outlet on which the previous generation of western writers had depended. He waited until 1959 before another novel was sold. Faucett Publishing bought his next five novels during the years 1960-1961. From this point on Olsen was able to sustain a career as a freelance writer. Olsen's work is highly regarded for its dramatic effectiveness and careful presentation of historical information. Numerous pieces exhibit an interest in Native American culture through sympathetic writing. Although his fame rests mainly on his writings in the western genre, Olsen considered his historical novel, There was a Season (1972), on Jefferson Davis to be among his most important. His novel Arrow in the Sun (1969) was produced as a film in 1970 under the title Soldier Blue.