Author, journalist, and playwright, was born in Boston, Mass., the son of Samuel Griswold Goodrich, better known as Peter Parley, and his second wife Mary Booth. He graduated from Harvard in 1845, and in 1851, when his father was appointed United States consul at Paris, accompanied the family to France. He lived in Paris from 1851 to 1855. By reason of his father's position, and his own special and literary associations, he was able to keep in touch with the leading figures and events of the period which saw the Coup d'Etat of 1852, and Louis Napoleon's marriage and elevation to the throne.
In a series of letters contributed to the New York Times over the signature Dick Tinto and published in 1855 as his first book, under the title "Tricolored Sketches in Paris" he gave a vivid and readable account of life and incidents in that city as he saw them. Returning from Paris in 1855, he settled in New York and became active in its literary circles. He capitalized his experiences in France by writing "The Court of Napoleon, or Society Under the First Empire" (1857), which was followed quickly by "Man Upon the Sea' or a History of Maritime Adventure, Exploration and Discovery" (1858), and "Women of Beauty and Heroism from Semiramis to Eugenie" (1859), both superficial, hastily written books, intended to catch the popular fancy. He was also interested in dramatic writing, and collaborated with some of the best-known dramatists of the time. Prominent among the plays in which he had a share were two with Frank L. Warden, "Fascination," performed Jan. 2 1857, at Tripler Hall and revived several times in the years 1888-90, and "Romance after Marriage, or The Maiden Wife," a comedy in three acts developing a situation in Octave Feuillet's "La Cle d'Or," performed at Wallack's Theatre in November 1857; "The Dark Hour before Dawn," with John Brougham published in 1859; and "The Poor of New York", with Dion Boucicault. This last play has a conspicuous success, from which Boucicault, especially, profited.
In 1859 Goodrich married Ella Schmidt, daughter of a Southern physician long resident in New York. In 1860 there appeared "The Greatness and decline of Cesar Birotteau," the first of a projected series of translations of the novels of Balzac, in which Goodrich collaborated with Orlando Williams Wight. This volume was followed in the next year by "The Petty Annoyances of Married Life," "The Alchemist," and "Eugenie Grandet." The series was then discontinued, to be resumed in 1886 by a Boston publishing house. During the Civil War, Goodrich was a staunch supporter of the Union. At the end of the war, stung by criticisms of the people of the North, he compiled in refutation a volume known as "The Tribute Book, a Record of the Munificence, Sacrifice, and Patriotism of the American People during the War for the Union" (1865).
His eyesight began to fail shortly after this period, and his literary production dwindled. He spent some years traveling abroad. In 1871 he republished his "Women of Beauty and Heroism" under the new title "World Famous Women, a portrait gallery of female loveliness, achievement, and influence; from Semiramis to Eugenie," and in 1873 issued, under the title "Remarkable Voyages," a new edition of the popular "Man Upon the Sea." His literary style was easy and clear, but his books were superficial and without permanent value. In his later years his eye trouble caused him to relinquish all idea of further literary work. He was a man of great dignity, brilliant conversational power, and a wide range of interests. He had independent means, and lived quietly in and near New York, enjoying the esteem of a small circle of intimate friends. He died in Morristown in his sixty-eighth year, leaving no children (Dictionary of American biography : NY : Scribner's, 1958)