Frank Goodrich was born in Hartford, CT to Mary Boott Goodrich and Samuel Griswold Goodrich, the popular author of the "Peter Parley" tales of geography and adventure. After graduating from Harvard in 1845, Goodrich moved to Paris when his father was chosen as the United States consul. Goodrich’s literary career began there when, under the pseudonym of "Dick Tinto," he wrote letters to the New York Times about Paris and its government (J. Derby 123).