Charles Frederic Goss (June 14, 1852 - May 7, 1930) was an American clergyman and author.

He graduated from Hamilton College in New York in 1873 (he also later received a Doctor of Divinity degree from there in 1898),[2] and from the Auburn Theological Seminary in 1876.

[4][5] Popular columns that Goss wrote for the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune as The Optimist were published as a book of the same name in 1897, and his writing career grew from there.

[6] In January 1906, a play based on Corson written by Charlotte Blair Parker debuted on Broadway, and ran for 16 performances.

[8] A 2012 episode[9] of the HBO television drama Boardwalk Empire featured a character reading The Redemption of David Corson.