[1] He has often made 19th century America and the Civil War period the setting for his fiction, starting with his 1981 novel Sassafras and most recently with the 2011 novel Gambler's Nephew (which tells the story of how an abolitionist accidentally kills an escaped slave) and a 2015 story collection Soldier Boys: Tales of the Civil War.

According to a biographical profile written by critic Stanley Lindberg,[citation needed] Matthews studied at the Ohio State University in Columbus between 1945-9 and 1952-4 where he received a B.A.

While he and wife were raising two daughters, he worked 9 years with the Post Office on afternoons and nights; that gave him time to write and attend graduate classes in the morning.

In 2011, he published A Worker's Writebook (a 75,000 word fiction writing guide which he handed out to his students) and Gambler's Nephew (an historically accurate story about how an accidental killing of a slave in 19th century United States affected various families and communities).

Claire Blechman, reviewing the book for Ploughshares[6] said, "For a story focused on morality and rife with violence, The Gambler’s Nephew is surprisingly light-hearted.

Many contemporary authors try to make you writhe under the weight of heavy philosophical issues, but Matthews would rather you shake your head and give a small smile."

The novella tells the story of Clyde Stout, a high school graduate in a small Ohio town who discovers he has a new talent: the ability to hang from a metal bar longer than anybody.

In a video interview,[9] Matthews said he got the original idea for the play after writing an article in the 1960s for the CEA Critic arguing that Oedipus did not actually solve the riddle of the Sphinx.

The third collection,[13] Second Death of Edgar Allan Poe and other Stories contained "down-to-earth yarns: gently satirical and reminiscent of John Cheever’s fiction.

Most are like pleasant strolls through Midwestern neighborhoods, glimpsing random people at backyard parties, cafes and parking lots."

The publisher describes the book's tone as "ironic, frolicsome and light-hearted, designed to serve in counterpoint to the familiar stereotype of Schopenhauer as a relentlessly grim pessimist."