 His best known work is the 14-volume "Columbian Historical Novels" published in 1892 by Funk & Wagnalls.This series was hailed by world literary critics at the time as a bold step forward in the field of historical fiction as they explored the discovery and growth of North America through the use of fictional characters while paying strict detail to historical accuracy.John Musick's most personal work was without doubt "In the Whirl of the Tornado" published in "Century Magazine" (August 1899), a detailed account of a large deadly tornado that destroyed much of Kirksville in April 1899.