Archibald Clavering Gunter

Born in Liverpool on October 25, 1847, he moved to the United States as a child and grew up in California. Before making his name in literature, he worked as a mining and civil engineer, and that practical background gave some of his fiction its brisk, worldly feel.

He became a prolific and widely read writer in the late 19th century, publishing novels and plays that were built for suspense, strong emotion, and popular appeal. Among his best-known works is Mr. Barnes of New York, a major commercial success in its day, and he also wrote A Florida Enchantment, a novel still noted because of its unusual legacy on screen.

His career stretched beyond novels alone: he was active in theater and publishing, and he is often credited with helping popularize Ernest Thayer's poem "Casey at the Bat" by passing it along to performer DeWolf Hopper. He died in New York City on February 24, 1907, leaving behind a body of work that captures the energy and tastes of turn-of-the-century popular fiction.