B. Granville (Bernard Granville) Baker

Born in Pune, India, in 1870, Bernard Granville Baker was a British soldier, painter, and writer who is usually credited as B. Granville Baker. He was educated at Winchester College and at the Military Academy in Dresden, and he became especially known for painting military subjects as well as writing and illustrating books.

Baker’s work often joined travel writing with visual storytelling. He wrote books such as The Walls of Constantinople and From a Terrace in Prague, and his background as an artist helped shape the vivid, observant style readers find in his nonfiction. Alongside his writing, he also exhibited as a painter.

He died in 1957 in Suffolk, England. Today, he is remembered as a versatile figure whose career moved between the army, the studio, and the page.