C. J. (Charles James) Wills

Charles James Wills (1842–1912) was an English physician, traveler, and author. Reliable library and reference sources identify him as a medical man who spent many years in Persia, and his best-known work, In the Land of the Lion and Sun, grew out of those experiences.

Sources connected with his work describe him as serving as a medical officer with the Indo-European or Her Majesty’s Telegraph Department in Persia. That long stay gave him firsthand material for writing about everyday life, travel, health, and local customs in 19th-century Iran, which is why his nonfiction still attracts readers interested in historical travel writing.

He also wrote fiction, including novels such as The Pit Town Coronet, Her Portrait, His Dead Past, and The Yoke of Steel, and some records note that he co-wrote several novels with F. C. Philips. I wasn’t able to confirm a trustworthy portrait image from the sources I checked, so no profile image is included here.