author
Charles Hannan
1863–1922
A Scottish novelist and playwright, he drew on his travels in the Far East as well as his years in the family’s East India and China trade. His fiction and stage work ranged from adventure and romance to comic fantasy.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Glasgow in 1863, Charles Hannan—whose legal name was Robert Charles Hannan—was educated at Edinburgh Collegiate School and Glasgow University. He joined his father’s firm of East India and China merchants, traveled widely in the Far East, and later became a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
Hannan wrote both novels and plays. Reference sources describe him as a novelist and playwright, and his books include A Swallow's Wing: A Tale of Pekin and The Betrothal of James. His career also extended to the stage, where works such as A Cigarette Maker’s Romance and The Electric Man helped build his reputation.
He died in 1922. Although not widely known today, his work shows the mix of adventure, theatrical flair, and late-Victorian to Edwardian popular storytelling that marked much of his era.