author

Desiderius George Dery

b. 1867

A Hungarian-born silk manufacturer who also turned to fiction, he brought firsthand experience of immigration, industry, and American life to his writing. His best-known book, Under the Big Dipper (1916), is a collection of stories set in the American West.

1 Audiobook

Under the Big Dipper

Under the Big Dipper

by Desiderius George Dery

About the author

Born in 1867 and later active in Pennsylvania, Desiderius George Dery is best remembered today as the author of Under the Big Dipper, published in 1916. Library and bookseller records identify the book as a collection of short stories, and modern descriptions connect it with life in the American West.

Outside literature, Dery was a major figure in the American silk industry. Historical accounts describe him as a Hungarian immigrant who studied textile production in Vienna and went on to build a large silk-manufacturing business in Pennsylvania, especially around Catasauqua and nearby mill towns.

That background helps explain why his work still feels distinctive: he was not simply writing from imagination, but from a life shaped by migration, enterprise, and a rapidly changing America. Reliable online sources about his books are limited, so many personal details remain unclear or inconsistent in the surviving record.