author
Edward Greey
1835–1888
A Victorian storyteller with firsthand experience of Japan, he turned travel, history, and legend into lively adventure books for English-speaking readers. His work helped introduce 19th-century audiences to Japanese settings, customs, and tales at a time when they still felt new and mysterious.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Sandwich, Kent, on December 1, 1835, Edward Greey was an English-born writer who later made his life in the United States. Sources describe him as part of the English naval expedition to Japan in 1855–56, after which he spent years on station and shore duty, learned Japanese, and studied the country’s history.
He came to the United States in 1868, became a naturalized citizen, and worked in New York in commercial pursuits as well as in Japanese and Chinese art ware. That mix of travel, language study, and art dealing fed directly into his writing, which often centered on Japan for readers who would have known little about it firsthand.
Greey wrote plays as well as books, but he is especially remembered for works such as The Loyal Ronins, Young Americans in Japan, The Wonderful City of Tokio, The Golden Lotus, and Bear-Worshippers of Yezo. He died in New York City on October 1, 1888.