author

Edwin A. Brown

1857–1946

A reform-minded writer who turned firsthand experience into a vivid account of homelessness and unemployment in early 20th-century America. His best-known work follows his travels in disguise as a penniless laborer and argues for more humane public support.

1 Audiobook

"Broke," The Man Without the Dime

"Broke," The Man Without the Dime

by Edwin A. Brown

About the author

Born in 1857 and dying in 1946, he is identified in public-domain library records as Edwin A. Brown, and memorial records give his full name as Edwin Arleigh Brown. Those records place his birth in Port Byron, Illinois, on April 28, 1857, and his death in San Diego, California, on June 9, 1946.

Brown is best known for "Broke," The Man Without the Dime, first published in 1913. Library and book records describe it as a social reform narrative shaped by his own investigations of homelessness and unemployment across American cities, including time spent traveling in disguise as a penniless workingman. The book makes a practical, humane case for what he called a "Municipal Emergency Home" in every city.

What stands out in Brown's work is its mix of reportage, advocacy, and sympathy for people living on the edge. Rather than writing from a distance, he tried to see conditions for himself, and that gives his book the feeling of both a personal journey and an appeal for social change.