Francis Lynde

Born in Lewiston, New York, in 1856, Francis Lynde became an American novelist whose work was closely associated with Western and adventure fiction. He wrote during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and his stories often drew on the landscapes, industries, and tensions of the developing West.

Lynde was especially known for fast-moving popular novels involving railroads, mining, and power struggles, with titles such as The Grafters, The Master of Appleby, and Stranded in the Arcady. At least three of his books were adapted into silent films, which suggests how widely read he was in his day.

He died in 1930. Although he is not as widely remembered now as some of his contemporaries, his books still offer a vivid glimpse of the era's taste for adventure, regional color, and dramatic storytelling.