author
Frank Cuttriss
Best known for Romany Life, this early 20th-century English writer also worked as a photographer and illustrator. He published under the name Frank Cuttriss while exploring Romani life through long observation and firsthand encounters.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Writing as Frank Cuttriss, Francis Robert Hinkins was an English author, photographer, and illustrator born in 1852 and died in 1934. His best-known book, Romany Life (1915), drew on years of close contact with Romani communities and was published under this pen name.
His work stands out for its mix of curiosity, field observation, and visual sensitivity. Beyond writing, he was known for photography and illustration, and he also contributed photographs to Arthur Mee's well-known The Children's Encyclopedia.
Readers who pick up Frank Cuttriss today are usually looking for a vivid, period account of Romani life as it was seen and recorded in the early 1900s. While the language and outlook belong to its time, the book remains a notable example of documentary-style social observation from an author who worked across words and images.