author

Frank S. (Frank Stockton) Dobbins

1855–1916

A 19th-century American writer and missionary, he explored world religions and belief systems in large, ambitious survey books meant for general readers. His work reflects the curiosity, confidence, and strong religious viewpoint of its era.

1 Audiobook

Error's chains : How forged and broken : A comparative history of the national, social and religious errors that mankind has fallen into and practised from the creation down to the present time.

Error's chains : How forged and broken : A comparative history of the national, social and religious errors that mankind has fallen into and practised from the creation down to the present time.

by Frank S. (Frank Stockton) Dobbins

About the author

Born in 1855, Frank Stockton Dobbins was an American writer who is also identified in archival records as Rev. Frank Stockton Dobbins. The American Baptist Historical Society records give his dates as June 28, 1855, to July 22, 1916, and note missionary service in Yokohama, Japan, from 1876 to 1883.

Dobbins is best known for expansive comparative-religion books including Error's Chains: How Forged and Broken and later Gods and Devils of Mankind. Library and catalog records show that these works surveyed religions, myths, superstitions, sacred writings, and philosophical traditions from around the world for a broad popular audience.

Today, his books are mainly remembered as examples of late Victorian religious and historical writing. They offer a window into how some English-language readers of the period tried to organize and explain global belief systems, even as the perspective remains firmly shaped by Christian apologetic aims.