author
Harry W. (Harry Willard) French
1854–1915
A restless 19th-century storyteller, journalist, and travel writer, he moved easily from art criticism to adventurous fiction set in far-off places. His books reflect a wide curiosity about the world, with subjects ranging from Connecticut artists to Russia, Arabia, India, China, and the Arctic.
1 Audiobook
The Lance of Kanana: A Story of Arabia
by Harry W. (Harry Willard) French
About the author
An American author and newspaper correspondent, Harry Willard French lived from 1854 to 1915. Records of his work show an unusually wide range: he wrote fiction, travel adventure, art writing, and books for younger readers, often turning distant settings and big journeys into lively narratives.
His bibliography includes titles such as Art and Artists in Connecticut, Castle Foam; or, The Heir of Meerschaum, The Lance of Kanana, Our Boys in India, Our Boys in China, and American Boys in the Arctics. That mix gives a good sense of his interests: art and culture on one hand, and dramatic travel and adventure on the other.
Today, French is remembered mainly through his public-domain books and library catalogs, where his work still circulates for readers who enjoy late-19th-century popular writing. His stories offer a window into the tastes of his era, especially its appetite for travel, exotic settings, and energetic historical adventure.