Harry W. (Harry Willard) French

Born in 1854 and dying in 1915, Harry W. French, also listed as Harry Willard French, was an American author who wrote widely across travel, art, and fiction. Library and public-domain records show a long list of books under his name, including Art and Artists in Connecticut, Through Artics and Tropics, Our Boys in India, Our Boys in China, Our Boys in Ireland, American Boys in the Arctics, and The Lance of Kanana.

Available catalog notes describe him as a newspaper correspondent as well as an author. That mix helps explain the feel of his writing: some books aim to inform readers about places, customs, and art, while others turn distant settings into energetic adventure stories for general audiences and younger readers.

French seems to have been especially drawn to broad, outward-looking subjects. Even from surviving title lists alone, his interests appear remarkably wide, ranging from regional American art to Russian-themed fiction and travel narratives set across Asia, the Middle East, and the far north. I couldn't confirm a reliable portrait photograph from the sources reviewed, so no image is included here.