Henry C. Barkley

Henry C. Barkley, also known as Henry Charles Barkley, was a British civil engineer and author born in 1837 and died in 1903. Biographical records describe him as the son of a Norfolk clergyman, and note that he spent many years working in Bulgaria, helping construct railways before turning those experiences into books.

He wrote across a surprising range of subjects. Alongside travel and memoir-style works such as Between the Danube and the Black Sea and A Ride Through Asia Minor and Armenia, he is especially remembered for Studies in the Art of Rat-Catching, a lively late-19th-century work that helped keep his name in print.

Barkley’s appeal today comes from that mix of curiosity and practicality. Whether writing about travel, country skills, or the places and people he encountered, he seems to have favored firsthand detail and clear, readable storytelling.