author
Henry Russell Miller
1880–1955
A Pittsburgh lawyer and early-20th-century novelist, he wrote ambitious, socially minded fiction about power, class, and the push and pull between success and conscience. His best-known books include The Man Higher Up, His Rise to Power, and The House of Toys.
1 Audiobook
The House of Toys
by Henry Russell Miller
About the author
Born in Sidney, Ohio, in 1880, he grew up in the Pittsburgh area and went on to study at Westminster College before entering the law. Alongside his legal career, he also worked in publishing and business, building the kind of close-up view of American ambition and institutions that would shape his fiction.
His novels found readers in the 1910s and 1920s, often focusing on characters climbing through politics, business, and city life. The Man Higher Up, His Rise to Power, and The House of Toys are among his most remembered works, and they show his interest in social pressure, moral choices, and the cost of getting ahead.
He died in 1955 and is buried in Pittsburgh's Union Dale Cemetery. Though he is not widely known today, his books still offer a lively window into the energy, conflicts, and ideals of early modern America.