author
James Harold Romain
A late-19th-century writer best remembered for a searching look at gambling, he approached the subject as more than pastime or vice. His work blends moral debate, social observation, and a strong curiosity about why games of chance hold such power over people.
1 Audiobook
Gambling; or, Fortuna, her temple and shrine. The true philosophy and ethics of gambling
by James Harold Romain
About the author
James Harold Romain was a late-19th- and early-20th-century author associated with Gambling; or, Fortuna, Her Temple and Shrine, a philosophical and ethical study of gambling published in Chicago in 1891. Records from the Library of Congress confirm the book and its publication details, and Project Gutenberg has helped keep the work in circulation for modern readers.
Rather than treating gambling only as entertainment or scandal, Romain wrote about it as a social and moral subject. His book examines the history, appeal, and consequences of games of chance, giving it the feel of both a cultural study and a personal argument.
Available memorial records identify him as having been born in Toronto on August 24, 1850, and dying in Cincinnati on May 9, 1921. While not much biographical information is widely preserved, his surviving work stands out for its thoughtful, serious attempt to explain why gambling has fascinated people across places and eras.