author
Percy John Hartley
b. 1875
Best known for a small cluster of early 20th-century historical romances, this little-documented novelist wrote adventurous fiction set against richly imagined European backdrops. Surviving records point to works including My Lady of Cleeve and The Hand of Diane, first published in 1908 and 1911.
1 Audiobook
My lady of Cleeve
by Percy John Hartley
About the author
Very little biographical information about this author appears to survive in the major public book records that are easily available today. Library and archive listings consistently identify him as Percy John Hartley, born in 1875, but they do not provide much more about his life.
What can be confirmed is his published work. My Lady of Cleeve appeared in 1908, and The Hand of Diane: A Romance of the Loire followed in 1911; book databases also list Irma of Carpathia among his novels. His titles suggest a taste for historical romance, intrigue, and dramatic settings.
That combination of scarce personal detail and vividly titled fiction gives his work a certain mystery. For listeners who enjoy rediscovering overlooked authors, Hartley offers a glimpse of the popular historical storytelling that readers found entertaining in the early 1900s.