author
b. 1844
Best known for moral and self-improvement books from the late 1800s, this American writer helped create ambitious, wide-ranging works on success, character, and the ancient world. His books have had a long afterlife in reprints, digital archives, and audiobook editions.
by T. L. (Thomas Louis) Haines, L. W. (Levi W.) Yaggy
Thomas Louis Haines was an American author born in 1844. Surviving catalog and library records usually list him as T. L. Haines or Thomas Louis Haines, 1844-, and his best-known books were written during the late nineteenth century.
He is most closely associated with The Royal Path of Life; or, Aims and Aids to Success and Happiness, a popular advice and inspiration book written with Levi W. Yaggy. He also co-authored Museum of Antiquity, a large illustrated work that introduced general readers to everyday life, customs, monuments, and arts of the ancient world. Those books suggest a writer interested in practical uplift, broad learning, and making big subjects accessible to ordinary households.
Some records indicate he lived until 1928, but the basic biographical trail is much thinner than the publication record, so it is safer to focus on the books themselves. Even with that limited personal detail, Haines remains a recognizable nineteenth-century voice in popular nonfiction and educational publishing.