W. S. (William Shuler) Harris

author

W. S. (William Shuler) Harris

b. 1865

A Methodist minister with a taste for big ideas, he wrote imaginative religious allegories and an early speculative voyage through the cosmos. His work blends sermon-like moral purpose with the curiosity and wonder of turn-of-the-century fantastic fiction.

2 Audiobooks

Life in a Thousand Worlds

Life in a Thousand Worlds

by W. S. (William Shuler) Harris

Mr. World and Miss Church-Member: A Twentieth Century Allegory

Mr. World and Miss Church-Member: A Twentieth Century Allegory

by W. S. (William Shuler) Harris

About the author

Born in 1865, William Shuler Harris was an American minister and author. Reference sources identify him as a Methodist minister, and his writing ranged from religious allegory to early speculative fiction.

He is best remembered for works such as Sermons by the Devil (1904) and Life in a Thousand Worlds (1905). The latter is often noted today as an early imaginative journey through the solar system and beyond, where social criticism, utopian and dystopian ideas, and religious reflection all travel together.

Harris seems to have written for readers who enjoyed both moral seriousness and bold invention. Even now, his books stand out for their unusual mix of preaching, satire, and cosmic adventure.