author
William Wright
1829–1900
Best known by the pen name Dan DeQuille, he turned the boomtown world of Nevada's Comstock Lode into lively journalism and memorable nonfiction. His writing mixes sharp observation, local color, and a humor that helped capture a defining chapter of the American West.
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About the author
Born William Wright in Ohio in 1829, he became widely known as Dan DeQuille, an American author, journalist, and humorist. He spent much of his career in Virginia City, Nevada, where he wrote about mining camps, frontier life, and the fast-changing culture of the West.
He is especially remembered for his long association with the Territorial Enterprise, the newspaper famous for its vivid reporting and for its connection to Mark Twain. DeQuille's work drew on firsthand experience of the Comstock mining boom, and he became one of its most recognizable chroniclers.
His best-known book, History of the Big Bonanza (also published as The Big Bonanza), helped preserve the stories, personalities, and excitement of the silver-mining era. Today, his writing remains valuable not only for its humor and storytelling, but also for the window it gives into nineteenth-century Nevada and the wider American frontier.