C G Harper - Dunster castle and Yarn Market

C G Harper - The old Church, Kingston Seymour, Somerset

Charles George Harper (1863–1943) was an English author and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

. Born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, Harper wrote many self-illustrated travel books, exploring the regions, roads, coastlines, literary connections, old inns etc. of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. In later life, he lived in Petersham. Aside from the some 170 topographical works, he also wrote a few books on

drawing Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...

and its techniques, including ''English Pen Artists of To-day'' (1892) and ''A Practical Handbook of Drawing for Modern Methods of Reproduction'' (1894), as well as an anti-feminist

polemic Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topics ...

, ''Revolted Woman; past, present, and to come'' (1894), and a satirical novel, ''Hearts Do Not Break: a Tale of the Lower Slopes'' (1896), attacking

logrolling Logrolling is the trading of favors, or ''quid pro quo'', such as vote trading by legislative members to obtain passage of actions of interest to each legislative member. In organizational analysis, it refers to a practice in which different o ...

among the London literary set.

Critical assessment

R. E. D. Sketchley's ''English Book-Illustration of To-Day'' (1903) characterised Harper's travel books as "… written and drawn with spirited observation. His drawing is not so picturesque as his writing. It has reticence and justness of expression that would not serve in relating tales of the road, but which, together with a sense of colour and of what is pictorial, combine to form an effective and frequently distinctive style of illustration". N. W. Webster's article "The English traveller"' (1974) describes him as "more a capable draughtsman than a creative artist, although his books would lose much without his delightful sketches".

Published works (selected)

*
Revolted Woman: past, present, and to come
' (London, Elkin Mathews, 1894)
''The Marches of Wales: notes and impressions on the Welsh borders, from the Severn Sea to the Sands o' Dee''
(London, Chapman & Hall, 1894) *''Hearts Do Not Break: a Tale of the Lower Slopes'' (London, Kegan Paul & Co., 1896) *''The Exeter Road: the story of the west of England highway'' (Chapman & Hall, 1899) *
The Holyhead Road
' (Chapman & Hall, 1902) *''Cycle Rides Round London'' (CHAPMAN & HALL, 1902) *
The Hardy Country: literary landmarks of the Wessex novels
' (London, A. & C. Black, 1904). *
The Ingoldsby Country: literary landmarks of the "Ingoldsby legends"
' (London, A. & C. Black, 1904) *''The Old Inns of Old England'' &ndash
Vol. 1Vol. 2
(Chapman & Hall, 1906). *''The Hastings Road, and the "Happy Springs of Tunbridge"'' (Chapman & Hall, Ltd. 1906)
''Haunted Houses: Tales of the Supernatural: With Some Account of Hereditary Curses and Family Legends''
(1907) *
The South Devon Coast
' (Chapman & Hall, 1907) *
The North Devon Coast
' (Chapman & Hall, 1908) *
The Somerset Coast
' (Chapman & Hall, 1909). *''Thames Valley Villages'' &ndash
Vol. 1Vol. 2
(Chapman & Hall, 1910) *
Summer Days in Shakespeare Land
' (J. Pott & Co., 1913). *
The Kentish Coast
' (Chapman & Hall, 1914) *
The Dover Road: annals of an ancient turnpike
' (Cecil Palmer, 1922) *
The Great North Road, the old mail road to Scotland
' (Charles Palmer, 1922). * ''On the Road in Holland: notes and impressions in the quaint country of dykes and canals ''(Cecil Palmer, 1922)

References

External links

* * *

(booksandwriters.co.uk) {{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Charles George English travel writers English non-fiction writers English illustrators 1863 births 1943 deaths English male non-fiction writers

Critical assessment

Published works (selected)

Further reading

References

External links