Harry Leon Wilson (May 1, 1867 – June 28, 1939) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels ''Ruggles of Red Gap'' and '' Merton of the Movies''. Another of his works, ''Bunker Bean'', helped popularize the term "

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee height was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptab ...

Life and career

Harry Leon Wilson was born in Oregon, Illinois to Samuel and Adeline (née Kidder). His father was a newspaper publisher, and Harry learned to set type at an early age. He began work as a stenographer after leaving home at 16, and he worked his way west through

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Colorado, and eventually to California. He was a contributor to the histories of Hubert Howe Bancroft, and became the private secretary to

Virgil Bogue Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

. In December 1886, Wilson's story ''The Elusive Dollar Bill'' was accepted by '' Puck'' magazine. He continued to contribute to Puck and became assistant editor in 1892.

Henry Cuyler Bunner Henry Cuyler Bunner (August 3, 1855 – May 11, 1896) was an American novelist, journalist and poet. He is known mainly for ''Tower of Babel''. Bunner's works have been praised by librarians for its "technical dexterity, playfulness and smoothne ...

died in 1896 and Wilson replaced him as editor. The publication of ''The Spenders'' allowed Wilson to quit ''Puck'' in 1902 and devote himself full-time to writing.

I had to live ten years in New York. It was then a simple town, with few street lights north of Forty-second street. Now the place is pretty terrible to me, perhaps the ugliest city in the world. I decided that the only way to get out of New York was to write a successful novel. So I tried with ''The Spenders'' and when I got a substantial advance from publishers, I quit my job and beat it for the high hills of Colorado.

—Harry Leon Wilson

Wilson returned to New York where he met

Booth Tarkington Newton Booth Tarkington (July 29, 1869 – May 19, 1946) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1918) and '' Alice Adams'' (1921). He is one of only four novelists to win the Pulitze ...

in 1904. Tarkington and Wilson traveled together to Europe in 1905. The two completed the play ''The Man from Home'' in 1906 in Paris. The play was a resounding success and was followed by more collaborations with Tarkington, but none repeated the success of the first. Wilson was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters in 1908. Wilson returned from Europe and settled permanently into the Bohemian colony at

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and ric ...

, which included

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

Mary Hunter Austin Mary Hunter Austin (September 9, 1868 – August 13, 1934) was an American writer. One of the early nature writers of the American Southwest, her classic '' The Land of Little Rain'' (1903) describes the fauna, flora, and people – as well as e ...

, George Sterling,

Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American writer, muckraker, political activist and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for governor of California who wrote nearly 100 books and other works in seve ...

, Xavier Martinez,

Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book ''The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by t ...

Alice MacGowan Alice L. MacGowan (December 10, 1858 – March 10, 1947) was an American writer. Early years She was born in Perrysburg, Ohio, the daughter of John Encil MacGowan and Malvina Marie Johnson. The family moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where her ...

, Sinclair Lewis, Francis McComas, and

Arnold Genthe Arnold Genthe (8 January 1869 – 9 August 1942) was a German-American photographer, best known for his photographs of San Francisco's Chinatown, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and his portraits of noted people, from politicians and socialite ...

. It was during this period that Wilson wrote the books for which he is best known: ''Bunker Bean'' (1913) and ''Ruggles of Red Gap'' (1915). After a brief stint in Hollywood, he composed ''Merton of the Movies'' in 1922. In 1912, Wilson married Helen MacGowan Cooke, the daughter of Grace MacGowan and the niece of Alice MacGowan. Two years later, someone attempted to murder Alice MacGowan by poison and to steal her diamonds and cash; Wilson and writer Jimmy Hopper became amateur detectives, but the perpetrator was never discovered. An online facsimile of the entire text of Vol. 1 is posted on the Traditional Fine Arts Organization website (). In March 1922, Wilson fought and lost a highly publicized "duel of fists" with landscape painter

Theodore Morrow Criley Theodore Criley (1880 - October 5, 1930) was an American hotel manager and artist. He joined the art colony in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, Carmel-by-the-Sea, where he was a watercolorist, portrait painter, and wood engraver. Life Criley grew u ...

. Carmel was collectively humiliated when the sordid details of their long-standing feud made banner headlines in the San Francisco press and was given prominent coverage across the country on the International News Wire, including stories in the ''Los Angeles Times'' and ''New York Times''. It was revealed that their argument originated with "a light romantic" love scene between Criley and Wilson’s wife in the 1921 production of ''Pomander Walk'' at Carmel’s Forest Theatre. Wilson sent Criley a series of accusatory letters, including a 24-page invective, and demanded satisfaction in this "affair of honor". He spent three months in Honolulu undergoing physical training and instruction in boxing, then he returned and the two men met on "a high cliff overlooking the sea". Criley thrashed Wilson in ten minutes. A severe auto accident in 1932 greatly affected Wilson's health during his remaining years. He died of a brain hemorrhage on June 28, 1939, while residing with friends at

Carmel Point Carmel Point also known as the Point, is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California, United States. It is a cape located at the southern city limits of Carmel-by-the-Sea and offers views of Carmel Bay, the mouth of Carmel River, a ...

. He was 72 years of age.

Personal

Wilson was married three times. His first wife was Wilbertine Nesselrode Teters Worden, whom he married in 1898. The marriage ended in divorce in 1900. In 1902, he married Rose Cecil O'Neill Latham. O'Neill and Wilson worked together at ''Puck'', and she was the illustrator for four of his books; they divorced in 1907. Wilson's black and white pit bull dog named Sprangle was the inspiration for Rose O'Neill's biscuit porcelain

Kewpie Kewpie is a brand of dolls and figurines that were conceived as comic strip characters by cartoonist Rose O'Neill. The illustrated cartoons, appearing as baby cupid characters, began to gain popularity after the publication of O'Neill's comic ...

dog figure, known to the world as "Kewpiedoodle dog" and sold worldwide by importer George Borgfeldt. Wilson married Helen MacGowan Cooke in 1912. They had two children: Harry Leon Wilson, Jr. and Helen Charis Wilson. Cooke and Wilson divorced in 1927.

Bibliography

The boss of Little Arcady (1905) (14784815755)

*''Zigzag Tales from the East to the West'' (1894) *''The Spenders: A Tale of the Third Generation'' (1902) illustrated by Rose Cecil O'Neill; adapted into the 1921 film '' The Spenders''. *''The Lions of the Lord, a Tale of the Old West'' (1903) illustrated by Rose Cecil O'Neill *''The Seeker'' (1904) illustrated by Rose Cecil O'Neill *''The Boss of Little Arcady'' (1905) illustrated by Rose Cecil O'Neill *''Ewing's Lady'' (1907) *''The Man from Home'' (1908) co-written with

; adapted into two films, '' The Man from Home'' (1914) and '' The Man from Home'' (1922). *''Cameo Kirby'' (1908) co-written with Booth Tarkington; adapted into three films, '' Cameo Kirby'' (1914), '' Cameo Kirby'' (1923) and '' Cameo Kirby'' (1930). *''Foreign Exchange'' (1909) co-written with Booth Tarkington *''Springtime'' (1909) co-written with Booth Tarkington; adapted into the 1914 film ''Springtime''. *''If I Had Money'' (1909) co-written with Booth Tarkington *''Your Humble Servant'' (1910) co-written with Booth Tarkington *''Bunker Bean'' (1913) illustrated by Frederic R. Gruger; adapted into three films, '' His Majesty, Bunker Bean'' (1918), '' His Majesty, Bunker Bean'' (1925) and '' Bunker Bean'' (1936). *''Ruggles of Red Gap'' (1915) illustrated by Frederic R. Gruger; adapted into four films, '' Ruggles of Red Gap'' (1918), '' Ruggles of Red Gap'' (1923), '' Ruggles of Red Gap'' (1935) and '' Fancy Pants'' (1950). *''The Man from Home: A Novel'' (1915) based on the play *''Somewhere in Red Gap'' (1916) illustrated by

John R. Neill John Rea Neill (November 12, 1877 – September 19, 1943) was a magazine and children's book illustrator primarily known for illustrating more than forty stories set in the Land of Oz, including L. Frank Baum's, Ruth Plumly Thompson's, and three o ...

*''Life'' (1919) play *''The Gibson Upright'' (1919) co-written with Booth Tarkington *''Ma Pettengill'' (1919) *''The Wrong Twin'' (1921) illustrated by Frederic R. Gruger *'' Merton of the Movies'' (1922) adapted into three films, '' Merton of the Movies'' (1924), '' Make Me a Star'' (1932), and '' Merton of the Movies'' (1947) *''So This Is Golf!'' 1923) *''Oh, Doctor!'' (1923) adapted into the two films, '' Oh Doctor!'' (1925) and '' Oh, Doctor'' (1937). *''Ma Pettengill Talks'' (1923) *''Professor How Could You!'' (1924) *''Tweedles'' (1924) co-written with Booth Tarkington *''Cousin Jane'' (1925) *''Lone Tree'' (1929) *''How's Your Health?'' (1930) co-written with Booth Tarkington *''Two Black Sheep'' (1931) *''When in the Course--'' (1940)

References

External links

* * * * * *
Harry Leon Wilson Papers, ca. 1879-1939
at the

Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...

at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Harry Leon 1867 births 1939 deaths 19th-century American novelists 20th-century American novelists American male novelists Novelists from Illinois Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century American male writers People from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California People from Oregon, Illinois 20th-century American male writers Novelists from California

Life and career

Personal

See also

Bibliography

References

External links