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William Nathaniel Harben (5 July 1858 – 7 August 1919) was an American author active in the early 20th century. He specialized in stories about the people of the mountains of Northern Georgia. He was sometimes credited as Will N. Harben or Will Harben.
Is communication a bad thing
Will Harben in ''New Georgia Encyclopaedia''
* (13 books there (18/06/2019)) {{DEFAULTSORT:Harben, William 1858 births 1919 deaths American male novelists American male screenwriters People from Dalton, Georgia Novelists from Georgia (U.S. state) Writers from New York City 19th-century American novelists 20th-century American novelists 19th-century American male writers 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century American screenwriters
William Nathaniel Harben (5 July 1858 – 7 August 1919) was an American author active in the early 20th century. He specialized in stories about the people of the mountains of Northern Georgia. He was sometimes credited as Will N. Harben or Will Harben.
Early life
Harben was born in 1858 in Dalton, Georgia to a rich family. He grew up to be a merchant in that same town. At age 30, Harben started writing stories. His father Nathaniel Parks Harben was a prominent southern abolitionist who served as a spy for the Union and later a scout for General Sherman. His family was forced to flee to the north when William was a small child, eventually returning to Dalton during reconstruction.Career
In 1889, Harben wrote his first bestseller, ''White Marie'', a story of a white girl raised inslavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
in the American South
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
. After the publication of this novel, he moved his family to New York City.
Harben's next novel, ''Almost Persuaded'' (1890), was a religious novel. The novel gained enough attention that Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
requested a copy of it. Harben then published ''Mute Confessor'' (1892), a romantic novel
A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Pre ...
, and ''Land of the Changing Sun'' (1894), a science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
novel. He also produced three detective novel
Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...
s during this decade.
Harben achieved his greatest literary success with ''Northern Georgia Sketches'' (1900), a collection of short stories about Georgia " hillbillies". He became a protegee and friend of William Dean Howells
William Dean Howells (; March 1, 1837 – May 11, 1920) was an American realist novelist, literary critic, and playwright, nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters". He was particularly known for his tenure as editor of ''The Atlantic Monthly'', ...
. Two of his memorable characters were mountaineers Abner Daniel and Pole Baker, rustic philosophers and comedic characters.
Harben died in New York City in 1919 at age 61.
Works
*''White Marie: A Story of Georgia Plantation'' (1889) *''Almost Persuaded'' (1890) *''A Mute Confessor: The Romance of a Southern Town '' (1892) *''The Land of the Changing Sun'' (1894) *''The Carruthers Affair'' (1898) *''The North Walk Mystery'' (1899) *''Northern Georgia Sketches'' (1900) *''Westerfelt'' (1901) *''The Woman who Trusted: A Story of Literary Life in New York'' (1901) *''Abner Daniel'' (1902) *''The Substitute'' (1903) *''The Georgians: A Novel'' (1904) *''Pole Baker: A Novel'' (1905) *''Ann Boyd'' (1906) *''Mam' Linda: A Novel'' (1907) *''Gilbert Neal: A Novel'' (1908) *''The Redemption of Kenneth Galt'' (1909) *''Dixie Hart'' (1910) *''The Fruit of Desire'' (1910) *''Jane Dawson: A Novel'' (1911) *''Nobody's'' (1911) *''Paul Rundel: A Novel'' (1912) *''The Desired Woman'' (1913) (1913 novel and screenplay for 1918 film) *''The New Clarion: A Novel'' (1914) *''The Inner Law'' (1915) *''Second Choice: A Romance'' (1916) *''The Triumph'' (1917) *''The Hills of Refuge'' (1918) *''The Cottage of Delight'' (1919) *''The Divine Event'' (1920) *'' Love Never Dies'' (screenplay for 1921 film)References
Further reading
*Is communication a bad thing
External links
*Will Harben in ''New Georgia Encyclopaedia''
* (13 books there (18/06/2019)) {{DEFAULTSORT:Harben, William 1858 births 1919 deaths American male novelists American male screenwriters People from Dalton, Georgia Novelists from Georgia (U.S. state) Writers from New York City 19th-century American novelists 20th-century American novelists 19th-century American male writers 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century American screenwriters