Frank Harris (14 February 1855 – 26 August 1931) was an Irish-American editor, novelist,

short story writer A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

, journalist and publisher, who was friendly with many well-known figures of his day. Born in Ireland, he emigrated to the United States early in life, working in a variety of unskilled jobs before attending the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

to study law. After graduation, he quickly tired of his legal career and returned to Europe in 1882. He traveled in continental Europe before settling in London to pursue a career in journalism. In 1921, in his sixties, he became a US citizen. Though he attracted much attention during his life for his irascible, aggressive personality, editorship of famous periodicals, and friendship with the talented and famous, he is remembered mainly for his multiple-volume memoir '' My Life and Loves'', which was banned in countries around the world for its sexual explicitness.

Biography

Early years

Harris was born James Thomas Harris in 1855, in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

, Ireland, to Welsh parents. His father, Thomas Vernon Harris, was a naval officer from

Fishguard Fishguard ( cy, Abergwaun, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,419 in 2011; the community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5,407. Modern Fishguard consists of two p ...

, Pembrokeshire, Wales. While living with his older brother he was, for a year or more, a pupil at

The Royal School, Armagh The Royal School, Armagh is a co-educational voluntary grammar school, founded in the 17th century, in the city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. It has a boarding department with an international intake. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Hea ...

. At the age of 12 he was sent to

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

to continue his education as a

boarder A boarder may be a person who: *snowboards *skateboards *bodyboards * surfs *stays at a boarding house *attends a boarding school *takes part in a boarding attack The Boarder may also refer to: * ''The Boarder'' (1953 film), a 1953 Soviet drama ...

at the Ruabon Grammar School in Denbighshire, a time he was to remember later in ''My Life and Loves''. Harris was unhappy at the school and ran away within a year. Harris ran away to the United States in late 1869, arriving in New York City virtually penniless."Frank Harris is Dead in France: Great Author Succumbs at 75; Had Just Completed a Biography of Shaw", ''The Revolutionary Age'' ew York vol. 2, no. 40 (5 Sept.. 1931), pp. 1, 3. The 14-year-old took a series of odd jobs to support himself, working first as a boot black, a

porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...

, a general laborer, and a construction worker on the erection of the Brooklyn Bridge. Harris would later turn these early occupational experiences into art, incorporating tales from them into his book ''The Bomb.'' From New York Harris moved to the

American Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

, settling in the country's second largest city, Chicago, where he took a job as a hotel clerk and eventually a manager. Owing to Chicago's central place in the meat packing industry, Harris made the acquaintance of various cattlemen, who inspired him to leave the big city to take up work as a cowboy. Harris eventually grew tired of life in the cattle industry and enrolled at the

, where he studied law and earned a degree, gaining admission to the Kansas state bar association. In 1878, in Brighton, he married Florence Ruth Adams, who died the following year.

Return to Europe

Harris was not cut out to be a lawyer and soon decided to turn his attention to literature. He moved to England in 1882, later traveling to various cities in Germany,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, France, and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

on his literary quest. He worked briefly as an American newspaper correspondent before settling down in England to seriously pursue the vocation of journalism. Harris first came to general notice as the editor of a series of London papers including the ''

Evening News Evening News may refer to: Television news *''CBS Evening News'', an American news broadcast *''ITV Evening News'', a UK news broadcast *'' JNN Evening News'', a Japanese news broadcast *''Evening News'', an alternate name for '' News Hour'' in so ...

'', the ''

Fortnightly Review ''The Fortnightly Review'' was one of the most prominent and influential magazines in nineteenth-century England. It was founded in 1865 by Anthony Trollope, Frederic Harrison, Edward Spencer Beesly, and six others with an investment of £9,000 ...

'' and the '' Saturday Review'', the last-named being the high point of his journalistic career, with

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

as regular contributors. From 1908 to 1914 Harris concentrated on working as a novelist, authoring a series of popular books such as ''The Bomb,'' ''The Man Shakespeare,'' and ''The Yellow Ticket and Other Stories''. With the advent of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in the summer of 1914, Harris decided to return to the United States. From 1916 to 1922 he edited the U.S. edition of ''

Pearson's Magazine ''Pearson's Magazine'' was a monthly periodical that first appeared in Britain in 1896. A US version began publication in 1899. It specialised in speculative literature, political discussion, often of a socialist bent, and the arts. Its contribut ...

,'' a popular monthly which combined short story fiction with

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

-tinted features on contemporary news topics. One issue of the publication was banned from the mails by Postmaster General Albert S. Burleson during the period of American participation in the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Despite this Harris managed to navigate the delicate situation which faced the left wing press and to keep the ''Pearson's'' functioning and solvent during the war years. Harris became an American citizen in April 1921. In 1922 he travelled to Berlin to publish his best-known work, his autobiography ''My Life and Loves'' (published in four volumes, 1922–1927). It is notorious for its graphic descriptions of Harris' purported sexual encounters and for its exaggeration of the scope of his adventures and his role in history. Years later, ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' magazine reflected in its 21 March 1960 issue "Had he not been a thundering liar, Frank Harris would have been a great autobiographer ... he had the crippling disqualification that he told the truth, as

Max Beerbohm Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm (24 August 1872 – 20 May 1956) was an English essayist, parodist and caricaturist under the signature Max. He first became known in the 1890s as a dandy and a humorist. He was the drama critic for the '' Saturd ...

remarked, only 'when his invention flagged'." A fifth volume, supposedly taken from his notes but of doubtful provenance, was published in 1954, long after his death.James Campbell
''Exiled in Paris Richard Wright, James Baldwin, Samuel Beckett and Others on the Left Bank''
pp. 143–147 Books.google.com Harris also wrote short stories and novels, two books on

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

, a series of biographical sketches in five volumes under the title ''Contemporary Portraits'' and biographies of his friends Oscar Wilde and

. His attempts at playwriting were less successful: only ''Mr. and Mrs. Daventry'' (1900) (which was based on an idea by Oscar Wilde) was produced on the stage.

Death and legacy

Married three times, Harris died in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

aged 75 on 26 August 1931, of a heart attack. He was subsequently buried at Cimetière Sainte-Marguerite, adjacent to the Cimetière Caucade, in the same city. Just after his death a biography written by

Hugh Kingsmill Hugh Kingsmill Lunn (21 November 1889 – 15 May 1949), who dropped his surname for professional purposes, was a versatile British writer and journalist. The writers Arnold Lunn and Brian Lunn were his brothers. Life Hugh Kingsmill Lunn was born ...

(pseudonym of Hugh Kingsmill Lunn) was published.

Works

*''Elder Conklin: And Other Stories'' (1894) *''Montes the Matador & Other Stories'' (London, Grant Richards, 1900) *'' The Bomb'' (1908) *''The Man Shakespeare and his Tragic Life Story'' (London, Frank Palmer, 1909) *''Unpath'd Waters'' (1915). Stories. *''The Yellow Ticket And Other Stories'' (Grant Richards Ltd., 1914) *The Spectacle Maker (1913) basis for 1934 movie *''The Veils of Isis, and Other Stories'' (1915) * England or Germany ? ( 1915 ) *''Contemporary Portraits... in four vols'' (1915–1923) *''Oscar Wilde, His Life and Confessions'' (1916) *'' My Life and Loves'', (1922–1927, 1931, 1954, 1963 (complete)) *''Undream'd of Shores'' (London, Grant Richards, 1924). Stories. *''The Tom Cat: An Apologue'' (1928). Short story. *''My Reminiscences as a Cowboy'' (1930) *''Confessional'' (1930). Essays. *''Pantopia: A Novel'' (1930) *''Bernard Shaw'' (1931) *''The Short Stories of Frank Harris, a Selection'' (1975).

Elmer Gertz Elmer Gertz (September 14, 1906 – April 27, 2000) was an American lawyer, writer, law professor, and civil rights activist. During his lengthy legal career he won some high-profile cases, most notably parole for notorious killer Nathan Leopold a ...

, ed.

Cultural references

In 1920, French writer and diplomat

Paul Morand Paul Morand (13 March 1888 – 24 July 1976) was a French author whose short stories and novellas were lauded for their style, wit and descriptive power. His most productive literary period was the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s. He was mu ...

met an aged Frank Harris in

and borrowed much of his personality to create the character of O'Patah, a larger than life writer, publisher and Irish patriot, "the last of the Irish bards" in his short story ''La nuit de Portofino kulm'' (part of the famed collection of short stories ''Fermé la nuit'') published in 1923 by Gallimard. In 1922,

Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer-editor, who, after early years as a Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet spy (1932–1938), defected from the Soviet underground (1938) ...

published a "blasphemous" and "sacrilegious" playlet called "A Play for Puppets" in ''The Morningside'', a Columbia University student magazine, based on Frank Harris' 1919 play ''Miracle of the Stigmata'', for which Chambers quit school to avoid expulsion. ("The greater part of it is so plainly sacrilegious that it cannot be reproduced.") In 1929, Cole Porter's song "After All, I'm Only a Schoolgirl" references Harris and "My Life and Loves", in a tale about a girl who is learning about adult relationships from a private tutor. In 1936, Harris appeared as a character in the play '' Oscar Wilde'', by Leslie &

Sewell Stokes Francis Martin Sewell Stokes (16 November 1902, London – 2 November 1979, London) was an English novelist, biographer, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and prison visitor. He collaborated on a number of occasions with his brother, Leslie ...

, first produced at London's Gate Theatre Studio (1936) and later at the Fulton Theatre, New York, in 1938, in both cases starring

Robert Morley Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, of ...

in the title role. In 1958, the feature film '' Cowboy'' is an adaptation of the semi-autobiographical novel ''My Reminiscences as a Cowboy''. Harris is played by Jack Lemmon. In 1960, he is seen as a minor character in ''The Trials of Oscar Wilde'' played by Paul Rogers. Harris had specifically warned Wilde against prosecuting Queensberry for criminal libel, which led to his downfall. In a 1972 episode of ''The Edwardians'', he was played by John Bennett. A volume by Frank Harris held up the couch in "Six Big Boobies" (1985) episode of ''

'Allo 'Allo ''Allo 'Allo!'' is a British sitcom television series, created by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, starring Gorden Kaye, Carmen Silvera, Guy Siner and Richard Gibson. Originally broadcast on BBC1, the series focuses on the life of a French ca ...

''. On television, Harris was played by

Leonard Rossiter Leonard Rossiter (21 October 1926 – 5 October 1984) was an English actor. He had a long career in the theatre but achieved his highest profile for his television comedy roles starring as Rupert Rigsby in the ITV series '' Rising Damp'' fro ...

in a 1978 BBC Play of the Week: ''Fearless Frank, or, Tidbits From The Life Of An Adventurer''. He is a character in the 1997

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

play '' The Invention of Love'', which deals with the life of A. E. Housman and the Oscar Wilde trials. He appears as a close friend of Oscar Wilde in the award-winning play by Moisés Kaufman: '' Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde''. He appears in the first episode of the 2001 miniseries '' The Infinite Worlds of H. G. Wells'', rejecting a story from Wells for being too long and too preposterous. Harris appears as a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deat ...

Kim Newman Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula'' at ...

's 1992 novel ''

Anno Dracula ''Anno Dracula'' is a 1992 novel by British writer Kim Newman, the first in the ''Anno Dracula'' series. It is an alternate history using 19th-century English historical settings and personalities, along with characters from popular fiction. ...

'', as the mentor and vampire sire of one of the novel's main characters. In the ITV series ''

Mr Selfridge ''Mr Selfridge'' is a British period drama television series about Harry Gordon Selfridge and his department store, Selfridge & Co, in London, set from 1908 to 1928. It was co-produced by ITV Studios and Masterpiece/WGBH for broadcast on IT ...

'' (2013),

Samuel West Samuel Alexander Joseph West (born 19 June 1966) is an English actor, narrator and theatre director. He has directed on stage and radio, and worked as an actor across theatre, film, television and radio. He often appears as reciter with orche ...

plays a newspaper editor and publisher called Frank Edwards, a character based on Frank Harris. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson meet Harris in Nicholas Meyer's 1976 novel

The West End Horror ''The West End Horror: A Posthumous Memoir of John H. Watson, M.D.'' is a Sherlock Holmes pastiche novel by Nicholas Meyer, published in 1976. It takes place after two of Meyer's other Holmes pastiches, ''The Seven-Per-Cent Solution'' and ''The C ...

. Watson comments on Harris' habit of always speaking very loudly. In the crime comedy Pulp, Michael Caine plays a novelist who someone compares to Frank Harris, in which Caine glibly replies, "Frank was a novice."

References

External links

* * *
Extensive website by Alfred Armstrong

*
Frank Harris Collection
at the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...

at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...

Frank Harris Collection
at th
Kenneth Spencer Research Library
at the

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Frank British erotica writers British male journalists 1856 births 1931 deaths People from Galway (city) People from County Galway British publishers (people) People educated at Ruabon Grammar School University of Kansas alumni American editors Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) Irish people of Welsh descent People with acquired American citizenship