Henry Harland | |
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| Born | March 1, 1861 Norwich, Connecticut |
| Died | December 20, 1905 (aged 44) Sanremo, Italy |
| Pen name | Sidney Luska |
| Occupation | Novelist,editor |
| Spouse | Aline Herminie Merriam |
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Henry Harland (March 1, 1861 – December 20, 1905) was an American novelist and editor.
Harland was born inNorwich, Connecticut,[a] in 1861, the son ofFourierist Thomas Harland, who had been a one-time roommate of editor and authorEdmund Clarence Stedman. He was raised in New York and, after the Civil War, the Harlands lived in a German Jewish section of the city.[3]
Harland attended theCity College of New York and brieflyHarvard Divinity School. In May 1884, he married Aline Herminie Merriam, who shared his artistic interests.[4] His literary career falls into two distinct sections. During the first of these, writing under the pseudonymSidney Luska, he produced a series of highly sensational novels, written with little regard to literary quality.[citation needed] His novels written under this persona in the 1880s became the first popularly-read books to feature the American Jewish experience, which Harland both celebrated and criticized.[3] Harland's depictions were met with wide criticism from the Jewish community. One review in the Philadelphia-basedJewish Exponent said one of his books was "grossly inartistic" and expressed "condescension" and "vulgar assumption towards Jews".[5]Kaufmann Kohler inThe Menorah complained that, in Harland's novels "the Jews, as a class, lack refinement".[5]
But in 1889 Harland moved toLondon and fell under the influence of theAesthetic movement. He began writing under his own name and, in 1894, became the founding editor ofThe Yellow Book. The short story collections of this new period,A Latin Quarter Courtship (1889),Mademoiselle Miss (1893),Grey Roses (1895), andComedies and Errors (1898), were praised by critics but had little general popularity. He finally achieved a wide readership withThe Cardinal's Snuff-box (1900), which was followed byThe Lady Paramount (1901) andMy Friend Prospero (1903).Hamlin Garland met him around this time and noted that he had affected a fake English accent. Garland recalled, "his 'extraoinary' English accent was comical. He spoke quite like the caricatured Englishman of our comedy stage. He is completely expatriated now and unpleasantly aggressive in his defense of England and English ways."[6]
Harland's last novel,The Royal End (1909), was incomplete when he died. His wife finished it according to his notes.[7] He died in 1905 atSanremo, Italy, after a prolonged period of tuberculosis.
After his death,Henry James wrote positively about both Harland andThe Yellow Book, though he had previously disparaged both.[8]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Cousin, John William (1910).A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London: J. M. Dent & Sons – viaWikisource.
