William Harben

William Nathaniel Harben (5 July 1858 – 7 August 1919) was an American writer active in the early 20th century.

[1] Harben was born in 1858 in Dalton, Georgia to a rich family.

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.

The novel gained enough attention that Queen Victoria requested a copy of it.