Frank Harris

We should probably be running a post about Frank Harris during Banned Books Week instead of as a representative of February 14th, his birthday in 1855.  Born in Ireland, he was an editor, journalist and publisher, who hobnobbed with the likes of George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, H. G. Wells, Winston Churchill and Max Beerbohm.   While his reputation painted him as a rake and rascal, he idealized Jesus, Goethe, and Shakespeare, and was almost elected a Conservative Member of Parliament.

Early in life, he emigrated to America, settled in Kansas and did odd jobs until finally attending the University of Kansas to study law.  He graduated, became a citizen and practiced law until he grew tired of the law and went back to Europe in 1882.  After traveling around, he settled in London and became a journalist.

He had quite a reputation for irascible and outspoken personality, and his editorship of London papers and Pearson’s magazine. He also wrote short stories, and novels, two books on Shakespeare, five volumes under the title Contemporary Portraits, and biographies of his friends Wilde and Shaw. His book My Reminiscences as a Cowboy was made into a movie with Jack Lemmon. But his most notorious publication was his four volume memoir, My Life and Loves which destroyed his reputation. The book was banned in many countries for its sexual explicitness.

The Galvin Rare Book Room has three of his books, one signed.  Unpath’d Waters, a collection of stories with titles such as The Holy Man and The King of the Jews.  (Rare Book Room PR4759.H37 U53 1913)  Elder Conklin and other stories, is a bit racier than the former book.  (Rare Book Room PR4759.H37 E4 1894) And the third book is a treatise on the first World War, England or Germany–? (Rare Book Room D523.H251915) with chapters titled “Christian Morality and War”, “The ‘Soul of Goodness in Things Evil'”, and “Who Will Win the War?”  Mr. Harris was a write not to be pigeonholed!