Henry Harland was born in Brooklyn in the United States on 1st March 1861.Harland was educated at the City College of New York and for a short spell Harvard Divinity School. In May 1884, he married Aline Herminie Merriam, who shared his artistic interests.As a writer his works fall into two separate periods. He initially wrote under a pseudonym, Sidney Luska, and published a series of highly sensational novels. Whilst these were of a fashionable type at the time they contained lit...
Henry Harland was born in Brooklyn in the United States on 1st March 1861.Harland was educated at the City College of New York and for a short spell Harvard Divinity School. In May 1884, he married Aline Herminie Merriam, who shared his artistic interests.As a writer his works fall into two separate periods. He initially wrote under a pseudonym, Sidney Luska, and published a series of highly sensational novels. Whilst these were of a fashionable type at the time they contained little evidence of his literary qualities.In 1889 the Harland’s’ moved to London and here he became an advocate of the Aesthetic movement. He now began to write under his own name and, in 1894, became the founding literary editor of avant-garde and boundary bending illustrated quarterly The Yellow Book, on which Aubrey Beardsley was the artistic editor. Despite its undoubted literary worth in producing new talents, especially women, and getting contributions from such luminaries as Henry James, H G Wells, Charlotte mew and George Gissing it was also ‘forced to close in 1897 after 13 issues.The short story collections of this new period, A Latin Quarter Courtship (1889), Mademoiselle Miss (1893), Grey Roses (1895), and Comedies and Errors (1898), were praised by critics but had little general popularity. He finally achieved a wide readership with The Cardinal’s Snuff-box’ (1900), which was followed by ‘The Lady Paramount’ (1901) and ‘My Friend Prospero’ (1903). His last novel, ‘The Royal End’, was unfinished at his death but, working from his notes his wife completed the work and it was published in 1909.Henry Harland died on 20th December 1905 at San Remo, Italy, after a prolonged period of tuberculosis.During the Victorian era the publishing of magazines and periodicals accelerated at a phenomenal rate. This really was mass market publishing to a hungry audience eager for literary sustenance. Many of our greatest authors contributed and expanded their reach whilst many fledging authors also found a ready source for their nascent works and careers.Amongst the very many was ‘The Yellow Book’. Although titled as ‘An Illustrated Quarterly’ it was sold as a cloth-bound hardback and within were short stories, essays, poetry, illustrations and portraits. It was edited by the American author Henry Harland, who also contributed, and its art editor was no less that the formidable Aubrey Beardsley, the enfant terrible of illustration.Its yellow cover and name gave it an association with the risque and erotic yellow covered works published in France. It was a visual shorthand for ideas that would push many boundaries of Society to more open interpretations. Being complete in each volume and slightly aloof it stayed away from serialised fiction and advertisements. Within each lavishly illustrated edition were literary offerings that included works by such luminaries as Henry James, H G Wells, W B Yeats, Edith Nesbit, George Gissing and many others from the ascetic and decadent movements of the time. The other notable inclusion was women both as contributors and amongst its editing staff, which was at odds with the then patriarchal gender norms. Although it only survived for 13 issues its reach and influence were second to none.
