Harte, FRANCIS BRET, was born in Albany, New York, August 25, 1839. His father, a teacher in the Female Seminary, died early, and the boy received only a common school education. He went to California with his mother in 1854, and opened a school at Sonora; but he was not successful in this, nor in mining, which he tried afterwards. He next became a compositor, and in 1857 obtained employment in the office of the Golden Era, in San Francisco. His experiences among miners and the rough population that were attracted by the 'gold-craze' had made a powerful impression upon his mind, and his first literary efforts were sketches of the people and the scenes he had observed. These sketches attracted much attention, and as a result the author became one of the staff of the paper. His Condensed Novels afterwards appeared in another weekly, the Californian. He was secretary of the United States Mint in San Francisco from 1864 to 1870, and during this period wrote some of his most famous poems, among them 'John Burns of Gettysburg,' 'The Society upon the Stanislau,' &c. He founded in 1868 and edited the Overland Monthly, to which he contributed The Luck of Roaring Camp, The Outcasts of Poker Flat, Miggles, Tennessee's Partner, The Idyl of Red Gulch, and Plain Language from Truthful James ('The Heathen Chinee'). Returning to the East, he became a contributor to the Atlantic Monthly, and from time to time delivered lectures in various cities upon the pioneers of California. In 1878 he received the appointment of United States consul at Crefeld. After two years he was transferred to Glasgow, and held that post until 1885. Since that time he has resided in London, and devoted himself to literary pursuits.
Bret Harte has been a prolific writer, and almost everything from his pen bears the stamp of his original genius. This, however, is truer of the early and middle period than of the later. Generally, he is strongest in the field of which he was the discoverer; although in some instances—notably in Thankful Blossom—he has produced exquisite romances, sometimes with a pastoral flavour, wholly unlike the turbulence of the first efforts.
The mixture of southern and western people in the early rush to the goldfields seems to have produced a new dialect, but it probably had a brief existence. At least, it would be wrong to suppose that the peculiar phrases in the mining sketches (so picturesque and shocking at once) are part of the daily talk of the people to-day. But the dialect was not all. Harte has described or invented new types of character, and has portrayed them and their surroundings with a vivid energy that has no modern counterpart. It is difficult to say whether he has been more successful in poetry or in prose; for the same virile power appears in both, and he has evidently by nature a strong sense of melody and great facility in verse. In 'John Burns of Gettysburg' and 'Dickens in Camp' there is evidence that he might have taken a higher place among poets if he had devoted himself to serious work. But his instinct has been his guide, and has led him in the path of fame. It must be remembered that he acquired the art of effective writing by practice, without previous discipline, and that for him there was no model. Since he has shown the way, not a few have followed him—afar.
His Complete Works, collected and revised by himself, appeared in London in 5 vols. in 1881. Since then his publications have included Flip (1882); In the Carquinez Woods (1883); By Shore and Sedge (1885); Snow-bound at Eagle's (1886); A Phyllis of the Sierras and A Drift from Redwood Camp (1888); Cressy (1889); The Heritage of Dedlow Marsh (1889); A Way of the Plains (1890); A Ward of the Golden Gate (1890); A Sappho of Green Springs (1892); Sally Dows (1892); Susy (1893); The Bell-Ringer of Angel's (1894); and Clarence (1895).