Henry William Herbert's literary reputation is derived primarily from the sports manuals he wrote under the pseudonym Frank Forester. He was, however, one of the first professional writers in the United States and an eccentric and engaging figure in the early history of American magazine publishing. He arrived in New York during a period when magazines, beginning to grow to mass-market size, were the chief instrument for initiating a continuous literary tradition, one independent of the English. As an editor and writer of magazine literature, Herbert contributed an important, if not essential, impetus to the creation of flourishing industry.

Herbert's often troubled life began happily enough in early spring 1807 in London. His father, Rev. William Herbert, was a son of the first Earl of Carnarvon, Henry Herbert. Herbert's mother, the Honorable Letitia Emily Dorothea, daughter of Joshua, fifth Viscount Allen, was preoccupied with social obligations and had little...