Henry William Herbert

Henry William Herbert (7 April 1807 – 17 May 1858), pen name Frank Forester, was an English-born American novelist, poet, historian, illustrator, journalist and writer on sport. Starr writes that "as a classical scholar he had few equals in the United States . . . his knowledge of English history and literature was extensive; he was a pen-and-ink artist of marked ability; as a sportsman he was unsurpassed; his pupils idolized him."

Biography The eldest son of William Herbert, Dean of Manchester (himself the son of Henry Herbert, 1st Earl of Carnarvon), Herbert was born in London.

Herbert was educated at Eton College and at Caius College, Cambridge, where he graduated BA in 1830. Having lost his property through a dishonest agent, he emigrated to the United States in 1831 and for the following eight years taught Latin and Greek at a private school in New York City. In 1833 he started the American Monthly Magazine, which he edited, in conjunction with A. D. Patterson, until 1835

In 1839 Herbert married Sarah Barker, of Bangor, Maine. They had one son, William George, and one daughter, Louisa. Sarah died 11 March 1844 and was buried in Newark, New Jersey.

Publications In 1834 Herbert published his first novel, The Brothers: a Tale of the Fronde, which was followed by a number of others and was well known for his works on sport, published under the pseudonym of Frank Forester. These include:

The Field Sports of the United States and British Provinces (1849) Frank Forester and his Friends (1849) The Fish and Fishing of the United States (1850) The Young Sportsman's Complete Manual (1852) The Horse and Horsemanship in the United States and British Provinces of North America (1858)