Stockton, Francis Richard

Francis Richard (1834-1902), an American author. He was a native of Philadelphia. After receiving a secondary education in the schools of his native city, he learned the business of wood-engraving. At thirty-eight he obtained a position in the editorial corps of the Philadelphia Post. Later he was connected with Hearth and Home of New York, Scribner's Monthly, and St. Nicholas. In 1879 he gave Rudder Grange to the press. It is an odd, whimsical account of an imaginary houseboat outing. Other volumes in the same quaint vein are The Casting Away of Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine, and its sequel, The Dusantes. The Great War Syndicate, Squirrel Inn, and The Adventures of Captain Horn are equally interesting. Among his short tales are The Lady or the Tiger, The Terminal Moraine, etc.