In 1889, Harben wrote his first bestseller,
White Marie, a story of a white girl raised in
slavery in the
American South. After the publication of this novel, he moved his family to New York City. Harben's next novel,
Almost Persuaded (1890), was a religious novel. The novel gained enough attention that
Queen Victoria requested a copy of it. Harben then published
Mute Confessor (1892), a
romantic novel, and
Land of the Changing Sun (1894), a
science fiction novel. He also produced three
detective novels during this decade. Harben achieved his greatest literary success with
Northern Georgia Sketches (1900), a collection of short stories about Georgia "
hillbillies". He became a protegee and friend of
William Dean Howells. Two of his memorable characters were mountaineers Abner Daniel and Pole Baker, rustic philosophers and comedic characters. Harben died in New York City in 1919 at age 61. == Works ==