Harold Bell Wright was born May 4, 1872. He rose from an impoverished youth and fought lifelong illness to become a preacher, and then a successful, nationally-acclaimed, best-selling writer. His topics were “right living” and religious themes.

He became the first author to earn a million dollars through authorship and to sell a million copies of a novel. Several of his works made the country’s top ten best-seller lists. One, The Winning of Barabara Worth, was on the list twice!

He died in San Diego on May 24, 1944, leaving behind a legacy of 19 books, 17 of them novels. By then, his fame as a writer had faded as his audience’s sophistication had grown.

Two of these books, The Shepherd of the Hills and The Winning of Barabara Worth, more than any others, propelled Wright to fame and fortune.selling in the millions of copies. Both of these books had millions of readers; one was set in the Ozarks of Missouri, the other in the Imperial County of California. As his biographer Larry Tagg notes, in both these places where the books are set, he has left behind a legacy that continues today as part of the regional culture of the area. Both of the books still sell and are read by many.

In the Ozarks he wrote his famous novel, The Shepherd, inspired by the area around Branson, Missouri, where he spent time recuperating from an early illness. He moved to California, writing three more novels in the newly-developed agricultural area of Imperial County near the Mexican border. One of those books, Barbara, turned out to be his most successful.

Later, he moved to Arizona and continued his writing. But wherever he wrote, he was faithful to local geography and community, researching thoroughly all apsects of the area where his novel was set.

His “moral and clean novels” held sway with the public for 20 years, but as the 1930s blossomed, the ordinary folks who had been his keenest supporters found other things – like radio and popular magazines – for their entertainment.

Yet the torch of inspirational writing had been passed on to others, and left a legacy of a generation who were raised on Harold Bell Wright. Ronald Reagan wrote to the Wright family from the White House that one of HBW’s books,. That Printer of Udell’s “set me on the course that I’ve followed to this day.” Attorney Rush Limbaugh, grandfather of the entertainer, related that he and his wife had courted by reading The Shepherd of the Hills together.

Artist's rendition of Old Matt's Cabin, the setting for The Shepherd of the Hills

Harold Bell Wright family out riding at their Tecolate Rancho home in the Imperial Valley, California

For HBW fans, a biography of Harold Bell Wright, Storyteller to America is available. Buy now.

Join the Harold Bell Wright Society

Visit Gerry Chudleigh's comprehensive web site on Harold Bell Wright.

Visit the Harold Bell Wright family website

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