Flower o' the Clove: "You said it was a true love-story"

By Henry Harland

Henry Harland was born in Brooklyn in the United States on 1st March 1861.

Harland was educated at the City College of New York and for a short spell Harvard Divinity School. In May 1884, he married Aline Herminie Merriam, who shared his artistic interests.

As a writer his works fall into two separate periods. He initially wrote under a pseudonym, Sidney Luska, and published a series of highly sensational novels. Whilst these were of a fashionable type at the time they contained little evidence of his literary qualities.

In 1889 the Harland’s’ moved to London and here he became an advocate of the Aesthetic movement. He now began to write under his own name and, in 1894, became the founding literary editor of avant-garde and boundary bending illustrated quarterly The Yellow Book, on which Aubrey Beardsley was the artistic editor. Despite its undoubted literary worth in producing new talents, especially women, and getting contributions from such luminaries as Henry James, H G Wells, Charlotte mew and George Gissing it was also ‘forced to close in 1897 after 13 issues.

The short story collections of this new period, A Latin Quarter Courtship (1889), Mademoiselle Miss (1893), Grey Roses (1895), and Comedies and Errors (1898), were praised by critics but had little general popularity. He finally achieved a wide readership with The Cardinal's Snuff-box’ (1900), which was followed by ‘The Lady Paramount’ (1901) and ‘My Friend Prospero’ (1903).

His last novel, ‘The Royal End’, was unfinished at his death but, working from his notes his wife completed the work and it was published in 1909.

Henry Harland died on 20th December 1905 at San Remo, Italy, after a prolonged period of tuberculosis.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Miniature Masterpieces
• Release date: Jan 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781803547473

Book preview

Flower o' the Clove by Henry Harland

The Author, An Introduction

Henry Harland was born in Brooklyn in the United States on 1st March 1861.

Harland was educated at the City College of New York and for a short spell Harvard Divinity School. In May 1884, he married Aline Herminie Merriam, who shared his artistic interests.

As a writer his works fall into two separate periods. He initially wrote under a pseudonym, Sidney Luska, and published a series of highly sensational novels. Whilst these were of a fashionable type at the time they contained little evidence of his literary qualities.

In 1889 the Harland’s’ moved to London and here he became an advocate of the Aesthetic movement. He now began to write under his own name and, in 1894, became the founding literary editor of avant-garde and boundary bending illustrated quarterly The Yellow Book, on which Aubrey Beardsley was the artistic editor. Despite its undoubted literary worth in producing new talents, especially women, and getting contributions from such luminaries as Henry James, H G Wells, Charlotte mew and George Gissing it was also ‘forced to close in 1897 after 13 issues.

The short story collections of this new period, A Latin Quarter Courtship (1889), Mademoiselle Miss (1893), Grey Roses (1895), and Comedies and Errors (1898), were praised by critics but had little general popularity. He finally achieved a wide readership with The Cardinal's Snuff-box’ (1900), which was followed by ‘The Lady Paramount’ (1901) and ‘My Friend Prospero’ (1903).

His last novel, ‘The Royal End’, was unfinished at his death but, working from his notes his wife completed the work and it was published in 1909.

Henry Harland died on 20th December 1905 at San Remo, Italy, after a prolonged period of tuberculosis.

Flower o' the Clove

I

In the first-floor sitting-room of a lodging-house in Great College Street, Westminster, a young man—he was tall and thin, with a good deal of rather longish light-coloured hair, somewhat tumbled about; and he wore a pince-nez, and was in slippers and the oldest of tattered coats—a man of thirty-something was seated at a writing-table, diligently scribbling at what an accustomed eye might have recognised as copy, and negligently allowing the smoke from a cigarette to curl round and stain the thumb and forefinger of his idle hand, when the lodging-house maid-servant opened his door, and announced excitedly, A lady to see you, sir.

With the air of one taken altogether by surprise, and at a cruel disadvantage, the writer dropped his pen, and jumped up. He was in slippers and a disgraceful coat, not to dwell upon the condition of his hair. You ought to have kept her downstairs until— he began, frowning upon the maid; and at that point his visitor entered the room.

She was a handsome, dashing-looking young woman, in a toilette that breathed the very last and crispest savour of Parisian elegance: a hat that was a tangle of geraniums, an embroidered jacket, white gloves, a skirt that frou-froued breezily as she moved; and she carried an amazing silver-hiked sunshade, a thing like a folded gonfalon, a thing of red silk gleaming through draperies of black lace.

Poising lightly near the threshold, with a bright little smile of interrogation, this bewildering vision said, Have I the honour of addressing Mr. William Stretton?

The young man bowed a vague plea of guilty to that name; but his gaze, through the lenses of his pince-nez, was all perplexity and question.

I'm very fortunate in finding you at home. I've called to see you about a matter of business, she informed him.

Oh? he wondered. Then he added, with a pathetic shake of the head, I'm the last man in the world whom any one could wisely choose to see about a matter of business; but such as I am, I'm all at your disposal.

So much the better, she rejoined cheerily. "I infinitely prefer to transact business