Henry J. Thomas

Biography
        Henry J. Thomas (sometimes Mrs. Henry J. Thomas) is the listed author of a number of dime novels from the 1860s, but little to nothing is known about him.  There is one interesting and mysterious fact: that more often than not the identifier Mrs. appeared in front of the name, so either husband and wife were both writers, or the writer was female and Beadle sometimes omitted the Mrs. (because in the 19th century crediting a female writer could have a negative effect on sales).
        It’s a doggone shame when people who created something worthwhile, something that will last essentially forever to be enjoyed by other people, are themselves forgotten and fade into anonymity.  If anyone has more information about this author, please contact us and share that information so we can, in turn, share it with the world.

Bibliography (wildly incomplete)
      The Wrong Man; A Tale of the Early Settlements (1862)
      The Allens; A Tale of the Great Kanawha Valley (1862)
      The Wrecker’s Prize (1864)
      Border Bessie; A Romance of the Kanawha (1868, as Mrs.)
      Old Kyle, the Trailer; or, The Renegade of the Delawares (1869)

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