Harold MacGrath (September 4, 1871 - October 30, 1932) was a
bestselling American novelist, short story writer, and
screenwriter. Also known occasionally as Harold McGrath, he was
born in Syracuse, New York. As a young man, he worked as a reporter
and columnist on the Syracuse Herald newspaper until the late 1890s
when he published his first novel, a romance titled Arms and the
Woman. According to the New York Times, his next book, The Puppet
Crown, was the No.7 bestselling book in the United States for all
of 1901. From that point on, MacGrath never looked back, writing
novels for the mass market about love, adventure, mystery, spies,
and the like at an average rate of more than one a year. He would
have three more of his books that were among the top ten
bestselling books of the year.