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A Brief Biography of Bret Harte Francis Bret Harte was born in Albany New York on August 25, 1839. In 1854, his mother, a widow, moved him to California. In California Harte worked as a miner, school teacher, express messenger, printer, and journalist. While in San Francisco writing for The Californian he worked with Mark Twain, Charles Warren Stoddard, Prentice Mulford and the editor, Henry Webb. He contributed many poems and prose pieces to the paper. Bret Harte was appointed Secretary of the United States Branch Mint at San Francisco. He held that office until 1870. Harte became the first editor of the Overland Monthly. "The Luck of Roaring Camp" published in the Overland Monthly brought him instant and wide fame. He was thereafter requested to contribute poems and articles to a number of publications. His stories of the American West were much in demand in the eastern United States. In 1871 he moved to New York. He later moved to Boston. Harte continued to write poetry and prose, and enjoyed wide popularity. In 1878 Bret Harte was appointed United States Consul at Crefeld, Germany. Harte was transferred to Glasgow, Scotland in 1880. Thereafter he resided in London. He died in Camberely, England on May 6, 1902 from throat cancer. Historic Event in the 1800’s that Influenced Bret Harte Harte’s works were all somehow influenced by the California Gold Rush of 1849. His interest in Western literature and his success of transforming his writings into popular fiction led many writers to explore American West themes. Most of his stories focus on characters the he thought were worthy of treatment for their own sake and his plots were very artificial. His plots were sentimental which made it appealing top young readers, but it took time before he became popular amongst adults. Analysis of “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” The short story “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” tells the fortunes of four “outcasts” from the California gold camp of Poker Flat, who have been escorted to the city limits by a vigilance committee and told never to return at the risk of their lives.
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