Elbert Hubbard wrote six novels, nearly two hundred Little Journey pamphlets, which were popularized biographical essays, most of the contents of the Philistine, the most successful of all the monthly "little magazine" ventures that sprang up toward the end of the nineteenth-century, and much of the pro-business magazine called the Fra. In the years just before his death aboard the Lusitania in 1915, he was one of the highest paid stars of the lecture circuit, and was earning close to $30,000 a year writing editorial columns for the Hearst syndicate's New York American.
Alice, his second wife, was equally remarkable; while Elbert was away earning speaking fees to support the endeavors of the Roycroft community in East Aurora, NY, she handled the business affairs, hired, fired and supervised the several hundred employees, and managed the Roycroft Inn, which received visitors from all over the world. She became increasingly involved with feminist issues, was acquainted with Clara Barton, Marilla Ricker, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and hosted free thought, socialist, and suffrage conventions at the Roycroft campus. In addition, she gave lectures, wrote several books, and contributed more than one hundred articles to the Fra. (from the Introduction)
The author published a book on the Philistine magazine in 1989 and retired in 2008 from Gallaudet University after30 years in the English department. He was awarded Professor Emeritus status in 2009 and resides in University Park, MD.
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