Alexander Harris

British author
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Quick Facts
Born:
Feb. 7, 1805, London
Died:
Feb. 1, 1874, Copetown, Ont., Can. (aged 68)

Alexander Harris (born Feb. 7, 1805, London—died Feb. 1, 1874, Copetown, Ont., Can.) was an English author whose Settlers and Convicts; or, Recollections of Sixteen Years’ Labour in the Australian Backwoods (1847) is an outstanding fictional account of life in Australia. Harris was well educated by his clergyman father in London, and at age 21 he shipped out for Australia. He soon headed for the back country and for some time lived a very strenuous life, working up to 18 hours a day at various jobs. By 1842 his health began to deteriorate, and he returned to England. In later ...(100 of 143 words)