George Wharton James was a prolific popular lecturer and journalist, writing more than 40 books and many articles and pamphlets on California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 and the American Southwest

Southwestern United States

The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...

.

James was born in Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...

, England. He was ordained as a Methodist minister and came to the United States in 1881, serving in parishes in Nevada and southern California. However, in 1889 he was sued for divorce, accused by his wife with committing numerous acts of adultery. He subsequently underwent an ecclesiastical trial, charged with real estate fraud, using faked credentials, and sexual misconduct. He was defrocked, although he was later reinstated.

James' books included The Wonders of the Colorado Desert (1906), Through Ramona's Country (1909), In & Out of the Old Missions of California (1912), and The Lake of the Sky (1915). Characteristics of his writing included romanticism

Romanticism

Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...

, an enthusiasm for natural environments, idealization of aboriginal lifeways, and health faddism. He had a long-running feud with Charles Fletcher Lummis

Charles Fletcher Lummis

Charles Fletcher Lummis was a United States journalist and Indian activist; he is also acclaimed as a historian, photographer, poet and librarian....

, another writer with similar regional interests.

The California State Library

California State Library

The California State Library collects, preserves, generates and disseminates a wide array of information. It was founded in 1850 by the California State Legislature. Today, it is the central reference and research library for state government and the Legislature. The California State Library...

 and the University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

 have collections of James' books and pamphlets. A collection of his photographs is on file at the University of New Mexico

University of New Mexico

The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...

. The Southwest Museum

Southwest Museum

The Southwest Museum of the American Indian is a museum, library, and archive located in the Mt. Washington area of Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Autry National Center. Its collections deal mainly with the American Indian...

 in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

also has some of his papers and photographs.

On-line writings

• "An Adventure in Beaver Canyon 1899"
• "Basket Makers," Sunset 8(1) (1901)
• "A Saboba Origin-Myth" (1902)
• "The Legend of Tauquich and Algoot" (1903)
• The Grand Canyon of Arizona: How to See It (1910) (1913)

External links