The Gospel of Freedom

Robert Welch Herrick (April 21, 1868 - December 23, 1938) was a novelist who was part of a new generation of American realists. His novels deal with the turbulence of industrialized society and the turmoil it can create in sensitive, isolated people. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Herrick attended Harvard University and later taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From 1905 to 1923, he was a professor of literature at the University of Chicago, during which time he wrote thirteen novels. Among those considered to be his finest was Web of Life (1900). He also wrote Clark's Field, The Man Who Wins, One Woman's Life and The World Decision. In January 1935, he was appointed as a Secretary to the United States Virgin Islands. Herrick died of a heart attack on December 23, 1938 while in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.