Robert Welch Herrick was an American 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. He was also briefly acting-Governor of the United States Virgin Islands in 1935. No. 1 on The New York Times Fiction best seller list for 1 week, from the issue of February 8, 1932. Wiki link