Allen French was born on November 28, 1870, in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard University in 1894 and for several years, beginning in 1908, taught English at his alma mater. His first interest, however, was history, and his contributions to historical writing are many and varied.

Of special interest to readers of his Story of Grettir the Strong are his books Rolf and the Viking Bow, and Heroes of Iceland, an adaptation of Njal's Saga.

Also of particular interest to young readers are his Sir Marrolk: A Tale of the Days of King Arthur, The Red Keep: A Story of Burgundy in the Year 1165, and The Lost Baron: A Story of England in the Year 1200. The latter two books are illustrated by N. C. Wyeth and Andrew Wyeth.

A scholar of the American Revolution, French also wrote books about the battles at Concord and Lexington, and about...