Robert Barr (1850-1912) moved with his family from Scotland to Ontario when he was four years old and spent his formative years there. He moved to the United States in 1876 and was on the staff of the Detroit Free Press. In 1881 he moved to England and was co-editor until 1911 with Jerome K. Jerome of the The Idler. Although they have become relatively unfamiliar to contemporary students of Canadian literature, Barr's novels, short stories, and articles were well known and read in the latter nineteenth century, in Canada and elsewhere.