Francis Lynde (1856–1930) was an American novelist and short story writer who specialized in adventure fiction set in the American West during the early twentieth century. Born in Lewiston, New York, Lynde eventually settled in Tennessee, and his papers are preserved today at the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library. Over his career, he became known for crafting narratives deeply rooted in the industrial and geographical landscapes of the American frontier.
Lynde's novels frequently featured settings in the rugged mountains of Colorado, Nevada, and Utah. Drawing on the rapid industrial expansion of his era, he often used railroading and mining as central backdrops for his storylines, with protagonists who were typically mining or railroad engineers. Beyond his Western adventures, Lynde also wrote detective fiction, including a collection of stories featuring the government chemist Calvin "Scientific" Sprague, and explored regional themes in works like Moonshiner of Fact, which was set in the Appalachian Mountains of Eastern Tennessee.
His literary contributions captured the imagination of early twentieth-century audiences, leading to the adaptation of three of his books into films. Lynde was married to Mary Antoinette Stickle Lynde and spent his later years in Tennessee, where he died in 1930 and was buried in Chattanooga's Forest Hills Cemetery.
