Identity:

Charles Wolcott Balestier was an author and publisher. His sister Caroline Starr Balestier married Rudyard Kipling, the author and poet.

Life:

Balestier arrived in London as literary agent and worked with William Heinemann to publish English and American books in Europe from 1889-1891. He was regarded as having a keen business sense but also a strong knowledge and appreciation of literature. He was thus popular with authors. He knew Henry James well in London and collaborated with Kipling on The Naulahka (1892).

His own publications include The Average Woman (1892) and Benefits Forgot (1894). In November 1891, Balestier fell ill with typhoid on a trip to Dresden, Germany and never recovered.

Bibliography:

Who Was Who in America. Historical Volume, 1607-1896, Chicago, 1963.