Harry Alverson Franck was born in 1881 in Munger, Michigan into a blacksmithing family of German heritage. His lifelong wanderlust seems to have set in early. He left the University of Michigan to see Europe in 1900, working his passage across the Atlantic on a cattle boat. After graduating, Franck spent 16 months circling the globe. He worked his passage in various ways and walked across the Malay peninsula to some press attention. His initial East Asian travels were recounted in Wandering in Northern China (1923). He then traveled to Japan and Taiwan for Glimpses of Japan and Formosa (1924), before heading to southern China, Hong Kong and Macao for Roving Through Southern China (1925). Franck sent despatches to American newspapers as he traveled to ensure an income while on the move.

He was often billed as "Harry A Franck - The Prince of Vagabonds". Paul French , who has introduced and annotated this reprint, was born in London and lived and worked in China for many years. His book Midnight in Peking was a New York Times bestseller and a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. He lives in London, UK.