Bret Harte was an American author and poet, best remembered for his accounts of pioneering life in California. Harte moved to California in 1853, later working there in a number of capacities, including miner, teacher, messenger, and journalist. His story, "The Luck of Roaring Camp," appearing in The Overland Monthly magazine, propelled Harte to nationwide fame.

"A Protégée of Jack Hamlin's: Jeff Briggs's Love Story" is one of several stories Harte wrote featuring Jack Hamlin, a riverboat gambler. In this one, Jack finds himself involved in the romantic problems of a woman involved with fellow gambler Ned Stratton, despite the fact that "a certain modest doubt of his own competency to make an original selection had always made him prefer to confine his gallantries to the wives of men of greater judgment than himself".

Other tales in this collection include "An Ingenue of the Sierras," "The Reformation of James Reddy," "The Heir of the Mchulishes," "An Episode of West Woodlands," and "The Home-Coming of Jim Wilkes."