Henry Augustus Shute (1856-1943) was an American lawyer, judge and writer, who was best known for his "Plupy" stories in The Saturday Evening Post and a series of books. Born in Exeter, New Hampshire, Shute was a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy (1875) and Harvard University (1879). In the 1890s, the Exeter News-Letter began publishing a weekly column of Shute's recollections of his boyhood in Exeter. These were later self-published by Shute under the titles of Several Hard Characters (1898) and Neighborhood Sketches (1901). In 1902, his third book, The Real Diary of a Real Boy, provided Shute with national recognition. He went on to write a total of 20 books, including Brite and Fair (1920).