Born in New Jersey in 1890, Negley Farson was raised by his eccentric grandfather, General Negley, a veteran of the American civil war. Fishing and sailing on the Chesapeke Bay were his constant escape as a boy, combined with a born wunderlust - which took him, eventually, all over the world, his fishing rod a vital part of his luggage.

He began his married life on a houseboat in British Columbia in 1920 and he died in 1960 at his home in North Devon - 'the perfect place for journey's end' - when he was seventy.