In 1886, Daniel Carter Beard joined Henry George's single-tax movement and wrote his own single-tax novel, Moonblight. By 1889, Beard's fame led Samuel Clemens, writing as Mark Twain, to seek him out to illustrate A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.
The original publisher described this book as: "This story we believe will take rank with Looking Backward. It treats of some of the great social problems of the day in a novel, powerful, and intensely interesting manner. The hero becomes strangely endowed with the power of seeing people in their true light. It is needless to say that this power proves both a curse and a blessing and leads to many and strange adventures. Mr. Beard’s reputation as an artist is world-wide, and the numerous illustrations he provides for this book powerfully portray the spirit of the text."
Beard was a founder of the Boy Scouts of America, and is the author of The Outdoor Handy Book.