| John Meade
Falkner |
 |
| Nationality - English |
Profession - Author |
| Date of birth - 08 May 1858
|
Date of death - 1932 |
| Place of birth
- Manningford Bruce : |
|
John Meade Falkner was born May 8, 1858 in Manningford Bruce, England. He had a traditional British education and, after graduating from Oxford, took a job tutoring some children while pondering on his future.
The children?s father was an important business man and was impressed by Falkner so offered him a job which lead to him becoming Director, and later Chairman, of the huge Armstrong-Whitworth armaments company.
His work often took him abroad and in his spare time he enjoyed rummaging through dusty libraries and market-places.
|
|
John became an expert on ancient manuscripts as well as archaeology, folklore, history, architecture and church music. He was a man of many parts and a man with boundless energy.
He wrote three novels, the first of which was the tale of the mystery, suspense and the supernatural The Lost Stradivarius (1895). This was, predictably given the author's expertise on the county, set predominantly in Oxford but also in Naples.
Falkner's crowning achievement was for the children's book Moonfleet, published in 1898. This was a smuggling adventure set on England's south coast and very much in the vein of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island in terms of its plot. It was more straightforward and realistic that its predecessor but garnered considerably more interest from the reading public.
His final novel was The Nebuly Coat in 1903 that concerns a church in danger of collapse in which the author revels in his knowledge of ecclesiastical matters and history. In fact, the author had written the better part of a fourth novel but left the only copy of it on a train and never saw it again, nor did he bother to rewrite it.
Later in his life Falkner enjoyed the life of a somewhat reclusive scholar who was nonetheless amiable and at times controversial in his opinions. He became, to his great delight, an honorary fellow of Hertford College, dying in July 1932. |
|
|
John Meade Falkner
bibliography - 1
listed |
|
 |
Click
on one of the John Meade
Falkner books below
for details on synopsis, first edition issue
points, a picture of the book, and collectors
information |
|
| John Meade
Falkner books Wee
have for sale |
|
|
All
the John Meade Falkner
books listed below are currently for sale
on our website - we may have some others in
stock so please ask if you don't see the title
you're looking for. |
|
|
|
|
|
