William Arthur Dunkerley

Dunkerley wrote under his own name, and also as John Oxenham for his poetry, hymn-writing, and novels. His poetry includes Bees in Amber: A Little Book of Thoughtful Verse (1913), which became a bestseller. He also wrote the poem "Greatheart". In 1918, wrote the foreword and assessed the poetry of the administrator of the Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service, Mary H. Henderson In War and Peace: Songs of a Scotswoman. Perhaps one of his best-known works in the 21st century is his hymn "In Christ there is no east or west," composed in 1908 and currently found in 336 hymnals of multiple Christian denominations, including Anglican and Catholic. He used the pseudonym Julian Ross for journalism. His novel A Mystery of the Underground (1897) is notable both as an early murder story about a serial killer and a very early crime story set on the London Underground (District Line). The District Railway complained that it was "too realistic", and it is said to have led to a reduction of passengers on Tuesdays (the murderer always strikes on a Tuesday) while it was being serialised. In February 1892 Robert Barr and Dunkerley founded The Idler, a monthly "general interest magazine, one of the first to appear following the enthusiastic reception of The Strand, but not a slavish imitation". Barr and Dunkerley/Oxenham both contributed as writers. The editors were Barr and Jerome K. Dunkerley had two sons and four daughters, of whom the eldest, and eldest child, Elsie Jeanette, became well known as a children's writer, particularly through her Abbey Series of girls' school stories. Another daughter, Erica, also used the Oxenham pen-name. His son, Roderic, was an English Congregational minister and Christian writer.

• Name — William Arthur Dunkerley • Pen Name — John Oxenham, Julian Ross • Born — 12 November 1852 • Birthplace — Manchester, Lancashire, England, UK • Died — 23 January 1941 • Place of death — Worthing, Sussex, England • Occupation — Journalist, novelist, poet, publisher • Period — 1892 to 1931