Albert Dorrington (27 September 1874 – 9 April 1953) was an English writer, active in Australia, who was born in Fulham, London, England.

Life

Dorrington arrived in Australia around 1890 as a sixteen-year-oldAustralian Dictionary of Biography - Albert Dorrington
/ref> and after brief stays in Melbourne and Adelaide, he traveled for many years through the back-country of New South Wales and Queensland as a newspaper and advertising canvasser. He began contributing to '' The Bulletin'' in 1895 and by 1899 had settled to live in Sydney. He took employment as a replater of silverware and lived with Leonora Anderson, who bore him several daughters. He left Australia in 1907 complaining bitterly of the closed literary establishment there and returned to England, where he remained for the rest of his life. He died in Ruislip on 9 April 1953.

Writing career

Dorrington was a frequent contributor to ''The Bulletin'' during the 1890s, under the pseudonyms "AD" and "Alba Dorian", and during his time in Australia published a book of short stories, ''Castro's Last Sacrament and Other Stories'', and one novel, ''The Lady Calphurnia Royal'' (in collaboration with

A. G. Stephens Alfred George Stephens (28 August 1865 – 15 April 1933), commonly referred to as A. G. Stephens, was an Australian writer and literary critic, notably for ''The Bulletin (Australian periodical), The Bulletin''. He was appointed to that posit ...

), serialized in ''The Bookfellow'' magazine, then in 1909 in book form. On his return to England he published another 13 novels and one collection of short stories. Much of his popular work contained Australian settings, with some noted as having "fantastic content", and his novels ''The Radium Terrors'' and ''The Half God'' are described as science fiction. During his time in Australia he was a close friend of

Victor Daley Victor James William Patrick Daley (5 September 1858 – 29 December 1905) was an Australian poet. Daley serves chiefly as an example of the Celtic Twilight in Australian verse. He also serves as a lyrical alternative to his contempora ...

and

Louis Becke George Lewis Becke (or Louis Becke; 18 June 1855 – 18 February 1913) was an Australian Pacific trader, short story writer and novelist. Early life Becke was born at Port Macquarie, New South Wales, son of Frederick Becke, Clerk of Petty Ses ...

and initially also of Stephens. However, he and Stephens had a falling out over the publication arrangements of their novel. After his return to England Dorrington was published in such magazines as ''

Pall Mall Magazine ''The Pall Mall Magazine'' was a monthly British literary magazine published between 1893 and 1914. Begun by William Waldorf Astor as an offshoot of ''The Pall Mall Gazette'', the magazine included poetry, short stories, serialized fiction, and ge ...

'', as well as in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' and elsewhere. Dorrington was variously described as "extravagant and tawdry" and "a writer of vigorous clear-cut stories"."Australian Prose - A Brief Survey", ''The Register'', 10 September 1927, p5
/ref>

Bibliography

Novels

* ''And the Day Came: A Novel'' (1908) * ''The Lady Calphurnia Royal'' with Alfred George Stephens (1909) * ''Our Lady of the Leopards'' (1911) * ''Children of the Cloven Hoof'' (1911) * ''A South Sea Buccaneer'' (1911) * ''The Radium Terrors'' (1911) * ''A Door in the Desert'' (1927) * ''The Moon-Dial'' (1928) * ''The Fatal Call'' (1929) * ''Madonna Island'' (1932) * ''The Velvet Claw'' (1932) * ''The Half God'' (1933) * ''A Mirror in Chinatown'' (1933)

Short story collection

* ''Castro's Last Sacrament and Other Stories'' (1900) * ''Stories to the Master'' (1926)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dorrington, Albert 1874 births 1953 deaths 20th-century English novelists 20th-century Australian novelists 20th-century Australian male writers English emigrants to Australia English science fiction writers Australian science fiction writers English male novelists Australian male novelists English male non-fiction writers 20th-century Australian short story writers