Edgar Alfred Jepson (28 November 1863 – 12 April 1938) was an English author. He largely wrote mainstream adventure and detective fiction, but also supernatural and fantasy stories. He sometimes used the pseudonym R. Edison Page.

Early life

Edgar Jepson was born on 28 November 1863 in

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

, London, but grew up in

Kenilworth, Warwickshire Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a tributary of the River Sowe, which joins the ...

, the second of five sons and three daughters raised by Alfred and Margaret Jepson (née Hutcheon). Jepson's father, a dentist, originally hailed from

Gainsborough, Lincolnshire Gainsborough is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The town population was 20,842 at the 2011 census, and estimated at 23,243 in 2019. It lies on the east bank of the River Trent ...

, while his mother was a Londoner (St Pancras). Jepson attended Leamington College for Boys (today

North Leamington School North Leamington School (NLS) is a mixed, non-selective, comprehensive school for students aged 11 to 18 years located at the northeastern edge of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. It is rated as a ''good'' school by Ofsted, and has 6.7 ...

) and graduated from

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

. After his education, he spent some years in

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

, before taking up residence in the

King's Bench Walk King's Bench Walk is a street in Temple, London, Temple, in the City of London. It is mainly made up of barristers' chambers. History King's Bench Walk is located in the Inner Temple, one of the four Inns of Court. The other three Inns of Court ...

area of London, where he began his literary career."Edgar Jepson, 74, English Novelist". ''The New York Times'', 12 April 1938, p. 23.

Career

As an author, Jepson used a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

, R. Edison Page, for some of his short stories. In other works he collaborated with such authors as

John Gawsworth Terence Ian Fytton Armstrong (29 June 1912 – 23 September 1970), better known as John Gawsworth (and also sometimes known as T. I. F. Armstrong), was a British writer, poet and compiler of anthologies, both of poetry and of short stories. He ...

Arthur Machen Arthur Machen (; 3 March 1863 – 15 December 1947) was the pen-name of Arthur Llewellyn Jones, a Welsh author and mystic of the 1890s and early 20th century. He is best known for his influential supernatural, fantasy, and horror fiction. Hi ...

and Hugh Clevely. Jepson was also a translator, notably of the

Arsène Lupin Arsène Lupin (French pronunciation: ʁsɛn lypɛ̃ is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created in 1905 by French writer Maurice Leblanc. The character was first introduced in a series of short stories serialized in the magazi ...

stories of

Maurice Leblanc Maurice Marie Émile Leblanc (; ; 11 December 1864 – 6 November 1941) was a French novelist and writer of short stories, known primarily as the creator of the fictional gentleman thief and detective Arsène Lupin, often described as a French c ...

. He was a member of the Square Club (from 1908) of established Edwardian authors, and one of the more senior members of the New Bohemians drinking club. He was a good friend of the author

Ford Madox Ford Ford Madox Ford (né Joseph Leopold Ford Hermann Madox Hueffer ( ); 17 December 1873 – 26 June 1939) was an English novelist, poet, critic and editor whose journals ''The English Review'' and ''The Transatlantic Review'' were instrumental in ...

. Jepson edited '' Vanity Fair'' magazine for a short period, during which he employed

Richard Barham Middleton Richard Barham Middleton (28 October 1882 – 1 December 1911) was an English poet and author. He is remembered most for his short ghost stories, in particular "The Ghost Ship". Biography Born in Staines, Middlesex, Middleton was educated at Cr ...

. Jepson did much to preserve Middleton's memory after his death. Two of Jepson's children became writers. His son

Selwyn Jepson Selwyn Jepson (25 November 1899 – 10 March 1989) was an English mystery and detective author and screenwriter. He was the son of the fiction writer Edgar Jepson (1863–1938) and Frieda Holmes, daughter of the musician Henry Holmes. His sister ...

was a crime writer, while his daughter, Margaret (married name Birkinshaw), published novels as Margaret Jepson,Birkinshaw, Margaret 1907–2003 Highbeam.com
including ''Via Panama'' (1934). Margaret's younger daughter is the novelist

Fay Weldon Fay Weldon CBE, FRSL (born Franklin Birkinshaw; 22 September 1931 – 4 January 2023) was an English author, essayist and playwright. Over the course of her 55-year writing career, she published 31 novels, including ''Puffball'' (1980), '' The ...

. Edgar Jepson died on 12 April 1938 at his home in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

. He was survived by his son and both daughters and by his former wife Frita Bisham Holmes, daughter of the violinist and composer Henry Holmes.

Works

References

External links

* * * *
Edgar Jepson's Garden
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jepson, Edgar 1863 births 1938 deaths 19th-century English novelists 20th-century English novelists English fantasy writers English children's writers Vanity Fair (British magazine) people English male short story writers English male novelists 19th-century British short story writers 19th-century English male writers 20th-century British short story writers 20th-century English male writers