Owen Oliver was born Joshua Albert Flynn in Sheerness, Kent, on 15th September 1863. He was the eldest son of Albert Spencer Flynn and benefitted from a good education at private schools and then on to graduating at King's College, London. Writing came after he had established himself as a senior civil servant and after he married Ada Parkinson who he had two sons and three daughters with. Flynn served in South Africa as financial adviser to Lord Kitchener, worked for the Admiralty and the War Office from 1885 and was appointed director-general of finance at the Ministry of Pensions in 1916. He excelled professionally and was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1910 and knighted in 1919. Under his pen name, Owen Oliver, he contributed over 250 short stories in different genres that were published in the popular magazines of the day. Science fiction mainly in the Yellow Magazine, romance in the Windsor Magazine and numerous adventure stories in the London Magazine and Cassell’s. In 1918, he published the novel "An Author's Daughter" followed by A Knight at Heart, which delved into themes of chivalry, honour and love, set against the backdrop of historical events. Through his evocative prose and engaging narratives Oliver transported readers to different worlds, inviting them to experience the thrill of adventure and life in possibly a simpler time. He wrote one further novel as well as a non-fiction book on the civil service that included the idea of widening recruitment outside of the elite universities.Joshua Albert Flynn, aka Owen Oliver, died in Streatham, south London on 8th October 1933. He was 70.1 - Owen Oliver - A Short Story Collection - An Introduction2 - The Cloud-Men by Owen Oliver3 - Days of Darkness by Owen Oliver4 - The Awakening by Owen Oliver5 - An Unsolicited Contribution by Owen Oliver6 - The Specification by Owen Oliver
In this series we turn the pages of classic short stories to put together the literary building blocks of how a particular genre or theme began, how it built its foundations to become the well-loved and well-worn genre that it is today.Do authors have the same ideas at more or less the same time? Or can they sniff out an opportunity as to which way the tastes of an audience are moving. Success undoubtedly builds success and in literary terms we can more politely say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and the surest way to reach a hungry readership is to build on the fortune and flair of your literary colleagues. We all fear the world will end badly. Even worse that we might be caught up in it. In this volume our authors summon up stories which illustrate and flavour our thinking and imaginings on just how a society would reach that precipice, how it would ultimately be.01 - Foundations of Fiction - Dystopian - An Introduction2 - A Dream of Armageddon by H G Wells3 - The Park of Kings by Alexander Kuprin4 - Into the Sun by Robert Duncan Milne5 - The Cloud-Men by Owen Oliver6 - The Republic of the Southern Cross by Valery Bryusov7 - The End of the World by Simon Newcomb8 - The World's Last Cataclysm by Robert Duncan Milne9 - Within An Ace of the End of the World by Robert Barr10 - Christmas Formula by Stella Benson11 - The Repairer of Reputations by Robert W Chambers
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