- William McFee
William McFee (b. London
June 15 1881 , d.July 2 1966 ) was a writer of sea stories.He was born on the "Erin's Isle," a three-master owned by his father, a sea captain. Educated at
Culford School , he became a mechanical engineer at Richard Moreland & Sons and W. Summerscales & Sons in the City, before going to sea as a marine engineer in 1906. He rose to chief engineer in ships of the Woodfield SS Co.; went to the United States in 1911 and wrote books, afterwards going to sea in ships of the United Fruit Company. DuringWorld War I he served in the British Navy as engineer in transports on various ships after which he returned to the United States to live inWestport, Connecticut . He was with the United Fruit Co., as chief until 1922, when he turned definitively to writing. In addition to books, he also wrote reviews for "The New York Sun" and "The New York Times ".His first book was:
*cite book|title=Letters from an Ocean Tramp|year=1908|publisher=Cassell & Company, Inc|id=ASIN: B00085TFRQ
His most famous novels were:
*cite book|title=Casuals of the Sea|year=1916|publisher=Doubleday & Company, Inc|id=ASIN: B000ID1FPS
*cite book|title=North of Suez|year=1930|publisher=Doubleday Doran|id=ASIN: B00085CCP8
*cite book|title=No Castle in Spain|year=1933|publisher=Doubleday Doran|id=ASIN: B000GQYO3W
*cite book|title=The Beachcomber|year=1935|publisher=Doubleday Doran|id=ASIN: B00085M7VM
*cite book|title=The Derelicts|year=1938|publisher=Faber & Faber|id=ASIN: B000KT722K
*cite book|title=The Watch Below|year=1940|publisher=Random House|id=ASIN: B000FLT9X8Other novels included:
*cite book|title=Aliens|year=1919|publisher=Doubleday, Page & Co.|id=ASIN: B000HYTJFG
*cite book|title=Captain Macedoine's Daughter|year=1920|publisher=Doubleday, Page & Co.|id=ASIN: B00085M7VC
*cite book|title=A Six Hour Shift|year=1920|publisher=Doubleday, Page & Co.|id=ASIN: B00085KV88
*cite book|title=Harbours of Memory|year=1922|publisher=Doubleday, Page & Co.|id=ASIN: B000FAB74I
*cite book|title=Command|year=1922|publisher=Doubleday, Page & Co.|id=ASIN: B000BK26EC
*cite book|title=Race|year=1924|publisher=Doubleday, Page & Co.|id=ASIN: B000J53ZF8
*cite book|title=Sunlight in New Granada|year=1925|publisher=Doubleday, Page & Co.|id=ASIN: B00085PNMW
*cite book|title=Swallowing the anchor: Being a revised and enlarged collection of notes made by an engineer in the merchant service who secured leave of absence from his ship to investigate & report upon the alleged superiority of life ashore |year=1925|publisher=Doubleday, Page & Co.|id=ASIN: B000JCXOCA
*cite book|title=Pilgrims of Adversity|year=1928|publisher=Doubleday, Doran & company, Inc|id=ASIN: B00085K5MK
*cite book|title=Life of Sir Martin Frobisher|year=1928|publisher=J. Lane, Bodley Head|id=ASIN: B00085M8AM
*cite book|title=Sailors of Fortune|year=1930|publisher=William Heinemann Ltd|id=ASIN: B000JV2EOK
*cite book|title=The Harbourmaster|year=1931|publisher=The Sun Dial Press|id=ASIN: B000GRC8MK
*cite book|title=Sailor's Wisdom|year=1935|publisher=J. Cape|id=ASIN: B00087448Y
*cite book|title=The Beachcomber|year=1935|publisher=Doubleday, Doran & company, Inc|id=ASIN: B00085M7VM
*cite book|title=Sailor's Bane|year=1936|publisher=Ritten House|id=ASIN: B00085TFSK
*cite book|title=Spenlove in Arcady|year=1940|publisher=Random House|id=ASIN: B0007HI8EG
*cite book|title=A Conrad Argosy|year=1942|publisher=Doubleday, Doran & company, Inc|id=ASIN: B000AUYPDS
*cite book|title=Ship to Shore|year=1944|publisher=Random House|id=ASIN: B0007DZFFA
*cite book|title=In the First Watch|year=1946|publisher=Random House|id=ASIN: B0007DO2Z4
*cite book|title=Family Trouble|year=1949|publisher=Random House|id=ASIN: B0007DZCS0
*cite book|title=The Law of the Sea|year=1950|publisher=J.B. Lippincott Co|id=ASIN: B0007F2A9C
*cite book|title=The Adopted|year=1952|publisher=Faber|id=ASIN: B000I82KB6He wrote several collections of reminiscences; his hobby was making ship models.
References
"Everyman's Dictionary of Literary Biography, English and American" (1958)
"Who Was Who 1897-2006" (2007)External links
* [http://www.bartleby.com/237/6.html "The Market"]
* [http://content-backend-a.cdlib.org/view?docId=tf1d5nb038&doc.view=entire_text William McFee papers at Charles E. Young Research Library, Los Angeles]
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