A. D. (Augustine David) Crake

Born on October 1, 1836, at Chalgrove in Oxfordshire, he was the eldest son of Jesse Crake, who kept a school there. He became an English cleric as well as a prolific writer, publishing devotional works and historical fiction.

He is especially remembered for stories written for younger readers, including the Chronicles of Aescendune and other novels set around major moments in English church history. Reference works describe his fiction as being comparable in spirit to that of John Mason Neale, with an emphasis on religion, character, and the drama of the past.

Crake died in 1890. Although he is not widely known today, many of his books have remained accessible through public-domain collections, which has helped preserve his reputation as a Victorian storyteller of faith and history.