author

Alexander Corkey

1871–1914

A Presbyterian minister from Ireland who later lived in Nebraska, he wrote fiction and travel-minded nonfiction shaped by faith, public life, and the concerns of his time. His books range from Midwestern novels to a lively 1910 work on Ireland introduced by William Jennings Bryan.

1 Audiobook

The truth about Ireland : or, Through the Emerald Isle with an aeroplane

The truth about Ireland : or, Through the Emerald Isle with an aeroplane

by Alexander Corkey

About the author

Born in Glendermot, Ireland, in October 1871, Alexander Corkey was an Irish-born writer and preacher who spent the later part of his life in Nebraska. Nebraska Authors identifies him as a minister and notes that he was buried in Kalamazoo, Michigan, after his death in 1914.

Corkey wrote across several genres. Surviving records link him to The Truth About Ireland; or, Through the Emerald Isle with an Aeroplane (1910), whose introductory chapter was written by William Jennings Bryan, and to novels including The Victory of Allen Rutledge and For Conscience Sake. Newspaper records from the period also describe him as Rev. Alexander Corkey, D.D., and mention his work as a pastor while publishing fiction.

His writing seems to bring together sermon-minded conviction, social questions, and a strong interest in place, whether that meant the American Midwest or the future of Ireland. Even in the small record that remains, he comes across as a busy, versatile author whose books were closely tied to the world he preached in and lived through.