author
Alice Askew
1874–1917
A prolific British novelist and wartime reporter, she wrote at remarkable speed with her husband Claude Askew, producing popular fiction by the dozens before their lives were cut short in the First World War. Her story blends bestseller energy, literary partnership, and real-life courage.
1 Audiobook
The sporting chance
by Alice Askew, Claude Askew
About the author
Born Alice Jane de Courcy Leake in London in 1874, she became one half of the writing team known as Alice and Claude Askew after marrying Claude Askew in 1900. Together they published more than ninety novels and stories in the early 20th century, building a reputation for fast-moving popular fiction across romance, adventure, mystery, and the supernatural.
What makes her life especially memorable is how closely writing and experience came together. During the First World War, Alice and Claude worked in Serbia with relief efforts and also reported on the war, bringing first-hand knowledge to their journalism and books. That mix of commercial storytelling and direct engagement with world events gives their work an unusual edge.
In October 1917, Alice and Claude Askew were killed while traveling aboard the Città di Bari when the ship was torpedoed in the Mediterranean. She was only 43. Though many readers now discover her through reprints and classic-genre anthologies, her career still stands out for its sheer productivity and for the extraordinary life behind the books.