author

Andrew H. Walpole

An early Australian writer remembered for a single school adventure novel, he mixed boarding-school rivalries with mystery and action. His best-known book, The Black Star, has found new readers through public-domain archives and audiobook projects.

1 Audiobook

The Black Star: A School Story for Boys

The Black Star: A School Story for Boys

by Andrew H. Walpole

About the author

Very little confirmed biographical information survives about Andrew H. Walpole. Public-domain and audiobook catalogues identify him as an Australian author, and they consistently link his name with one surviving novel, The Black Star: A School Story for Boys.

Published in 1925, The Black Star is a boys' school story set in Australia. The novel blends familiar school-life elements such as friendship, competition, and bullying with a stronger adventure and mystery plot than many similar stories of its time.

Because so little is documented about Walpole himself, his reputation today rests mainly on that book. Even so, its preservation in projects like Project Gutenberg and LibriVox has helped keep his work available for modern readers and listeners.