Berwick-upon-Tweed Vicar of St. Mary's James King

Very little biographical information could be confirmed about this author beyond what appears in library and public-domain book records. Those records identify him as James King, Vicar of St. Mary’s, Berwick-upon-Tweed, and credit him as the author of Cleopatra’s Needle: A History of the London Obelisk, with an Exposition of the Hieroglyphics.

That book was published in 1883 by The Religious Tract Society in London. In it, he explores the story of the London obelisk known as Cleopatra’s Needle and explains the inscriptions on it for general readers, showing an interest in both ancient history and religious interpretation.

Because reliable sources about his life are scarce, a fuller personal portrait is hard to verify. What does come through clearly is the voice of a late-Victorian churchman writing for curious readers who wanted history, archaeology, and faith-inflected commentary brought together in one concise volume.