author
Covington Clarke
b. 1892
Best known as the name behind fast-moving aviation adventures, this early 20th-century writer brought young readers into the cockpit with stories of wartime flying, danger, and teamwork. The byline was a pseudonym, adding a small layer of mystery to books that were anything but quiet.
1 Audiobook
Aces Up
by Covington Clarke
About the author
Covington Clarke was the pen name of American writer and lawyer Homer Clarke Venable. Reliable reference sources identify Venable as living from 1891 to 1953, even though some library and catalog records list the author heading as "Covington Clarke, 1892-".
He was active mainly in the 1920s and early 1930s and became known for flying adventure stories for boys. His books include Aces Up (1929), and reference works also note Desert Wings (1930) and Mystery Flight of the Q2 (1932), the latter described as mixing aviation adventure with lost-world fiction.
Because confirmed biographical details about Venable are fairly sparse online, the most dependable picture is of a writer who specialized in brisk, action-first storytelling during the great age of popular juvenile adventure fiction. If you enjoy tales of pilots, peril, and old-school momentum, the Covington Clarke books are a good example of that tradition.