Forbes Phillips

Forbes Phillips (1866–1917), also known by the pseudonym Athol Forbes, was a British clergyman as well as a novelist and playwright. Records describe him as a vicar in Gorleston, and local historical sources remember him as an energetic public figure who threw himself into parish life, organizing clubs and cultural events as readily as sermons.

His writing ranged from fiction to drama, but modern readers most often come across him through War and the Weird (1916), written with R. Thurston Hopkins. That book explores strange experiences, premonitions, and supernatural stories connected with the First World War, showing his interest in the borderland between faith, fear, and the unexplained.

Phillips seems to have lived comfortably in two worlds at once: the church and the theater. That mix gives his work a distinctive character—earnest, curious, and sometimes wonderfully odd—and makes him an appealing figure for listeners drawn to forgotten writers from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.