author
Francis Rolt-Wheeler
1876–1960
Best known for brisk adventure and history books for younger readers, this prolific writer moved easily from sea stories and exploration tales to science, religion, and the occult. His work has a restless, curious energy that reflects a life spent crossing countries, genres, and ideas.
10 Audiobooks
The Boy with the U. S. Weather Men
by Francis Rolt-Wheeler
The Boy With the U. S. Foresters
by Francis Rolt-Wheeler
The Boy With the U. S. Fisheries
by Francis Rolt-Wheeler
Plotting in Pirate Seas
by Francis Rolt-Wheeler
The Boy With the U.S. Census
by Francis Rolt-Wheeler
The Boy With the U. S. Survey
by Francis Rolt-Wheeler
The Boy With the U.S. Miners
by Francis Rolt-Wheeler
The monster-hunters
by Francis Rolt-Wheeler
The Wonder of War on Land
by Francis Rolt-Wheeler
The Boy With the U. S. Life-Savers
by Francis Rolt-Wheeler
About the author
Born in London on December 16, 1876, Francis William Rolt-Wheeler was a British writer who published under the name Francis Rolt-Wheeler. He wrote widely for young readers, especially adventure stories and books tied to real-world subjects like the U.S. Navy, weather service, fisheries, and exploration. Project Gutenberg lists many of his books, which shows just how large and varied his output was.
Reference works describe him as a notably versatile and prolific author. The SFE Encyclopedia of Science Fiction notes that he lived in the United States and Canada during part of his career and later spent time in Tunis and Nice. That same source also points to a striking shift in his writing over the years: after building a reputation with boys' fiction, he later turned toward religious, occult, and esoteric subjects.
Rolt-Wheeler died in Nice on August 21, 1960. Today he is remembered both for his energetic early adventure books and for the unusual breadth of his later interests, which make his career feel much bigger and more unpredictable than a single genre label would suggest.