Hylton Cleaver

Born in London in 1891, Hylton Reginald Cleaver built a long writing career that ranged far beyond one genre. He wrote numerous boys’ adventure and boarding-school stories, along with crime fiction, and later became well known as a sporting journalist.

Cleaver also wrote nonfiction on subjects he clearly knew well. Among the books associated with him are A History of Rowing and other works tied to British sport, showing the same enthusiasm for competition and character that runs through his fiction.

He died in 1961. Though not a household name today, Cleaver’s books remain of interest to readers who enjoy classic British school stories, mid-century popular fiction, and lively writing about sport.