J. Macdonald (James Macdonald) Oxley

Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1855, James Macdonald Oxley became known as a Canadian writer of juvenile fiction. He studied at Halifax Grammar School and Dalhousie University, earned his B.A. in 1874, and also served as assistant editor of the Dalhousie Gazette while he was a student.

Oxley trained and worked as a lawyer before building a writing career alongside his professional life. He was called to the bar, studied law at Harvard in 1876–77, practised in Halifax, and later worked with the Department of Marine and Fisheries and Sun Life Assurance Company. During these years he also edited legal publications and reported on the House of Assembly.

In his spare time, he wrote a long list of adventure stories for boys, many inspired by historical events in Canada and the United States. Titles such as The Wreckers of Sable Island, The Boy Tramps; or, Across Canada, and Fife and Drum at Louisbourg show his fondness for action, travel, and Canadian settings. He died in 1907 at the age of 51.