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James Macdonald Oxley (October 22, 1855 – September 9, 1907) was a Canadian writer of juvenile fiction.

Oxley was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the son of the merchant James Black Oxley and Ellen Macdonald. He was educated at Halifax Grammar School and Dalhousie University where he graduated with a B.A. in 1874, earning honors in mental and moral philosophy. During this time he served as assistant editor for the Dalhousie Gazette. He was called to the bar in 1874, studied law at Harvard University in 1876–77, then was awarded a LL.B. from a Halifax University in 1878.

He practised the legal profession in Halifax for five years before joining the Ottawa Department of Marine and Fisheries as a legal adviser. On June 10, 1880 he was married to Mary Morrow. From 1880–83, in addition to his regular job, he worked as editor for the Nova Scotia Decisions. In 1882 he edited Admiralty Decisions. Oxley was a reporter at the House of Assembly from 1881–83. He became a manager for the Sun Life Assurance Company in 1891. During his leisure moments, he began writing a series of juvenile fiction books for boys. His works were based on historical events in Canada and the U.S., with a focus on travel and adventure.

Works

Sources:

References

1. Wallace, William Stewart (1940), The encyclopedia of Canada, vol. 5, University associates of Canada, limited, p. 76.
2. ^ Rose, George Maclean, ed. (1886), A Cyclopedia of Canadian Biography: Being Chiefly Men of the Time, Toronto: Rose Publishing Company, pp. 784–785.
3. ^ Gilman, Daniel Coit; Colby, Frank Moore; Peck, Harry Thurston; Williams, Talcott (1903), The new international encyclopædia, vol. 13 (2nd ed.), New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, p. 538.
4. Shortt, Adam; Doughty, Arthur George (1914), Canada and its provinces: a history of the Canadian people and their institutions by one hundred associates, vol. 12, Toronto: Rose Publishing Company, p. 563.
5. "Author - James MacDonald Oxley". Author and Book Info.
6. Horning, Lewis Merson; Burpee, Lawrence Johnstone (1904). A bibliography of Canadian fiction. Toronto: Stanford University Press. pp. 47–48.
7. Mabie, Hamilton Wright; Runkle, Lucia Isabella Gilbert; Warner, George Henry (1904). Warner's dictionary of authors ancient and modern. Akron, Ohio: Stanford University Press. p. 613.

External links

• Works by James Macdonald Oxley at Project Gutenberg
• Works by James Macdonald Oxley at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
• Works by James Macdonald Oxley at Faded Page (Canada)
• Works by or about James Macdonald Oxley at the Internet Archive
• Canadiana

• 1855 births
• 1907 deaths
• Canadian children's writers
• Canadian lawyers
• Dalhousie University alumni
• Schulich School of Law alumni
• Writers from Halifax, Nova Scotia