Pearl of Pearl Island — John Oxenham

William Arthur Dunkerley (1852-1941) was a prolific British journalist, novelist and poet. He was born in Manchester moving to Worthing in Sussex in 1922, where he became the town's mayor. He wrote under his own name, and also as John Oxenham for his poetry, hymn-writing, and novels. His poetry includes Bees in Amber: A Little Book of Thoughtful Verse (1913) which became a bestseller. He used another pseudonym, Julian Ross, for journalism. Dunkerley was a major contributor to Jerome K. Jerome's The Idler magazine. His other works include: Under the Iron Flail (1902), Barbe of Grand Bayou (1903), Bondman Free (1903), Hearts in Exile (1904), John of Gerisau (1904), White Fire (1905), Giant Circumstance (1906), The Long Road (1907), Carette of Sark (1907), Pearl of Pearl Island (1908) and The Song of Hyacinth (1908).