J. Macdonald (James Macdonald) Oxley

J. Macdonald (James Macdonald) Oxley
James Macdonald Oxley was a Canadian lawyer, civil servant, and author born on October 22, 1855, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is best known for his adventure novels for boys, which often featured Canadian settings and themes, including "The Boy Tramps" and "The Wreckers of Sable Island." Oxley's works contributed to Canadian literature by offering young readers engaging stories that highlighted the country's landscapes and history.

Author's Books:


CHAPTER I. BY WAY OF BEGINNING. It was not just an ordinary sort of name, but one of those which made you think "thereby hangs a tale." In this case the thought goes to the mark, and the tale in question will be told after a fashion in the following pages. At the outset a quick glance back to times long past is necessary in order to a fair start, and without a fair start it were hardly worth... more...

CHAPTER I. THE CALL TO WORK. "I'm afraid there'll be no more school for you now, Frank darling. Will you mind having to go to work?" "Mind it! Why, no, mother; not the least bit. I'm quite old enough, ain'tI?" "I suppose you are, dear; though I would like to have you stay at your lessons for one more year anyway. What kind of work would you like best?"... more...

CHAPTER I. THE SETTING FORTH. A voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in the year 1799 was not the every-day affair that it has come to be at the present time. There were no "ocean greyhounds" then. The passage was a long and trying one in the clumsy craft of those days, and people looked upon it as a more serious affair than they now do on a tour round the world. In the year 1799 few people thought... more...

CHAPTER I. A POOR START. "Give it to him, Terry—that's the style!" "Punch his head!" "Hit him in the face, Mike!" "Good for you, Terry—that was a daisy!" "Stick to him, me hearty; ye'll lick him yet!" The shouts came from a ring of ragged, dirty youngsters, who were watching with intense excitement a hand-to-hand and foot-to-foot fight between two... more...

CHAPTER I From the Old World to the New This is how it befell. Thomas Douglas, Earl of Selkirk, thought that a flourishing colony right in the midst of the rich hunting-grounds of the Hudson's Bay Company, in which he was interested, would prove no less a benefit to the natives than an excellent thing for the colonists. Accordingly, he busied himself in persuading a number of his fellow-countrymen... more...

CHAPTER I FROM THE OLD WORLD TO THE NEW The defence of the city of La Rochelle by the Huguenots, when for more than a year they defied the whole power of France under the leadership of Cardinal Richelieu, must ever remain one of the most heroic and soul-stirring chapters in history. For the sake of their faith these noble people endured the pangs of hunger, the perils of battle, and the blight of... more...