T. Stanleyan King

After too long, here's another mystery that has me mystified. T. Stanleyan King is an author with a career that may have lasted over 30 years but about whom nothing is known. There is no sign of a Stanleyan King in family records or in any newspapers that I have been able to access, so I have to presume it was a pen-name.

While I've never read a single one of his books, the titles alone made me want to track him down. Hopefully someone, somewhere will have some further information.

T. Stanleyan King's work dates back to Edwardian-era James Henderson’s  boys’ papers Lot-o'-Fun, Sparks and Nugget Library and the Amalgamated Press's Young Britain (stories featuring Staunton School in c.1921).  Collector John Medcraft, briefly discussing a “fine serial” entitled “Laleham’s Feud”—“founded on fact”—in the pages of Lot-o’-Fun, believed that King might be a pen-name of John Nix Pentelow, but Pentelow’s death in 1931 and the continued appearance of King makes it appear unlikely.

Stanleyan King was a regular contributor to various Aldine libraries in the 1920s, and may well have contributed to Aldine’s weekly papers, too. In the 1930s, he was writing novelettes for Mellifont Press, some of them featuring Scarsdale Waring and some with titles that hint at a horror/occult flavour. After that he disappears entirely from human ken.

Novels (series: Dixon Brett; Dick Daring; Scarsdale Waring)
Laleham's Feud. London, James Henderson (Nugget Library 141), 1909.
The Missing Statuette. London, James Henderson (Nugget Library 247), Nov 1912.
The Scarlet Ikon. London, Aldine Detective Tales 10, Jun 1922.
Dick Daring, the Mystery Pro. London, Aldine Football Stories 2, Nov 1922.
Dick Daring Scores Again. London, Aldine Football Stories 5, Jan 1923.
Dick Daring, International. London, Aldine Football Stories 9, May 1923.
Who Killed Stephen Tennant?. London, Aldine Mystery Novels 4, Jan 1926.
The Football Imposter. London, Aldine Football Novels 11, Mar 1926.
The Masked Apollo. London, Aldine Boxing Novels 19, Jul 1926.
The Missing Mayor <Brett>. London, Aldine Dixon Brett Detective Library 2, Oct 1926.
The All-Conquering Game. London, Aldine Football Novels 19, Nov 1926.
The Yellow Wolf <Brett>. London, Aldine Dixon Brett Detective Library 4, Dec 1926.
Comrades of the Canvas. London, Aldine Boxing Novels 27, Mar 1927.
Dandy Dick's Mascot. London, Aldine Boxing Novels 40, Apr 1928.
Diana’s Romance . Dublin, Mellifont Press, c.1932.
Through Flame to Fortune . Dublin, Mellifont Press, c.1932.
The Rosy Death . Dublin, Mellifont Press [4½d Series 10], c.1932.
The Grey Manor Ghost . Dublin, Mellifont Press [4½d Series 13], c.1932.
Viola’s Dilemma . Dublin, Mellifont Press 201, 1932.
The Headless Ghost . Dublin, Mellifont Press 204, 1932; reprinted, Mellifont Press 2319, 1941.
The Kidnapped Prince . Dublin, Mellifont Press 206, 1932.
The Motor Horn Mystery . Dublin, Mellifont Press 213, 1932.
Slayer of Souls . Dublin, Mellifont Press 214, 1932.
The Monk’s Croft Mystery . Dublin, Mellifont Press 227, 1933.
The Mummy’s Curse . Dublin, Mellifont Press 235, 1933.
Black Magic <Waring>. Dublin, Mellifont Press 256, 1934.
The Call of Death <Waring>. Dublin, Mellifont Press 291, 1934.
Vampire City <Waring>. Dublin, Mellifont Press 2116, 1935.
The Fatal Image . Dublin, Mellifont Press 2266, 1940.