Bartimeus, 1886-1967

Bartimeus (1886–1967) was a British naval officer and writer. His real name and early life are poorly documented, and he is generally known by the pen name Bartimeus. Drawing on his own naval career for material, he turned to writing fiction on naval themes, with works largely based on life at sea and military experience, written in a realistic style with a strong narrative pace. Two of his works are held in the collection, A Tall Ship and The Long Trick, both continuing his focus on naval and maritime experience and securing him a place in the tradition of twentieth-century British maritime and naval fiction. Because relatively little biographical material survives, the full range of his writing remains known only in part, and readers chiefly come to know this officer-writer through the works mentioned above.