Francis Bickerstaffe-Drew , better known as John Ayscough and born Francis Browning Bickerstaffe,Halkett, Samuel & John Laing (1956). Dictionary of Anonymous and Pseudonymous English Literature. New York: Haskell House Publishers, pp. 135, 169.Room, Adrian (2010). Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., p. 40. (11 February 1858 – 3 July 1928) was a British writerKeller, Leo W. (1920). "John Ayscough, Novelist," The Catholic World, Vol. CXI, pp. 164–173. and Roman Catholic priest.

Biography Born in Headingley, Leeds, the younger son of Harry Lloyd Bickerstaffe, an Anglican cleric, and Elisabeth Mona Brougham Drew, the daughter of Pierce Drew of Heathfield Towers, Muckridge, Youghal, County Cork, Ireland. He had one sibling, an elder brother, Pierce.Gorman, W. Gordon (1910). Converts to Rome. London: Sands & Co., pp. 23, 33.

In 1878, he converted to Roman Catholicism, while an undergraduate at Pembroke College, Oxford. Bickerstaffe-Drew was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1884 and served as a chaplain in the British Army for more than thirty years. He was appointed a chaplain to the forces (4th class), ranking as captain, on 27 January 1892,Hart′s Army list, 1903 and while stationed in Malta was promoted to chaplain to the forces (3rd class), ranking as major, on 1 February 1903. As army chaplain he served with the British Expeditionary Force in France during the First World War and was mentioned in despatches. He was made a private Papal Chamberlain by Pope Leo XIII in 1891 and by Pius X in 1903, was a member of the Pontifical Chamber of Malta."The Rt Rev Msgr Count Francis Bickerstaffe-Drew, LL.D.," The Notre Dame Alumnus, Vol. VII, No. 1, September 1928, p. 16.

Bickerstaffe-Drew died in Salisbury, England on 3 July 1928, aged 70.

Distinctions Honorary degree from the University of Notre Dame Honorary degree from the Marquette University Knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (1901)

Works

Oremus: or, Little Mildred (1880). Dominus Vobiscum: or, The Sailor Boy (1880). Veni Creator; or, Ulrich's Money (1881). Pater Noster; or, An Orphan Boy (1881). Per Jesum Christum: or, Two Good Fridays (1881). Ave Maria; or, Catesby's Story (1882). Credo; or, Justin's Martyrdom (1882). Ora Pro Nobis (1883). Marotz (1908). Mr. Beke of the Blacks (1908). Dromina (1909). A Roman Tragedy and Others (1909). San Celestino (1909). Outsiders—and In (1910). Mezzogiorno (1911). Hurdcott (1911). Faustula N. A.D. 340 (1912). Gracechurch (1913). Levia-pondera: An essay book (1913) Monksbridge (1914). Prodigals and Sons (1914). French Windows (1918). Jacqueline (1918). The Tideway (1918). Fernando (1919). Abbotscourt (1920). First Impressions in America (1921). Discourses and Essays (1922). Mariquita (1922). Pages from the Past (1922). Dobachi (1923).

Selected articles "Isolation and Federation," The American Ecclesiastical Review (1913). "A Dog and a Bad Name: Some Notes on the Novel and its Present Function," The American Catholic Quarterly Review (1913). "Picture Teaching," The American Catholic Quarterly Review (1914). "A Novelist's Novel-Reading," The Catholic World (1915).

Short stories "A Beginning—At Railham," Part II, Part III, The Catholic World (1913–1914). "The Sacristans," The Catholic World (1915).

References

Further reading Adams, J.R. (1922). "The Modern Catholic Novel," The American Catholic Quarterly Review, Vol. XLVII, pp. 130–135. Bickerstaffe-Drew, F. (1919). John Ayscough's Letters to his Mother during 1914, 1915 and 1916. New York: P.J. Kenedy & Sons. Braybrooke, Patrick (1931). "John Ayscough; Priest and Novelist." In: Some Catholic Novelists: Their Art and Outlook. London: Burns, Oats & Washbourne, Ltd. Gerrard, Thomas J. (1911). "The Real Romance of Life," The Catholic World, Vol. XCIII, No. 553, pp. 1–16. Martin, Arthur A. (1915). A Surgeon in Khaki. London: Edward Arnold.

External links

Works by Bickerstaffe-Drew, at HathiTrust Works by Bickerstaffe-Drew, at Europeana National Portrait Gallery: Francis Browning Drew Bickerstaffe-Drew