James Hanley (novelist)

James Hanley was a British novelist, short story writer, and playwright of Irish descent.

Born in Kirkdale, Liverpool, Lancashire, in 1897 to a working class family. Both his parents were, on the other hand, born in Ireland, his father Edward Hanley around 1865, in Dublin, and his mother, Bridget Roache, in Queenstown, County Cork, around 1867. However, both were well established in Liverpool by 1891, when they were married. Hanleys father worked most of his life as a stoker, particularly on Cunard liners, and other relatives had also gone to sea. James also grew up living close to the docks. He left school in the summer of 1910 and worked for four years in an accountants office. Then early in 1915, agedhe went to sea for the first time . Thus life at sea was a formative influence and much of his early writing is about seamen.

Source: Wikipedia