Onions trained as an artist at Bradford Technical College and also studied for a time in France and London before becoming an illustrator for magazines. He turned to writing and published his first book, The Compleat Bachelor in 1900. The book was an instant success and convinced him to make writing his career. He married the author Berta Ruck in 1909 and had two children. In 1918, he legally changed his name to George Oliver, although he continued to publish as Oliver Onions. He became one of the great writers of ghost stories and his 1911 publication Widdershins, which contained the story The Beckoning Fair One, was praised by the likes of Lovecraft and Blackwood. Onions was adept at the psychological thriller as well and was a prolific author who produced over forty novels and short story collections. His works include In Accordance With the Evidence (1910), The Story of Ragged Robyn (1912), Mushroom Town (1914), A Case in Camera (1920), Ghosts in Daylight (1924), The Spite of Heaven (1926), The Painted Face (1929), The Open Secret (1930), A Certain Man (1932), Poor Man's Tapestry (1946), Arros of Youth (1949) and Bells Rung Backward (1953). |
