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Fryers, Austin

Pseudonym of Irish trade unionist, playwright and author William Edward Clery (1861-1931), in the UK from 1877, whose activism in his public life cost him more than one job for political reasons. His first novel of interest, The Devil and the Inventor (1900), bridges sf and fantasy (the term Equipoise, here normally used for works whose relationship to the genres they transact is retrospective rather than proleptic, could easily be applied to this tale): an amateur scientist enlists the aid of the devil – described in terms that, in a later text, might seem to delineate an omnipotent Alien of ancient stock – to help create his Inventions. Fryer's later novels are fantasy. [JC]

William Edward Clery

born Ireland: 1861

died London: 29 October 1931

works

• The Devil and the Inventor (London: C Arthur Pearson, 1900) [hb/]
• A New Rip Van Winkle (London: R A Everett and Co, 1905) [hb/]
• The Uncreated Man (London: John Ouseley, 1912) [hb/]

links

• Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Picture Gallery

Entry from The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2011-current) edited by John Clute and David Langford.
Accessed 05:09 am on 7 December 2025.
<https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/fryers_austin>