Louis Becke

By Reef and Palm Louis Becke

George Lewis Becke (1855 ù1913) was an Australian short-story writer and novelist. As a child Becke twice ran away and when he turned 16 he was a stowaway on a ship bound for Samoa. At age 18 Becke met William "Bully" Hayes who later became a central character in Becke's writings. When shipwrecked in 1874 Becke was arrested as a pirate and was later acquitted. A collection of his stories from the Bulletin was published in By Reef and Palm in England (1894). The Table of Contents includes, CHALLIS THE DOUBTER, "'TIS IN THE BLOOD", THE REVENGE OF MACY O'SHEA, THE RANGERS OF TIA KAU, PALLOU'S TALOI, A BASKET OF BREAD-FRUIT, ENDERBY'S COURTSHIP, LONG CHARLEY'S GOOD LITTLE WIFE, THE METHODICAL MR BURR OF MAJURU, A TRULY GREAT MAN, THE DOCTOR'S WIFE, THE FATE OF THE ALIDA, THE CHILIAN BLUEJACKET, and BRANTLEY OF VAHITAHI.