7 March 1873 - 2 February 1947.

     J.D. Beresford was born in Castor near Peterborough, the son of a clergyman in 1873. At the age of three he became slightly disabled. He was educated in Oundle and Peterborough and was an architect in the early part of the twentieth century.

     After having written some plays, his first novels appeared in 1911. These included the seminal 'The Hampdenshire Wonder'. Set in Ailesworth, (taken from Ailsworth, Castor's neighboring village), it features a child genius born to a family whose father was once a Cricketer and the child's treatment by those around him. The story can also be read as a partial detective novel, a genre Beresford returned to later in 'The Instrument of Destiny' (1928).

     His second sf novel was 'Goslings',(aka 'A World of Women',1913). In this, a plague empties London and results in an all female society. This was the first time that the idea was treated seriously by an author, predating Charlotte P. Gilman's 'Herland' by a couple of years. In 1918, his first collection of short-stories 'Nineteen Impressions' was published. This included such tales as 'Cut Throat Farm', 'Powers of the Air' and 'The Misanthrope'.

     A second collection was published in 1921, 'Signs and Wonders'. This included the short play 'The Appearance of Man' and the tales 'Young Stricklands Career' and 'The Night of Creation'. In the same year, a third sf novel was published, 'Revolution: A Story of the Near Future in England'. This featured a Socialist Revolution.

     Two more books came out in 1929, 'Real People' and a collection, 'The Meeting Place'. Three of the stories from that book are 'The Wind and Mr. Tittler', 'The Summary' and 'The Man Who Hated Flies'. The central character of the 1933 book, 'The Camberwell Miracle' is a faith healer, a subject Beresford had little support for.

     A latter phase of his sf writing started with 'What Dreams May Come...'(1941). In this a hero dreams of a Utopian future to which he then travels. After being altered both physically and mentally he returns to the present to enact a quest.

     The following year he had 'A Common Enemy' published. In this, a Utopia is founded after a natural disaster does away with the present society.

     Now in his seventies, J.D. Beresford started collaborating with Esme Wynne-Tyson. Their first fantasy book was 'The Riddle of the Tower'(1944). In this, a blast propels the protagonists into alternate dimensions where humans have become hive-like. Thier last book 'The Gift'(1947) was a rather weak wish-fulfillment fantasy.

     Many of the novels are reminiscent of the work of H.G. Wells, but Beresford handled the subjects with a sensitivity the older writer sometimes lacked. Beresford wrote one of the first critical studies of H.G. Wells early writings in 1915 and it's clear that the more famous author influenced him greatly. As well as his genre work, Beresford wrote over forty mainstream novels, as well as plays and poetry, all of which strengthen his fiction. He died in 1947 in Bath. His legacy, however, includes his daughter Elizabeth Beresford, creator of 'The Wombles'.