Joseph Jorkens

Joseph Jorkens, usually referred to simply as Jorkens, is the lead character in over 150 short stories written by the Irish author Lord Dunsany between 1925 and 1957. Dunsany is noted for his fantasy short stories, fantastic plays, novels and considerable other writings.

The Jorkens stories, primarily fantasy but also including elements of adventure, mystery and science fiction literature, have been collected in a series of six books, available (As of August 2007^[update]) in a three-volume omnibus edition, and were a key inspiration for the "club tale" type of short story.

In the middle volume of his autobiographical trilogy, While the Sirens Slept, Dunsany notes the creation of Mr. Jorkens, on the 29 and 30 March in 1925, when "I wrote a tale called The Tale of the Abu Laheeb. There was in this tale more description of the upper reaches of the White Nile or of the Bahr-el-Gazal than I have given here; indeed the whole setting of that fantastic story may be regarded as accurately true to life, though not the tale itself. I mention this short story and the date, because it was the first time that I told of the wanderings of a character that I called Jorkens. He was my reply to some earlier suggestion that I should write of my journeys after big game and, being still reluctant to do this, I had invented a drunken old man who, whenever he could cadge a drink at a club, told tales of his travels."

Over the following 32 years, Dunsany continued to write of Mr. Jorkens, and the stories were popular and sold well, mostly initially to magazines (many enjoying wide circulation, from the Atlantic Monthly, Saturday Evening Post and Vanity Fair to the Pall Mall Gazette, The Strand and The Spectator) and newspapers (including The Daily Mail and The Irish Independent), and also in their collected book form. Some of the stories were read on radio, and they were popular enough that for at least one announcement of a new book, an introductory piece by Lord Dunsany was included in the publisher's house magazine.

...
Wikipedia