{{Short description|Australian writer Harold Mercer}} {{Use Australian English|date=November 2023}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}} {{Infobox writer | name = Harold Mercer | birth_name = Harold Bailey | birth_date = 1882 | birth_place = Kelvin Grove, Queensland | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1952|06|13|1882|}} | death_place = Bondi, New South Wales | occupation = short story writer and poet | language = English | nationality = Australian | ethnicity = | citizenship = | education = | alma_mater = | notableworks = | awards = | years_active = 1897-1952 }}
'''Harold Mercer''' (1882–1952) was an Australian short story writer and poet who was born in Kelvin Grove in Queensland.<ref name="Austlit">{{cite web|title= Austlit — Harold Mercer |publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A11815|access-date= 12 November 2023}}</ref>
== Life == Mercer's birth name was "Harold Bailey" but this was changed to "Harold Mercer" after his parents' divorce when his mother reverted to her maiden name.
When young he was considered something of a chess prodigy and his name was given to the Harold Mercer Cup for Junior Chess Champion of Australia from 1949.<ref name="Austlit" /> At the time of his death he was publicity officer of the New South Wales Chess Association, having earlier served as its honorary secretary.<ref>{{cite news |date=12 July 1952 |title=THE Chess Corner |page=34 |newspaper=The World's News |issue=2638 |location=New South Wales, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article139913780 |accessdate=19 November 2023 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
Mercer married in 1905 and worked as a clerk and then as an accountant in Sydney. He became involved in union affairs and helped found the Artists' and Writers' Union.
He enlisted in the First World War and served as a corporal in 1st Battalion with the AIF. He was wounded and invalided from France to London before returning to Australia.<ref name="Austlit" />
After the war he worked as a publicity officer and sub-editor on the monthly ''Aussie''. Throughout his adult life he continued to write prolifically.
Besides his own name Mercer also used the pseudonyms "Spare Corp", "Hamer", "Exdig", "Harold Hardupp", "Hamfat", "Percy Pawnticket", "The Frequent Lover" and others when publishing his work.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Mercer |first=Harold |date=1952-06-25 |title="With Self-Clipped Wings |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-525385609 |journal=The Bulletin |language=en |volume=73 |issue=3776 |pages=4, 14 |access-date=2023-11-18 |via=Trove}}</ref>
He died in Bondi in Sydney in a road accident after having dinner at his son's house.<ref name=":0" />
== Bibliography ==
=== Novel === * ''Amazon Island'' (1933)
=== Collections === * ''The Search for the Bonzer Tart'' (1920), short stories<ref>{{cite web|title= ''The Search for the Bonzer Tart'' by Harold Mercer|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/937307|access-date= 29 May 2024}}</ref> * ''The Frequent Lover : His Verses'' (1925), poetry<ref>{{cite web|title= ''The Frequent Lover : His Verses'' by Harold Mercer|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2191145|access-date= 29 May 2024}}</ref> * ''The Lady Who Was French and Other Stories'' (1929), short stories<ref>{{cite web|title= Austlit — ''The Lady Who Was French and Other Stories'' by Harold Mercer |publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C569332|access-date= 29 May 2024}}</ref> * ''The Adventures of Mrs Parsley'' (1942), short stories<ref>{{cite web|title= ''The Adventures of Mrs Parsley'' by Harold Mercer|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2459709|access-date= 29 May 2024}}</ref> * ''Romances in Real Life'' (1945), short stories<ref>{{cite web|title= ''Romances in Real Life'' by Harold Mercer|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/121328|access-date= 29 May 2024}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercer, Harold}} Category:20th-century Australian writers Category:Australian poets Category:1882 births Category:1952 deaths Category:Writers from Brisbane