Boldrewood, Rolf (1826-1915), was the pen name of Thomas Alexander Browne, the author of the Australian classic Robbery Under Arms. This novel is an exciting and realistic portrait of pioneer life in Australia, based mainly on actual stories of bushrangers. The novel was serialized in the Sydney Mail in 1882 and 1883 and issued in book form in 1888. Browne also contributed articles and serial stories to various Australian magazines. He wrote about 20 novels between 1878 and 1906 but is best known for Robbery Under Arms.
Browne was born on Aug. 6, 1826, in London and moved to Australia with his family in 1831. His experiences working at different times as a farmer, police magistrate, and gold-fields commissioner provided much of the authentic material for his writing. He also wrote the autobiographical Old Melbourne Memories (1884). Browne took his pen name from the works of the Scottish historical novelist Sir Walter Scott, his favorite author. Browne died on March 11, 1915.
