63 ratings | 33 reviews | avg rating:4.49

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Mortimus Clay

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

http://mortimusclay.com

Genre

Science Fiction & Fantasy, Young Adult, Horror

Influences

R.L. Stine, Roald Dahl, Phædo and Crito of Plato ...more

Member Since

May 2009

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/crwiley

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The back story of my alter ego, Mortimus Clay.

Mortimus Clay is the most prolific author writing posthumously in the world today. Dead since 1885, Professor Clay's first book was published in 2009.

While alive Mortimus Clay was a dismal failure as an author. Scorned by editors, laughed at by fellow writers, Mortimus spent his life trying to emulate his hero Charles Dickens, but instead ended up living like a character in a Dickens novel.

During the day he served as Professor of Arts and Letters at Her Majesty's Knitting College for Wayward Girls, but his evenings were spent writing late into the night in his unheated Manchester flat.

After fifty years of teaching Beowulf and The Faerie Queene to unappreciative knitters, Professor Clay died in 1 ...more

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Combine Editions
Mortimus Clay’s books

Average rating: 3.84 · 145 ratings · 46 reviews · 4 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Purloined Boy (The Weirdling Cycle, #1) by C.R. Wiley (Goodreads Author), Mortimus Clay (Goodreads Author) 3.90 avg rating — 156 ratings — published 2009 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Quest for the Fey Brand (The Weirdling Cycle, #2) by Mortimus Clay (Goodreads Author), C.R. Wiley (Goodreads Author) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2013	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Karanliklar Ulkesi 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Purloined Boy 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

50 posts
Mortimus Clay's Blog

Trevor Upjohn Seen in Minnesota!

[image error] Occasionally Mortimus receives fan mail.

But it is indeed a rare day that he gets a photo from a fan.

This is Vinny, he dressed up like Trevor Upjohn, the hero of The Purloined Boy. (In fact, he is the purloined boy!)

And not only that, can you see who is in his pocket? None other than Zephyr himself!

Thanks for the photo, Vinny!

Mortimus is Currently Reading

Mortimus Clay is currently reading

Knowledge is Power (Icon Science): How Magic, the Government and an Apocalyptic Vision Helped Francis Bacon to Create Modern Science

by John Henry

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Oct 01, 2024 02:03PM

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The Screwtape Letters

by C.S. Lewis

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Jun 21, 2024 05:16PM

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Mere Apologetics: How to Help Seekers and Skeptics Find Faith

by Alister E. McGrath

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May 30, 2024 01:44AM

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Mortimus Clay is currently reading Knowledge is Power (Icon Science): How Magic, the Government and an Apocalyptic Vision Helped Francis Bacon to Create Modern Science by John Henry	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 01, 2024 02:03PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Knowledge is Power (Icon Science) by John Henry. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Knowledge is Power (Icon Science) by John Henry <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mortimus Clay is currently reading The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 21, 2024 05:16PM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mortimus Clay finished reading The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 15, 2024 08:58AM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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Jun 14, 2024 05:13AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mortimus Clay finished reading After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man by Michael Ward (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 05, 2024 01:57PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of After Humanity by Michael Ward. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — After Humanity by Michael Ward <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mortimus Clay started reading C. S. Lewis: A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet by Alister E. McGrath	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 30, 2024 01:44AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of C. S. Lewis by Alister E. McGrath. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — C. S. Lewis by Alister E. McGrath <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mortimus Clay is currently reading Mere Apologetics: How to Help Seekers and Skeptics Find Faith by Alister E. McGrath	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 30, 2024 01:44AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Mere Apologetics by Alister E. McGrath. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Mere Apologetics by Alister E. McGrath <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mortimus Clay has read C. S. Lewis: A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet by Alister E. McGrath	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 30, 2024 01:44AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of C. S. Lewis by Alister E. McGrath. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — C. S. Lewis by Alister E. McGrath <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mortimus Clay is currently reading After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man by Michael Ward (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Young Adult Book ...: The Purloined Boy	4	37	Jun 29, 2009 05:03PM
Young Adult Book ...: * Introduce Yourself!	2267	5681	Dec 04, 2025 11:05AM

Mortimus’s Quotes

“To expect too much is to have a sentimental view of life and this is a softness that ends in bitterness.”
― Flannery O'Connor

239 likes

“I am not afraid that the book will be controversial, I'm afraid it will not be controversial.”
― Flannery O'Connor

46 likes

“As for literary criticism in general: I have long felt that any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel or a play or a poem is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae or a banana split.”
― kurt Vonnegut, Palm Sunday: An Autobiographical Collage

tags: bad-reviews, critics, literary-criticism, reviewers, writing

599 likes

“I did not love cold harmony and perfect regularity of organization; what I sought was variety, mystery, tradition, the venerable, the awful. I despised sophisters and calculators; I was groping for faith, honor, and prescriptive loyalties. I would have given any number of neo-classical pediments for one poor battered gargoyle.”
― Russell Kirk

35 likes

“No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally – and often far more – worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond.”
― C.S. Lewis

tags: age, books, re-reading, reading

6184 likes

More of Mortimus’s quotes…