Sax Rohmer English author Arthur Henry "Sarsfield" Ward was born on February 15, 1883, and died on June 1, 1959. He was better known as Sax Rohmer. People remember him most for the books he wrote about the master thief Fu Manchu. Arthur Ward was born in Birmingam to working-class Irish parents William Ward (c. 1850–1932), a clerk, and Margaret Mary (1850–1901). He first worked as a civil servant before deciding to write full-time. Before he made up the character of Sax Rohmer and started writing fiction as a job, he worked as a poet, songwriter, and comedy sketch writer for music hall performers. Arthur Ward was born in Birmingham to working-class Irish parents William Ward (c. 1850–1922), a clerk, and Margaret Mary (c. 1850–1901). He first worked as a civil servant before deciding to write full-time. Before he made up the character of Sax Rohmer and started writing fiction as a job, he worked as a poet, songwriter, and comedy sketch writer for music hall performers. Like Algernon Blackwood and Arthur Machen, who lived at the same time, Rohmer said he was a part of one of the groups within the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Rohmer also said he had ties to the Rosicrucians, but these claims have been called into question. Dr. R. Watson Councell, his doctor and a family friend, may have been his only real link to these groups. Read More Read Less