Edward Augustine Wyke-Smith (12 April 1871 – 16 May 1935)[1] was an English adventurer, mining engineer and writer.
Born Edward Augustine Smith, he "reclaimed older family name Wyke-Smith" by deed poll.
[1][2] After a time in the Horse Guards at Whitehall, Wyke-Smith joined the crew of a windjammer and sailed to Australia and the west coast of the United States.
According to John Clute, Wyke-Smith "began writing fantasy tales for his children as an apparent antidote to the experience of World War I.
J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings is known to have read The Marvellous Land of Snergs to his children.