A graduate of the University of Malaya in Malaysia and Cambridge trained in engineering and economics, Shelley managed his own business and also worked as member of the Public Service Commission (PSC) for over 30 years.

The books People of the Pear Tree (1993), Island in the Centre (1995) and A River of Roses (1998), on the same theme, followed within a decade; respectively, they won NBDCS Highly Commended Awards in 1994 and 1996, and the Dymocks Singapore Literature Prize in 2000.

[1] Rex Shelley was born on 27 October 1930[2] in Singapore,[1] and was of mixed English, Portuguese, Malay and Buginese ancestry.

The first substantial novel by a Singaporean writer about the Eurasian community in Singapore, it was the best-selling local paperback at the Times bookshop for three consecutive weeks between 22 August and 5 September 1991, and remained in the top five until 11 December that year.

[4][13] According to poet Edwin Thumboo, an emeritus professor of the National University of Singapore, Shelley "was a sensitive and acute observer of life.

He brought to bear on it all the insights of an engineer, businessman, administrator, public servant and a person who loved life.

Though he generally kept a low profile, his literary works will stand the test of time, combining a sharp sense of observed commentary with historical detail.

[1][14] In 2015, The Shrimp People was selected by The Business Times as one of the Top 10 English Singapore books from 1965 to 2015, alongside titles by Arthur Yap and Daren Shiau.

He was survived by his wife Cora, from whom he was separated;[4] children Michael, Linda and Martine, sisters Joy and Ruth, and six grandchildren.