| Robert William Alexander | |
| Pseudonym: | Joan Butler |
| Birth Name: | Robert William Alexander |
| Birth Date: | 21 November 1905 |
| Birth Place: | Dublin, Ireland |
| Death Date: | 17 December 1979 |
| Nationality: | Irish |
| Occupation: | Writer of |
| Genre: | mainly pulp fiction and adventure novels |
Robert William Alexander was an Irish writer (usual pen name: Joan Butler) (21 November 1905 - December 17, 1979). With regard to the novels he wrote, under the pen name of Joan Butler, Alexander developed a funny style which echoed that of such authors as Thorne Smith and P. G. Wodehouse[1]
Robert was born on 21 November 1905, in his family's house at Railway Avenue, Sutton, County Dublin, some 12 km northeast of the city center. Robert's father was an electrical engineer who worked with the Great Northern Railway (Ireland). The company ran the Hill of Howth Tramway, which ran between Sutton and Howth railway station, which opened in 1901. The Alexanders were the first family to take possession of one of the houses built by the company for the engineers, in Railway Avenue. The family remained settled there during Robert's (Bobby's) youth. Robert was the fourth son and the youngest child. Mary was the eldest, and John (Jack) and Ellen Christina (Eileen) followed later. Their parents, James and Ellen, were born in Waterford and moved to Dublin when they married.