Edgar Wallace  

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Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was an English writer.

Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during the Second Boer War, for Reuters and the Daily Mail. Struggling with debt, he left South Africa, returned to London, and began writing thrillers to raise income, publishing books including The Four Just Men (1905). Drawing on his time as a reporter in the Congo, covering the Belgian atrocities, Wallace serialised short stories in magazines such as The Windsor Magazine and later published collections such as Sanders of the River (1911). He signed with Hodder and Stoughton in 1921 and became an internationally recognised author.

After an unsuccessful bid to stand as Liberal MP for Blackpool (as one of David Lloyd George's Independent Liberals) in the 1931 general election, Wallace moved to Hollywood, where he worked as a script writer for RKO. He died suddenly from undiagnosed diabetes, during the initial drafting of King Kong (1933).

Wallace was such a prolific writer that one of his publishers claimed that a quarter of all books in England were written by him. As well as journalism, Wallace wrote screen plays, poetry, historical non-fiction, 18 stage plays, 957 short stories, and over 170 novels, 12 in 1929 alone. More than 160 films have been made of Wallace's work. As well as the creation of King Kong, he is remembered as a writer of 'the colonial imagination', for the J. G. Reeder detective stories, and for The Green Archer serial. He sold over 50 million copies of his combined works in various editions, and The Economist describes him as "one of the most prolific thriller writers of [the 20th] century", although the great majority of his books are out of print in the UK, but are still read in Germany.

Postscript, 1935-Present

A lot of work based on Edgar Wallace's material has been produced, particularly in the 1920s and 1930s. A large number of movies have been based on his novels. The Green Archer was a well-regarded serial in the days of silent cinema. However, these works never achieved the prominence accorded to such characters as Sherlock Holmes et al, which is a great pity, because if done properly, many of Wallace's best stories, such as The Just Men and Mr J G Reeder would make excellent adventure-thrillers.

In 1959 a mini-revival of his work occurred in Germany and around the Eastern bloc, and his eldest son Bryan relocated there for some time to edit and direct many of the string of made-for-tv a string of B-movies filmed in that country. These later became a staple of late-night television. In 2004 Oliver Kalkofe -one of the best known German comedy stars- produced the movie 'Der Wixxer' which is an homage to the popular black and white Wallace movies. It featured a large number of well known comedians.

Both his elder son Bryan Edgar Wallace and his youngest daughter Penelope Wallace were also authors of mystery and crime novels. In 1969, Penelope founded The Edgar Wallace Appreciation Society which she ran until her death in 1997, the work being continued by her daughter, also Penelope.

Literary works

African novels (Sanders of the River series)

• Sanders of the River (1911) - short stories serialised in The Weekly Tale-Teller, filmed in 1935
• The People of the River (1911) - short stories serialised in The Weekly Tale-Teller
• The River of Stars (1913) - full-length novel featuring a cameo appearance by Sanders.
• Bosambo of the River (1914) - short stories serialised in The Weekly Tale-Teller
• Bones (1915) - short stories serialised in The Weekly Tale-Teller
• The Keepers of the King's Peace (1917) - short stories serialised in The Windsor Magazine
• Lieutenant Bones (1918) - short stories serialised in The Windsor Magazine
• Bones in London (1921) - short stories serialised in The Windsor Magazine
• Sandi the Kingmaker (1922) - full-length novel serialised in The Windsor Magazine
• Bones of the River (1923) - short stories serialised in The 20-Story Magazine
• Sanders (1926) - short stories
• Again Sanders (1928) - short stories

The series was later continued by Francis Gérard -

• The Return of Sanders of the River - short stories (1938)
• The Law of the River - short stories (1940)
• The Justice of Sanders - short stories (1951)

Four Just Men series

• The Four Just Men (1905)
• The Council of Justice (1908)
• The Just Men of Cordova (1917)
• The Law of the Four Just Men (1921)
• The Three Just Men (1925)
• Again the Three (1928)

Mr. J. G. Reeder series

• Room 13 (1924)
• The Mind of Mr. J. G. Reeder (US title: The Murder Book of Mr. J. G. Reeder) (1925)
• Terror Keep (1927)
• Red Aces (1929)<ref name="movie director">also directed movie</ref>
• The Crook in Crimson (1929)
• The Guv'nor and Other Short Stories (US title: Mr. Reeder Returns) (1932)

Detective Sgt. (Insp.) Elk series

• The Nine Bears (1910)
  • revised as Silinski – Master Criminal (1930)
• The Fellowship of the Frog (1925) adapted as The Frog, spawned a sequel Return of the Frog
• The Joker or The Colossus (1926)
• The Twister (1928)
• The India-Rubber Men (1929)
• White Face (1930)

Educated Evans series

• Educated Evans (1924)
• More Educated Evans (1926)
• Good Evans (1927)

Smithy series

• Smithy (1905)
• Smithy Abroad (1909)
• Smithy and The Hun (1915)
• Nobby or Smithy's Friend Nobby (1916)

Crime novels

• Angel Esquire (1908)
• The Fourth Plague (1913)
• Grey Timothy (1913)
• The Man Who Bought London (1915)
• The Melody of Death (1915)
• A Debt Discharged (1916)
• The Tomb of Ts'in (1916)
• The Secret House (1917)
• The Clue of the Twisted Candle (1918)
• Down Under Donovan (1918)
• The Man Who Knew (1918)
• The Strange Lapses of Larry Loman (1918) (short novelette)
• The Green Rust (1919)
• Kate Plus Ten (1919)
• The Daffodil Mystery (1920)
• Jack O'Judgment (1920)
• The Angel of Terror (1922)
• The Crimson Circle (1922)
• Mr. Justice Maxell (1922)
• The Valley of Ghosts (1922)
• Captains of Souls (1923)
• The Clue of the New Pin (1923)
• The Green Archer (1923)
• The Missing Million (1923)
• The Dark Eyes of London or The Croakers (1924)
• Double Dan (1924)
• The Face in the Night (1924)
• The Sinister Man (1924)
• The Three Oak Mystery (1924)
• The Blue Hand (1925)
• The Daughters of the Night (1925)
• The Gaunt Stranger or Police Work (1925)
  • revised as The Ringer (1926)
• A King by Night (1925)
• The Strange Countess (1925)
• The Avenger (1926)
• The Black Abbot (1926)
• The Day of Uniting (1926)
• The Door with Seven Locks (1926)
• The Girl from Scotland Yard (1926)
• The Man from Morocco or Souls In Shadows or The Black (US Title) (1926)
• The Million Dollar Story (1926)
• The Northing Tramp (1926)
• Penelope of the Polyantha (1926)
• The Square Emerald or The Woman (1926)
• The Terrible People or The Gallows' Hand (1926)
• We Shall See! (US title: The Gaol-Breakers) (1926)
• The Yellow Snake or The Black Tenth (1926)
• Big Foot (1927)
• The Feathered Serpent or Inspector Wade or Inspector Wade and the Feathered Serpent (1927)
• Flat 2 (1927)
• The Forger or The Counterfeiter (1927)
• The Hand of Power or The Proud Sons of Ragusa (1927)
• The Man Who Was Nobody (1927)
• Number Six (1927)
• The Squeaker or The Sign of the Leopard (US title: The Squealer) (1927)
• The Traitor's Gate (1927)
• The Double (1928)
• The Flying Squad (1928)
• The Gunner (US title: Gunman's Bluff) (1928)
• Four Square Jane (1929)
• The Golden Hades or Stamped In Gold or The Sinister Yellow Sign (1929)
• The Green Ribbon (1929)
• The Calendar (1930)
• The Clue of the Silver Key or The Silver Key (1923)
• The Lady of Ascot (1930)
• The Devil Man or Sinister Street or Silver Steel or The Life and Death of Charles Peace (1931)
• The Man at the Carlton or The Mystery of Mary Grier (1931)
• The Coat of Arms or The Arranways Mystery (1931)
• On the Spot: Violence and Murder in Chicago (1931)
• When the Gangs Came to London or Scotland Yard's Yankee Dick or The Gangsters Come To London (1932)
• The Frightened Lady or The Case of the Frightened Lady or Criminal At Large (1933)
• The Green Pack (1933)<ref name="novelised from Wallace's play by Robert George Curtis">novelised from Wallace's play by Robert George Curtis</ref>
• The Man Who Changed His Name (1935)<ref name="novelised from Wallace's play by Robert George Curtis" />
• The Mouthpiece (1935)<ref name="novelised from Wallace's play by Robert George Curtis" />
• Smoky Cell (1935)<ref name="novelised from Wallace's play by Robert George Curtis" />
• The Table (1936)<ref name="novelised from Wallace's play by Robert George Curtis" />
• Sanctuary Island (1936)<ref name="novelised from Wallace's play by Robert George Curtis" />
• The Road to London (1986)

Other novels

• Captain Tatham of Tatham Island (1909)
• The Duke in the Suburbs (1909)
• Private Selby (1912)
• "1925" – The Story of a Fatal Peace (1915)
• Those Folk of Bulboro (1918)
• Tam o' the Scoots (1918)
• The Book of All Power (1921)
• The Flying Fifty-Five (1922)
• The Books of Bart (1923)
• Barbara on Her Own (1926)

Poetry collections

• The Mission That Failed (1898)
• War and Other Poems (1900)
• Writ In Barracks (1900)

Non-fiction

• Unofficial Despatches of the Anglo-Boer War (1901)
• Famous Scottish Regiments (1914)
• Field Marshal Sir John French (1914)
• Heroes All: Gallant Deeds of the War (1914)
• The Standard History of the War (1914)
• Kitchener's Army and the Territorial Forces: The Full Story of a Great Achievement (1915)
• Vol. 2–4. War of the Nations (1915)
• Vol. 5–7. War of the Nations (1916)
• Vol. 8–9. War of the Nations (1917)
• Famous Men and Battles of the British Empire (1917)
• The Real Shell-Man: The Story of Chetwynd of Chilwell (1919)
• People or Edgar Wallace by Himself(1926)
• The Trial of Patrick Herbert Mahon (1928)
• My Hollywood Diary (1932)

Plays

• An African Millionaire (1904)
• The Forest of Happy Dreams (1910)
• Dolly Cutting Herself (1911)
• The Manager's Dream (1914)
• M'Lady (1921)
• The Mystery of room 45 (1926)
• Double Dan (1927)
• A Perfect Gentleman (1927)
• The Terror (1927)
• Traitors Gate (1927)
• The Lad (1928)
• The Man Who Changed His Name (1928)
• The Squeaker (1928)<ref name="movie director" />
• The Calendar (1929)
• Persons Unknown (1929)
• The Ringer (1929)
• The Mouthpiece (1930)
• On the Spot (1930)
• Smoky Cell (1930)
• The Squeaker (1930)
• To Oblige A Lady (1930)
• The Case of the Frightened Lady (1931)
• The Old Man (1931)
• The Green Pack (1932)
• The Table (1932)

Screenplays

• The Valley of Ghosts (1928, British film)
• Mark of the Frog (1928, American film)
• Prince Gabby (1929, British film)
• The Squeaker (1930, British film)
• The Hound of the Baskervilles (1932, British film)
• King Kong (1932, January 5, 1932 first draft of original screenplay entitled "The Beast", 110 pages) While the script was not used in its entirety, much of it was retained for the final screenplay. Portions of the original Wallace screenplay were published in 1976. The complete original screenplay was published in 2013 in Ray Harryhausen – The Master of the Majicks, Vol. 1 by Archive Editions in Los Angeles. The Delos Lovelace transcription remains the official book-length treatment of the story.

Short story collections

• P.C. Lee (1909) Police Constable Lee; 24 short stories
• The Admirable Carfew (1914)
• The Adventures of Heine (1917)
• Tam O' the Scouts (1918)
• The Man Called McGinnice (1918)
• The Fighting Scouts (1919)
• The Black Grippe (1920)
• Chick (1923)
• The Black Avons (1925)
• The Brigand (1927)
• The Mixer (1927)
• This England (1927)
• The Orator (1928)
• The Thief in the Night (1928)
• Elegant Edward (1928)
• The Lone House Mystery and Other Stories (Collins and son, 1929)
• The Governor of Chi-Foo (1929)
• Again the Ringer The Ringer Returns (US Title) (1929)
• The Big Four or Crooks of Society (1929)
• The Black or Blackmailers I Have Foiled (1929)
• The Cat-Burglar (1929)
• Circumstantial Evidence (1929)
• Fighting Snub Reilly (1929)
• For Information Received (1929)
• Forty-Eight Short Stories (1929)
• Planetoid 127 and The Sweizer Pump (1929)
• The Ghost of Down Hill & The Queen of Sheba's Belt (1929)
• The Iron Grip (1929)
• The Lady of Little Hell (1929)
• The Little Green Man (1929)
• The Prison-Breakers (1929)
• The Reporter (1929)
• Killer Kay (1930)
• Mrs William Jones and Bill (1930)
• Forty Eight Short-Stories (George Newnes Limited ca. 1930)
• The Stretelli Case and Other Mystery Stories (1930)
• The Terror (1930)
• The Lady Called Nita (1930)
• Sergeant Sir Peter or Sergeant Dunn, C.I.D. (1932)
• The Scotland Yard Book of Edgar Wallace (1932)
• The Steward (1932)
• Nig-Nog and other humorous stories (1934)
• The Last Adventure (1934)
• The Woman From the East (1934) – co-written with Robert George Curtis
• The Edgar Wallace Reader of Mystery and Adventure (1943)
• The Undisclosed Client (1963)
• The Man Who Married His Cook (White Lion, 1976)
• The Death Room: Strange and Startling Stories (1986)
• The Sooper and Others (1984)
• Stories collected in the Death Room (William Kimber, 1986)
• Winning Colours: The Selected Racing Writings of Edgar Wallace (1991)

Other

• King Kong, with Draycott M. Dell, (1933), 28 October 1933 Cinema Monthly

See also

• Edgar Wallace Mysteries
• Films based on Edgar Wallace works
• Margaret Lane