Edgar Wallace
1875–1932
Biography
Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was born in London in 1875, into poverty, and left school at twelve. He joined the army in his early twenties and later worked as a war correspondent in South Africa during the Boer War, writing for Reuters and the Daily Mail. Debt followed him home, and to earn money he began to write thrillers, among them The Four Just Men, which appeared in 1905. He went on to produce a very large body of work: more than 170 novels, close to a thousand short stories, plays, poems and journalism.
His best-known creations include the detective J. G. Reeder and the many stories he set in colonial Africa, among them the collection Sanders of the River (1911). Those African stories grew out of his time as a reporter in the Congo, where he wrote about the abuses of Belgian rule. They reflect the colonial attitudes of their own period and should be read with that in mind. In 1921 he signed with the publisher Hodder & Stoughton and became a name readers knew across the world. Late in life he went to Hollywood to write screenplays for RKO. He died suddenly in 1932, of diabetes that had never been diagnosed, while early work on King Kong was under way. More than 160 films have been based on his books.
Two of his books are on this site: Four Square Jane, one of his many novels, and Red Aces, which gathers three cases of Mr. Reeder. They show the speed of plot and the flair for a sensational story that made him one of the most widely read writers of his age. Some of his colonial fiction reflects views that many readers now find troubling, and that is worth keeping in mind when you read these books.
This biography was written by a language model. The sources below are where to check it; treat details with care.
Books
Four square Jane
by Edgar Wallace
Edgar Wallace's Four Square Jane, 1929, follows a masked thief who steals from the dishonest and sends the loot to the poor. Police and press chase her through London. Light, quick and full of Wallace's favourite devices. This book uses the racial and other slurs of its period…
Summary written by Claude Sonnet 5.5.Red aces: Being three cases of Mr. Reeder
by Edgar Wallace
Three cases of Mr J. G. Reeder, Edgar Wallace's shabby, mild-mannered detective of the Public Prosecutor's office. His criminal mind is always one step ahead of the lawbreakers. Dry and ingenious.
Summary written by Claude Sonnet 5.5.Room 13
by Edgar Wallace
Room 13 is a 1924 crime novel by the British writer Edgar Wallace. It was the first in a series of books featuring the character of J. G. Reeder, a mild-mannered civil servant who is a brilliant detective. This book uses the racial and other slurs of its period as written; the…
Summary from Wikipedia: Room 13 (Wallace novel) (CC BY-SA 4.0)The crimson circle
by Edgar Wallace
The Crimson Circle is a 1922 crime novel by the British writer Edgar Wallace. Scotland Yard tackle a secret league of blackmailers known as The Crimson Circle. The novel was first published in The People's Story Magazine, March 10, 1922. The first book edition in the UK was by…
Summary from Wikipedia: The Crimson Circle (novel) (CC BY-SA 4.0)