Edgar Wallace (1875–1932)
Author of The Law of the Four Just Men
About the Author
Among the most prolific of all authors of adventure fiction was the redoubtable Edgar Wallace. Born in London, Wallace received his early education at St. Peter's School and the Board School. Wallace served in the Royal West Kent Regiment in England and later as part of the Medical Staff Corps show more stationed in South Africa. During World War I, Wallace acted as a special interrogator for the War Office. As was the case with a number of successful popular authors, Wallace experienced a rich and diverse life before turning to professional writing. From 1886 to the 1930s, he worked in a printing shop, a shoe shop, and a rubber factory, and served as a merchant sailor and milk deliverer. Beginning in 1899, Wallace became a journalist and wrote variously for the London Daily Mail and the Rand Daily News, among others; he also worked with the racing periodicals, having founded two of them---Bibury's Weekly and R. E. Walton's Weekly. Like Sax Rohmer, Wallace earned a fortune from his writings, yet, because of a lack of business sense and a tendency to overspend, he died in debt. A prodigious writer of fiction, Wallace published, over the course of his professional life, some 173 books and wrote 17 plays. Many of his adventure narratives featured elements of crime or mystery, but they all thrived on action. Although Wallace's handling of plot was superb and he was respected for his ability to blend suspense with humor, he was less successful with his characters, who tended to be two-dimensional and stereotyped. One of his early crime adventures, The Four Just Men (1906), introduced what was to become a trademark for Wallace---lurid sensationalism coupled with dramatic violence. Wallace published in a wide range of genres, including poetry, short fiction, autobiography, and epic political history. Regrettably, much of what he wrote has lapsed into obscurity today. As sometimes is the problem with popular fiction, perhaps it was too hurriedly written---too intimately connected with its contemporary audience---to stand the ultimate test of time. But Wallace's work was highly influential, especially in the American pulp magazine markets of the Great Depression, and stands today, despite its many flaws, as some of the most effective literary adventures ever written. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Series
Works by Edgar Wallace
Selected Novels (The Four Just Men / Sanders of the River / The Angel of Terror / The Dark Eyes of London / The Ringer… (1985) 11 copies
The Four Just Men / Eve's Island / The Clue of the Twisted Candle / The Man Who Knew (1985) 9 copies
The Complete Works of Edgar Wallace: The ultimate collections of mystery & detective thrillers from the prolific… (2015) 8 copies
The Flying Squad / The Coat of Arms / The Traitor's Gate / The Clue of the Silver Key / The Squealer (1973) 6 copies
The Complete Four Just Men: Volume 1 (The Four Just Men, The Council of Justice, The Just Men of Cordova) (2008) 5 copies
The Collected Works of Edgar Wallace: The Complete Works PergamonMedia (Highlights of World Literature) (English… (2015) 5 copies
The Clue of the Twisted Candle / The Door with Seven Locks / The Northing Tramp / The Man at the Carlton / White Face (1961) 5 copies
Eve's Island / Kate, Plus 10 / The Crimson Circle / Double Dan / The Avenger / The Fellowship of the Frog / The Joker (1993) 4 copies
Elk of the Yard: The Criminal Cases of Inspector Elk, Volume 3 (Silinski: Master Criminal & White Face) (2011) 4 copies
The Casebooks of Mr. J. G. Reeder, Book 2 (Red Aces, The Guv'nor, The Man Who Passed) (2008) 4 copies
Edgar Wallace Mystery Magazine 4 copies
The Crimson Circle / Number Six / Red Aces / Kennedy the Con Man / The Case of Joe Attymar (1983) 4 copies
The Door with Seven Locks / White Face / The Man at the Carlton / The Clue of the Twisted Candle / The Day of Uniting (1985) 3 copies
The Edgar Wallace Police Van [The Green Archer; The Forger; The Double; The Flying Squad] (1930) 3 copies
The Stretelli Case / In Thrall / Killer Kay / The Man Who Killed Himself / Circumstantial Evidence (2015) 3 copies
The Ringer / The Black Abbot / The Fellowship of the Frog / The India-Rubber Men / The Green Archer (2011) 3 copies
90 CRIME NOVELS: Complete Collection (The Secret House, The Daffodil Mystery, The Angel of Terror, The Crimson Circle,… (2015) 2 copies
The Fellowship of the Frog / The Ringer / The Dark Eyes of London / The Squeaker / The Black Abbot 2 copies
Edgar Wallace-Krimis: 78 Titel in einem Band: Kriminalromane & Detektivgeschichten: Der Doppelgänger, Das Gesicht im… (2016) 2 copies
Elk of the Yard: The Criminal Cases of Inspector Elk, Volume 2 (The Twister & The India-Rubber Men) (2011) 2 copies
Halley's Comet, the Cowboy, and Lord Dorrington: A Curious Story with a Cumbersome Title (1910) 2 copies
Mr. J.G. Reeder Mysteries 2 copies
The War of the Nations : A History of the Great European Conflict : February 12 1916 : Vol 7 No 77 1 copy
O tranbiqueiro 1 copy
Svart magi 1 copy
Skleněný Tresor 1 copy
החמסן : רומן בלשי 1 copy
Clarence - Private 1 copy
Smoky Cell 1 copy
Gangsters 1 copy
A morte procura um Homem 1 copy
The Square Emerald / Penelope of the "Polyantha" / We Shall See! / Red Aces / The Forger (1959) 1 copy
Il volto della notte. 1 copy
Il consiglio dei 4: romanzo 1 copy
La dimora segreta 1 copy
La contessa di Ascot 1 copy
12 Hörspiele 1 copy
The Flying Squad [annotated] 1 copy
Padesát pět (1929) 1 copy
A MÃO DO DIABO 1 copy
Omnibusbogen — Author — 1 copy
A King by Night / Penelope of the "Polyantha" / The Door with Seven Locks / The Double (1991) 1 copy
The Stretelli Case / In Thrall / Killer Kay / The Man Who Killed Himself / Circumstantial Evidence / The Treasure House (2020) 1 copy
[Works] 1 copy
The Complete Four Just Men: Volume 2 (The Law of the Four Just Men & The Three Just Men) (2008) 1 copy
Sanders & Bones: The African Adventures, 5 (Sandi, the King-Maker & Bones of the River) (2011) 1 copy
P G reader 1 copy
La caída de Mr Reader 1 copy
MYSTERY LEAGUE (21 VOLUMES) 1 copy
Wallace Edgar 1 copy
Sanders & Bones: The African Adventures, 2 (The River of Stars & Bosambo of the River) (2011) 1 copy
The Terror / Blue Hand / The Daffodil Mystery / The Crimson Circle / The Lady of Ascot (2009) 1 copy
The War of the Nations : A History of the Great European Conflict : February 5 1916 : Vol 7 No 76 (1916) 1 copy
The Standard History of the War, Volume 2: Ypres-Armentieres - The Battle for the Coast (1915) 1 copy
Alarmklockan 1 copy
Slane-mysteriet 1 copy
Gonsalez & C:o 1 copy
Hans annet jeg 1 copy
A rainha do crime 1 copy
The Ringer / When the Gangs Came to London / White Face / The India-Rubber Men / The Man Who Knew (2011) 1 copy
Sanders & Bones: The African Adventures, 1 (Sanders of the River & The People of the River) (2011) 1 copy
The Man from Morocco / The Melody of Death / The Million Dollar Story / The Northing Tramp / Penelope of the… (1966) 1 copy
Den dödes check 1 copy
Four Square Jane, Book 1 1 copy
OLUM CICEKLERI 1 copy
Elk of the Yard: The Criminal Cases of Inspector Elk, Volume 1 (The Fellowship of the Frog & The Joker) (2011) 1 copy
Edgar Wallace Collection 1 copy
Associated Works
Detective Stories (The Treasure Hunt / The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim / The Necklace of Pearls) (1996) — Contributor — 19 copies
The Locked-Room Mysteries (The Four Just Men, The Mystery of the Yellow Room, The Hollow Man) (2017) — Contributor — 14 copies
Detective Omnibus — Contributor — 6 copies
Sleuths: Twenty-Three Great Detectives of Fiction and Their Best Stories (1931) — Contributor — 6 copies
The Door With Seven Locks [1940 film] — Original book — 4 copies
Detective-omnibus — Contributor — 3 copies
Piirakkasota : Valikoima huumoria — Contributor — 3 copies
Detektivhistorier fra Sherlock Holmes til Hercule Poirot — Contributor — 3 copies
Edgar Wallace Mystery Magazine Vol. 02, No. 12: July, 1965 — Contributor — 2 copies
The Fourth Crime Club Omnibus: The Devil Man / Mystery at Friar's Pardon / Death Comes to Perigord / Dead Man's Watch (1937) — Contributor — 2 copies
Detective Omnibus (The Melody of Death, The Bartenstein Mystery, The Rasp) (1936) — Contributor — 1 copy
Traditional British Mysteries: 30 Novels (Boxed Set) — Contributor — 1 copy
The Door with Seven Locks / Voice Out of Darkness / A Well-Known Face — Contributor — 1 copy
The Dark Eyes of London | The Eight of Swords | The Iron Gates | The Second Confession | The Tragedy of Y (1965) — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Wallace, Edgar
- Legal name
- Wallace, Richard Horatio Edgar
- Other names
- Уоллес, Эдгар
אדגאר ,וואלאס - Birthdate
- 1875-04-01
- Date of death
- 1932-02-10
- Burial location
- Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- London, England, UK
- Place of death
- Hollywood, California, USA
- Cause of death
- diabetes
pneumonia - Places of residence
- South Africa
- Occupations
- journalist
novelist
scriptwriter - Relationships
- Wallace, Bryan Edgar (son)
Wallace, Penelope (daughter) - Short biography
- Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at 12. He joined the army at 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 time as a reporter in the Congo, covering the Belgian atrocities, Wallace serialised short stories in magazines, later publishing collections such as Sanders of the River (1911). He signed with Hodder and Stoughton in 1921 and became an internationally recognised author.
Members
Reviews
The Four Just Men: 1 by Edgar Wallace
Not really worth it. A dimestore novel, but it's outlived its usefulness. Too many characters, and a plot which is promoted as "one of the great puzzles of crime fiction" but really hangs entirely on contrivance. Points, though, for some of the unexpected deviations - the story of Billy Marks is affectingly handled - and for its surprising timeliness: a story about well-meaning activists who become terrorists in their bid to stop an illegal immigration bill planned by self-righteous-but-decent politicians. Interesting, but unworthy.… (more)
Actually, a three-man committee who force a fourth to join them for his skills, they are self-appointed judges and executioners of malefactors who are outside the reach of the law. In this case their target is a British politician who is pushing a bill that will permit the expulsion of certain foreign residents. They oppose it because a Spanish revolutionary will be among those ejected and punished in his own nation, ruled by a corrupt and despotic government The four just men pride themselves on giving fair warning, so the plot of the book consists of their plans to execute the politician and of the efforts of Scotland Yard to protect him. Interesting in the history of the crime novel although I suspect that the science is a bit questionable. It was originally published in 1905.… (more)
I really liked this one! J.G. Reeder shows his sensitive side. He's not very good at it, but it was quite sweet nonetheless. The mystery was solid and the ending was unexpected and much more dramatic than a lot of these old school mysteries.
An entertaining collection of the classic mysteries by Edgar Wallace.
Lists
Emily's Reviews (1)
Awards
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Statistics
- Works
- 468
- Also by
- 167
- Members
- 9,165
- Popularity
- #2,615
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 222
- ISBNs
- 2,294
- Languages
- 23
- Favorited
- 11
