NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Edgar Wallace

Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (April 1, 1875–February 10, 1932) was a prolific British crime writer, journalist and playwright, who wrote 175 novels, 24 plays, and countless articles in newspapers and journals. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File links The_mixer. ... Image File history File links The_mixer. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1875 (MDCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A crime writer (not a crime author) is an author of crime fiction. ... For other uses, see Journalist (disambiguation). ... A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or drama. ...

In the 1920s, one of Wallace's publishers claimed that a quarter of all books read in England were written by him. (citation needed)

He is most famous today as the co-creator of "King Kong", writing the early screenplay and story for the movie, as well as a short story "King Kong" (1933) credited to him and Draycott Dell. He was known for the J. G. Reeder detective stories, The Four Just Men, the Ringer, and for creating the Green Archer character during his lifetime.

Parents and Birth

Edgar Wallace was born in yarmouth, Greenwich, norfolk, on April 1st, 1875. His biological parents were actors Richard Horatio Edgar (who never knew of his existence) and Mary Jane "Polly" Richards, nee Blair. Norfolk (IPA: //) is a low-lying county in East Anglia in the east of southern England. ...

Born Mary Jane Blair in 1843, Liverpool, to an Irish Catholic family, Mary's family had been in show business for some years, and she grew up to be a theatrical "Jane of All Trades" - stagehand, usherette, bit-part actress. Though pretty and talented, Mary was not a great success. During 1867 she ended her theatrical career and married. Year 1843 (MDCCCXLIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see Liverpool (disambiguation). ... Cunt BAg Twat Fuk suck my penis ring 0778851865!!!!!!Year 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Also born in Liverpool during 1838, Captain Joseph Richards of the Merchant Navy was likewise from an Irish Catholic family - his father John Richards was also a Merchant Navy Captain, and his mother Catherine Richards came from a mariner family. | JÃ¶ns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The British Red Ensign. ...

Mary soon became pregnant - but during January 1868, when she was eight months pregnant, Joseph Richards died at sea aged 30 years, from a sudden illness. By the time his posthumous daughter Josephine Catherine Richards was born a few weeks later, during the spring of 1868, Mary was destitute. Year 1868 (MDCCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Assuming the stage name "Polly" Richards, Mary began theatre work again to support herself and her daughter. In 1872, Polly met and joined the "Marriott" family theatre troupe, becoming part of the "family" due to the great affection that developed between her and the "Marriott" women - the troupe was managed by Mrs. Alice Edgar (who continued to use the stage name Alice Marriott), her husband Richard Edgar and their three adult children, Grace Edgar, Adeline Edgar and Richard Horatio Edgar. Year 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Intelligent, shrewd and dominating, Alice's great worry was her only son. Usually playing the "romantic lead" due to his tall, dark, handsome looks and physique, Richard had a charming personality, but was indolent. Alice wanted to marry him to a sensible young woman and produce grandchildren.

Seeing a way to demonstrate her gratitude for the warmth and kindness bestowed upon her and her little daughter, Polly actively sought to locate a suitable bride for the languid Richard.

In 1873, she met a suitable young woman in Dundee named Jennifer Taylor, and hastened to introduce her to the Edgar family. Jenny was a willing nominee and after intense match-making by Polly, Alice, Grace and Adeline, Richard was encouraged accordingly and he and Jenny were betrothed during the spring of 1874. 1873 (MDCCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

In July 1874, the "Marriott" troupe experienced its greatest commercial success ever and so a "come one come all" back-stage party was held at which everyone drank "not wisely but too well". As a result of this extreme intoxication, Richard Horatio Edgar and Polly ended up having a "Boris Becker broom cupboard" style sexual encounter, which everyone was too drunk fortunately to notice. Boris Franz Becker (born November 22, 1967) is a former World No. ...

The following morning Polly was mortified and deeply ashamed, but Richard Horatio Edgar was apparently so inebriated he did not even remember the incident. A few weeks later in August 1874, Polly realised she was pregnant. Since she had been celibate since the death of her beloved husband Joseph in 1868, Richard had to be the father. She was horrified, realising that when the truth was revealed it would destroy the troupe and tear the Edgar family, "her" family, apart.

Polly acted decisively. During the autumn of 1874, she invented a fictitious obligation in Greenwich that would last at least half a year, and obtained a room in a boarding house where she lived by her meagre savings through until Edgar's birth on April 1, 1875. Greenwich is a town, now part of the south-eastern urban sprawl of London, England, on the south bank of the River Thames in the London Borough of Greenwich. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1875 (MDCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

During her confinement she had asked her midwife to locate a couple of sufficient kindness and generosity to entrust with her child's upbringing for the pittance Polly could afford to contribute. The midwife introduced Polly to her close friend, Mrs Freeman, a stout, jolly mother of ten children ranging from their early twenties downwards, whose husband George Freeman was a Billingsgate fish porter (fishmonger). The Freemans were a loving couple and excellent parents. Billingsgate is a ward in the south-east of the City of London, lying on the north bank of the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge. ...

On April 9, 1875, Polly took Edgar to the Freeman family and made arrangements to visit as often as she was able without eliciting interest/suspicion by the Marriotts, since by the time she returned to London during April 1875 Jenny Taylor and Richard Horatio Edgar, oblivious to the existence of his son, had been married a month. is the 99th day of the year (100th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1875 (MDCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Childhood and Early Career

Known as Richard Freeman, Edgar had a happy childhood, forming an especially close bond with 20-year-old Clara Freeman who became like a second mother to him. His foster-father George Freeman was an honourable and kind man and determined to ensure Richard received a good education, the family being influenced perhaps by the unfortunate circumstances of Edgar's conception. From 1875-8 Polly visited as often as she was able, bringing her contribution, but maintained a certain emotional distance.

By 1878, Polly was faced with a serious dilemma. After their marriage, Richard and Jenny had relocated to Scotland, where their children were born, including Edgar's paternal half-brother, George Marriott Edgar (1880-1951), who was renowned under his stage name of Marriott Edgar as a poet, comedian, and scriptwriter for Stanley Holloway, for whom he wrote the famous Holloway Monologues, including The Lion & Albert. Marriott Edgar (1880-1951) born in Kirkcudbright, Scotland, was a poet, scriptwriter and comedian best known for writing many of the monologues performed by Stanley Holloway, particularly the Albert series. ... Stanley Augustus Holloway (October 1, 1890 - January 30, 1982) was an English actor and entertainer famous for his comic and character roles on stage and screen, especially that of Alfred Doolittle in My Fair Lady. ...

But the Marriott troupe was slowly dispersing, as Grace and Adeline married and Alice Marriott's health necessitated retirement. Polly took up new employment with the Hamilton troupe but now in her late 30s was increasingly limited as to the roles and backstage work she could do, forcing a commensurate decrease of earnings. In short, she could no longer afford even the small sum she had been paying the Freemans to care for Edgar.

Arriving with the news and a distraught offer to place Edgar in a workhouse, Polly found the Freemans fiercely opposed to any such action, doting on the boy. Polly left abruptly, perhaps overwhelmed by emotion. She never visited again, perhaps because of shame. Her actions led to tragic consequences for her and Edgar decades later.

Edgar had inherited his father's swarthy handsomeness and was extroverted. However, his usual response to any problem seems to have been to withdraw from it, either literally, mentally or emotionally.

By his early teens he had held down numerous jobs and was an ardent if not very good racehorse follower. In 1894 he had rashly become engaged to a local Deptford girl, Edith Anstree, and typically sought to escape, without facing the problem properly but not wishing to hurt her feelings. 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the district in London. ...

In 1885, when she was sixteen, Josephine Catherine Richards had become engaged to William Henry Donovan, and Polly felt honour-bound to inform her of the half-brother living in Deptford. 1885 (MDCCCLXXXV) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Considering the "Marriott" family's welfare, Josephine agreed the secret must not be revealed and apparently felt it too dangerous to arrange a meeting between her and Edgar. She married Donovan during 1886 and had their only child, named Alice Grace Adeline Donovan in honour of her foster-grandmother and aunts, in 1887. Like her father, Joseph Richards, Josephine died young of a sudden illness in 1894 at the age of 25 years. 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

Unaware that the half-sister he did not know existed had just died, Edgar enlisted in the Infantry preparatory to leaving for South Africa.

However Edgar found Army life unappealing. Soldiering was hard on his feet and ears, and indeed by the time he died was well-known for never partaking in any physical exercise (which probably contributed to his early death). He wangled a transfer to the Royal Army Medical Corps, which was less arduous but more unpleasant, and so transferred again to the Press Corps, where at last he found his metier. The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace. ...

By 1898, he was a war correspondent for the Daily Mail in the Boer War, as well as a poet/columnist for various periodicals - a similar sequence to that which P G Wodehouse would experience a couple of years later. He also met the author and poet Rudyard Kipling whom he greatly admired. A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war zone. ... The Daily Mail is a British newspaper and the oldest tabloid, first published in 1896. ... Combatants British Empire Orange Free State South African Republic Commanders Sir Redvers Buller Lord Kitchener Lord Roberts Paul Kruger Louis Botha Koos de la Rey Martinus Steyn Christiaan de Wet Casualties 6,000 - 7,000 (A further ~14,000 from disease) 6,000 - 8,000 (Unknown number from disease) Civilians... P. G. Wodehouse, pictured in 1904, became famous for his complex plots, ingenious wordplay, and prolific output Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse KBE (October 15, 1881 â€“ February 14, 1975) (pronounced WOOD-house) was an English comic writer who enjoyed enormous popular success for more than seventy years. ... This article is about the British author. ...

Marriage, Initial Success, Return to UK 1898-1902

With Edith Anstree out of sight and out of mind, he met one of his avid readers, a girl of similar age, Ivy Maude Caldecott, whose father was a Methodist minister, Reverend William Shaw Caldecott. He forbade any contact between the two.

For some years Reverend Caldecott had desired to return to England unencumbered by his family and fondly imagined them unaware of this. His wife Marion Caldecott knew he would eventually seize upon an excuse to desert them. So, when Ivy defied her father's wishes and married Edgar Wallace, Marion sided with her daughter.

Infuriated, Caldecott did indeed book passage back to England, but was further outraged by the lack of penitently weeping family on the Johannesburg docks. Many years later, Ivy would bear the brunt of his vindictiveness. This article is about the city in South Africa. ...

In 1900, Ivy had their first child, Eleanor Clare Hellier Wallace, and Edgar met one Harry F. Cohen, a financier. With Cohen's complicity, Edgar came up with an ingenious way of scooping the press-hating General Kitchener in 1902 with the signing of the Treaty ending the Boer War ^[1] Äž: For the film, see: 1900 (film). ... The Earl Kitchener Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, ADC, PC (24 June 1850 â€“ 5 June 1916) was an Irish-born British Field Marshal, diplomat and statesman popularly referred to as Lord Kitchener. ...

Impressed, Cohen appointed Edgar editor of the Rand Daily Mail with a £2,000 per annum salary. Edgar had become successful, but it was all about to go horribly wrong. The Rand Daily Mail was a Johannesburg daily newspaper with an anti-apartheid bias that broke the news about the apartheid states disinformation funding scandal in 1979[1]. // Soon after it was founded, The Rand Daily Mail was bought by mining magnate Abe Bailey[2]. During the apartheid years...

Superstitious, Edgar viewed any "economising" as a sign his luck was about to end, and thus had been living in excess of a £2,000 per annum salary since the first day of his employment. Then, he and Ivy were devastated when the two-year old Eleanor died of meningitis, going from healthy to dead in less than 24 hours. Meningitis is the inflammation of the protective membranes covering the central nervous system, known collectively as the meninges. ...

Reeling from the shock, Edgar was as grief-stricken as Ivy, but he was also unemployed and seriously indebted. Eleanor's death caused Ivy to loathe Johannesburg, so Edgar promptly sold their house and put them aboard a liner for England whilst keeping Ivy completely unaware of their financial situation. When they arrived, Edgar possessed only 12 shillings. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (960 Ã— 1280 pixel, file size: 551 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photo of a plaque in Fleet Street commemorating Edgar Wallace who worked there as a journalist before finding fame as an author. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (960 Ã— 1280 pixel, file size: 551 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photo of a plaque in Fleet Street commemorating Edgar Wallace who worked there as a journalist before finding fame as an author. ... Fleet Street in 2005 Fleet Street is a famous street in London, England, named after the River Fleet. ...

His one prudence since the mid 1890s had been to "keep in" with his colleagues at the Daily Mail and so he presented himself at their office with the tale of his daughter's death and his wife's fragile health.

The newspaper's new proprietor Alfred Harmsworth, later Lord Northcliffe, promptly hired Edgar as a sub-editor. Despite the annual wage being only £750, Edgar promptly took Ivy and began living in excess of his means. She was not aware of what was happening and Edgar ignored the letters of his South African creditors. Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (July 15, 1865, Dublin - August 14, 1922, London) was an influential and successful newspaper owner. ...

The Four Just Men, Career As Thriller Writer, 1903-1920

In 1903, Edgar experienced another profound event, when his mother Polly, whom he had never known, came to him. By now 60 years old and terminally ill, it cannot be doubted that Polly hoped for some financial assistance.

Alice Marriott and Josephine were long deceased and Polly had been unable to work for some months. She had been aware of her son's illustrious career as a Colonial correspondent since the late 1890s - and like Ivy and everyone around Edgar, did not know that in fact he was impoverished.

Still grieving for Eleanor and ignoring his financial situation, Edgar reacted with uncharacteristic harshness, giving Polly a few pounds and turning her away. Stoically accepting this rejection, Polly used the money to travel to Bradford, where she collapsed and died in the Bradford Infirmary. For other uses, see Bradford (disambiguation). ...

She was only saved from the ignominy of a pauper's grave when her former son-in-law, William Henry Donovan, though long remarried since Josephine's death, learned of it and hastened to pay for her interment.

When Ivy, out at the time, returned home and Edgar, already regretting his actions, related what had happened, Ivy chastised him for his harshness and emphasized that he had not given Polly any chance to explain.

Usually a generous person, Edgar agreed he had been hasty and, unaware his mother was already dead, decided that as soon as he had some spare time he would find his mother again. But events would thwart him until 1908. 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ...

The first distracting event was Ivy's second pregnancy during 1904 - to which she reacted not with joy but with anxiety and stress. Edgar went to Europe as a correspondent during the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War. Whilst in the Balkans he met British and Russian spies and was inspired. 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ... Combatants Russian Empire Montenegro[1] Empire of Japan Commanders Emperor Nicholas II Aleksey Kuropatkin Stepan Makarov â€ Emperor Meiji Oyama Iwao Heihachiro Togo The Russoâ€“Japanese War (Japanese: Nichi-Ro SensÅ, Russian: , Chinese: , February 10, 1904 â€“ September 5, 1905) was a conflict that grew out of the rival imperialist ambitions of... ...

Returning to England in 1905 he had in his head The Four Just Men, the prototype of modern thriller novels, about four young, handsome, immensely wealthy vigilantes (including a European Prince) who kill people in the name of Justice. 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... For other uses, see Vigilante (disambiguation). ... The term prince, from the Latin root princeps, is used for a member of the highest ranks of the aristocracy or the nobility. ...

Upon returning, he was able to meet briefly his healthy baby son, Bryan Edgar Wallace, before Ivy left with Bryan for South Africa, where her ill mother Marion Caldecott, mistakenly believing she was terminally ill, had expressed a wistful desire to see her grandson. This meant Ivy was not present to restrain Edgar's enthusiastic excess.

Writing the story of the Four Just Men (FJM) who would kill the Foreign Secretary if he tried to ratify an unjust law, Edgar had to create his own publishing company, Tallis, to publish it. Undeterred, he decided to manage a 'guess the murder method' competition in the Daily Mail with a prize of £1,000. Edgar intended to advertise the book on an unprecedented scale, not just in Britain itself but across the Empire. The title of Foreign Secretary has been traditionally used to refer to the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. ... Tallit טלית (or tallet) in Hebrew, or Tallis in Yiddish, is a prayer shawl cloak that is worn during the morning Jewish services (the Shacharit prayers) in Judaism. ...

He approached Harmsworth for the loan of the £1,000 and was promptly refused. Edgar wasn't really suited to editorship as he preferred to spend his afternoons at the racecourse or poker table: Harmsworth in turn was irritated by the fact that Edgar was so difficult to find instead of being on the other end of a telephone like the other editors.

Unfazed, Edgar pressed ahead - his alarmed workmates at the Mail prevailed upon him to lower the prize money to £500: a £250 first prize, £200 second prize and £50 third prize, but were unable to restrain him in the privacy of his home.

Edgar had advertisements placed on buses, hoardings, flyers, and so forth, running up an incredible bill of £2,000. Though he knew he needed the book to sell sufficient copies to make £2,500 before he saw any profit, Edgar was confidently aware this would be achieved in the first three months of the book going on sale, hopelessly underestimating the expanses.

Enthusiastic, but without any substantial managerial skill, Edgar had also made a far more serious error. He ran the FJM serial competition in the Daily Mail but failed to include any limitation clause in the competition rules restricting payment of the prize money to one winner only from each of the three categories.

Only after the competition had closed and the correct solution printed as part of the final chapter denouement did Edgar learn that he was legally obligated to pay every person who answered correctly the full prize amount in that category; if 6 people got the 1st Prize answer right, he would have to pay not £250 but 6x£250, or £1500, if 3 people got the 2nd Prize it would be £600 and so on.

Additionally, though his advertising gimmick had worked as the FJM novel was a bestseller, Edgar discovered that instead of his woefully over-optimistic three months, FJM would have to continue selling consistently with no margin of error for two full years to recoup the £2,500 he had mistakenly believed he needed to break even. Horror was added to shock when the number of entrants correctly guessing the right answer continued to inexorably rise.

Edgar's response was to simply ignore the situation, but circumstances were ominous. Newspaper companies were expected to be standards of truth and accountability: any that even mistakenly published articles that were found to be incorrect, inaccurate or misleading could lose money seriously.

As 1906 began and continued without any list of prize winners being printed, more and more suspicions were being voiced about the honesty of the competition. In addition, for a working-class Edwardian family, £250 was a fortune and since those who were winners knew it (courtesy of the published solution) they had been waiting impatiently for the prize cheque to hit the doormat. 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Edwardian period or Edwardian era in the United Kingdom is the period 1901 to 1910, the reign of King Edward VII. It is sometimes extended to include the period to the start of World War I in 1914 or even the end of the war in 1918. ...

Friction already existed between the autocratic Harmsworth and his elusive editor, and Harmsworth, having refused the initial £1,000 loan was furious at having now to loan Edgar over £5,000 to protect the newspaper's reputation because Edgar couldn't pay.

Harmsworth's irritation simmered as instead of appropriate gratitude and contrition, Edgar recovered his ebullience and confidence, and also seemed not to be in any hurry to repay the loan.

During 1907 Edgar travelled to the Belgian Congo, to report on how the native Congolese were being horribly abused by representatives of King Leopold II of Belgium. Year 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Motto: Travail et Progres (Work and Progress) The Belgian Congo Capital LÃ©opoldville/Leopoldstad Political structure Colony Governor - 1908-1910 Baron Wahis - 1946-1951 EugÃ¨ne Jacques Pierre Louis Jungers - 1958-1960 Henri Arthur Adolf Marie Christopher Cornelis History - Established 15 November, 1908 - Congolese independence 30 June, 1960 The Belgian... Leopold II (LÃ©opold Louis Philippe Marie Victor (French) or Leopold Lodewijk Filips Marie Victor (Dutch) (April 9, 1835 â€“ December 17, 1909) was King of the Belgians. ...

In the same year Ivy was again pregnant, but Bryan was two - the age Eleanor had died - making her anxious and stressed again. Meanwhile, there were during 1906-1907 two libel suits in the courts against the Daily Mail, involving Edgar.

The first and most serious concerned the Lever Brothers, against whom Harmsworth had led a crusade when he learned they intended to raise soap prices. But upon the brothers publicly apologising and abandoning the idea, Harmsworth continued to gloat and approve scurrilously libellous articles, provoking the brothers into a libel suit. The British manufacturer Lever Brothers was founded in 1885 by William Hesketh Lever (later Lord Leverhulme) and his brother James. ...

Part of the case concerned an article in which Edgar had grossly inflated the figures by quoting an "unnamed washerwoman" he'd invented, as he was hopeless with money and had no idea of fiscal prudence. To Harmsworth's dismay, the Lever Brothers were awarded damages of £50,000 (the equivalent of approximately £3.6 million today).

At the same time, a Navy Lieutenant named St. George-Collard began another suit after Wallace repeated an incorrect claim that he had been disciplined for brutality towards enlisted seamen before, and won £5,000. In military service, an enlisted rank is generally any rating below that of a commissioned officer. ...

Though the £50,000 was entirely his own fault, Harmsworth was enraged to be £60,000 out-of-pocket for three incidents all involving Wallace, and so upon the latter's return from the Congo, dismissed him. Out-of-pocket expenses are direct outlays of cash which are not reimbursed. ...

Unlike in 1902, in 1908 there was no way to hide the calamity from Ivy, emotionally vulnerable from giving birth to the couple's third child Patricia Marion Caldecott Wallace, and soon they had to move to a virtual slum. Ivy and Edgar had never been truly compatible with each other in personality anyway, and 1908 marked the start of the slow disintegration of their marriage.

But again, Edgar found opportunity in the shape of Mrs Isabel Thorne, who edited a minor magazine; she initially approached him about "romance" serials but he admitted he was not good at such - his teenage handsomeness and early marriage to Ivy meant he had little experience of romance. Then he began to relate his adventures in Africa, and Mrs Thorne realised that his "blood-and-thunder" tales were his metier.

She hired him to write a serial for her magazine, and so began during 1909 the Sanders of the River stories which were serialized for years and which he eventually compiled into novels. The movie of the same name is remembered today mostly because it co-starred Paul Robeson as a tribal chief. Year 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Paul LeRoy Bustill Robeson (April 9, 1898 â€“ January 23, 1976) was a multi-lingual American actor, athlete, bass-baritone concert singer, writer, civil rights activist, Communist sympathizer, Spingarn Medal winner, and Lenin Peace Prize laureate. ...

At the time there was nothing strange about a series of stories portraying as a positive and likeable protagonist the governor of an (unnamed) British colony in West Africa, who relies upon gun boats cruising along a major African river to enforce British rule and who - while not gratuitously cruel - does not shrink from using brute force on occasion.

More recently these stories have been charged with exhibiting racist and pro-imperialist attitudes. Certainly, the rather mediocre novels take for granted the justness of colonialism and European rule in Africa - in which they but reflect the mindset of their era and are little different from attitudes of such contemporary writers as H. G. Wells, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Jules Verne and numerous others. 1. ... Herbert George Wells (September 21, 1866 â€“ August 13, 1946), better known as H. G. Wells, was an English writer best known for such science fiction novels as The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, The First Men in the Moon and The Island of Doctor Moreau. ... Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (May 22, 1859 - July 7, 1930) is the British author most famously known for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction. ... Jules Gabriel Verne (February 8, 1828â€“March 24, 1905) was a French author who pioneered the science-fiction genre. ...

As shown in the listing of Wallace's output featured below, the two ten year periods from 1908-1918 and 1922-1932 were the most prolific of his life, but for different reasons. 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In the first period, he wrote mainly in order to satisfy creditors. Edgar sold the rights to his novels very quickly - FJM for £75, its sequel for £80, and so forth - merely for an income and to provide token amounts to his creditors, many of which were from South Africa.

Also in 1908, he recalled his determination to find his mother, not knowing of her death. Instead, he located his niece, A. Grace Donovan, who by then was in her 21st year of life and, after losing her mother at seven years of age, eager to meet maternal relatives. 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ...

Through Grace, Edgar learned of his father and mother, his maternal half-sister and the paternal semi-siblings of whom he would only ever meet one, Edgar Marriott. He also learned of Polly Richards' sacrifices to ensure the emotional well-being of the Marriott family.

Edgar Wallace could not cope with emotional trauma, and his conscience excoriated him as he recalled his treatment of his mother, who had then left and promptly died. Though he and Grace Donovan remained lifelong friends, he never recovered from his guilt feeling.

As his personal stress increased, his writing output also increased: he produced some of his most famous work during the 1908-1918 period.

Edgar was one of those people who did best with the least time to "think" and this was an asset for his writing, though it must be admitted that most of what he wrote was adequate rather than excellent.

As time went on, he and Ivy became more and more separated: though too honourable to indulge in a physical betrayal of his wife, he began what today psychologists would term an "emotional" (very possibly non-sexual) affair with another woman.

Edgar's meeting of minds and minor flirtation with Mrs Edith Cockle, nee Anstree - his first fiancee - soon fizzled out. Spurred by guilt over his actions, Edgar was motivated to "woo" Ivy with sufficient success for her to become unexpectedly pregnant during 1915, though the marriage had been moribund for several years. Year 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday[1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

However, at this time Edgar hired a new secretary, a timid, quiet 15-year-old girl named Violet King. Whereas Ivy had tolerated Violet's predecessors with relief, she perceived that Violet would be her successor.

Ivy knew that as Violet matured from girl to woman she would be more ideally suited to Edgar's temperament than Ivy herself had ever been. Ivy also knew that when Edgar inevitably became adulterous with Violet, he would condemn himself over his betrayal of Ivy.

During 1916, Ivy had her last child, named Michael Blair Wallace by Edgar in belated homage to his mother, Polly. Assuring herself that Violet liked and was liked by her children, and aware they would all be at school soon, Ivy showed kindness towards Edgar to the end, gently withdrawing from his life before filing for divorce in 1918 and telling him that he was not to blame. 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

There was also her own personal discomfort as the inescapable reality was that Violet was the same age as Edgar and Ivy's eldest daughter Eleanor, and what she could have been had she lived - that constant reminder of dreams forever lost - upset Ivy more than anything.

Second Marriage, Tragedy & Success, 1918-1929

With Ivy living in Tunbridge Wells and the children at school, Edgar could finally concentrate on his writing and from 1918 drew closer to the intelligent, ever more capable Violet. He married her in 1921. Tunbridge Wells (officially Royal Tunbridge Wells) is a Wealden town in west Kent in England, just north of the border with East Sussex. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ...

Violet did not have any intention of disrupting her and Edgar's life much and so was shocked and upset to become pregnant, having her only child, Penelope Wallace, in 1923, though Edgar was delighted. Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

This gradually spurred his second ten-year writing boom, this time because of personal confidence, rather than stress. His output is often compared to that of other prolific authors, such as Isaac Asimov. Isaac Asimov (January 2?, 1920?[1] â€“ April 6, 1992), IPA: , originally Ð˜ÑÐ°Ð°Ðº ÐžÐ·Ð¸Ð¼Ð¾Ð² but now transcribed into Russian as ÐÐ¹Ð·ÐµÐº ÐÐ·Ð¸Ð¼Ð¾Ð²) was a Russian-born American Jewish author and professor of biochemistry, a highly successful and exceptionally prolific writer best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. ...

There is a famous anecdote in which visitors to his home actually observed him dictate a novel in the course of a weekend. It became a standing joke that if someone telephoned Edgar and was told he was writing a novel, they would promptly reply, "I'll wait!".

He also invented and patented the Edgar Wallace Plot Wheel. The wheel had several events written on it, such as "murder". When turned one came up and would be incorporated into the plot.

It is said that Wallace was the first British crime novelist to use policemen as his protagonists, rather than brilliant amateur sleuths as most other writers of the time did.

However, his heroes were far from ordinary - they were mostly special investigators of some sort who worked outside the normal police force, such as Mr J G Reeder who worked for the obscure Public Prosecutor's Office (then part of the Crown Prosecution Service. In countries adopting the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system, the prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution. ... The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales. ...

Most of his novels are independent stand-alone stories; he seldom used series heroes, and when he did there was little point in maintaining their order as there was not any continuity from book to book.

At the beginning of this period of increased output, Edgar experienced one more terrible emotional shock, with the death of Ivy Wallace. Experiencing ill-health, she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1923, and wrote a letter to Edgar requesting "a loan for minor surgery" with such successful obfuscation that Edgar did not realise she was seriously ill. Though the tumour's removal was initially successful, it returned terminally by 1925. Breast cancer is cancer of breast tissue. ... Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Aware even in extremis that Edgar was incapable of coping with emotional trauma, Ivy again wrote for a loan and downplayed her condition so well Edgar believed she had a minor chest infection. The frantic summons of a doctor got Bryan to her deathbed so she did not die alone like Polly Richards, but she succumbed to breast cancer during 1926. Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

It was ironic that only months after Ivy's death, Edgar finally achieved tremendous fame and fortune. Ivy had been his staunchest supporter and loyal helpmate, being a de facto single parent. Even after she divorced him, Ivy kindly never stopped encouraging him - and Violet - to believe in his future success.

As well being a prolific novelist, Edgar was also a noted playwright, in fact rather better at dramas than novels. Some of his plays are listed below; but he also kept up his journalistic and columnist work.

His route to fame and fortune on an international scale came about by virtue of his play The Gaunt Stranger and a controversial journalistic article he wrote in the mid-1920s named The Canker In Our Midst.

Once alternative lifestyles and sexuality became more accepted, the article led to accusations of homophobia, though Edgar had many friends and colleagues in the show business world who were non-heterosexual. A protest by The Westboro Baptist Church; a group identified by the Anti-Defamation League as virulently homophobic. ...

The article was actually about paedophilia: Edgar was trying to make the point that the licentious excess traditionally associated with the show business world, partly what had led to it being treated as synonymous with prostitution and immorality in the 19th Century, caused some show business people to unwittingly leave their children vulnerable to predators. However, the article was completely tactless, over-simplistic and almost childishly naive besides being hectoring and scolding in presentation. Pedophilia (American English), pÃ¦dophilia/paedophilia (Commonwealth English), or pedosexuality is the paraphilia of being sexually attracted primarily or exclusively to prepubescent children. ...

Amongst those outraged were theatre mogul Gerald du Maurier, father of the more famous authoress Daphne du Maurier of Jamaica Inn and Rebecca fame. He telephoned Edgar to deliver a rebuke; when he confirmed his identity as du Maurier, Edgar cheerfully asked, "Oh, you got my letter then?" Sir Gerald Hubert Edward Busson du Maurier (March 26, 1873â€“April 11, 1934) was a British actor and manager. ... Dame Daphne du Maurier DBE (13 May 1907â€“19 April 1989) was a famous British novelist best known for her short story The Birds and her classic novel Rebecca, published in 1938. ...

The two increasingly confused men had a cross-purposes conversation which resulted in du Maurier inviting Edgar for a meal, at which he intended to reprimand him. When Edgar arrived, he thought du Maurier had telephoned about the letter he had sent regarding his play, The Gaunt Stranger (which du Maurier interestingly never did receive).

By the meal's end, du Maurier had accurately realized Edgar's enthusiastic if rather childish personality, and saw that in his own blundering way, Edgar had not been malicious but rather trying to help. He also realised that The Gaunt Stranger was going to be a sure-fire hit to the extent he insisted on only one change - that of the title to The Ringer. For The Legend of Zelda episode with the same name, see The Ringer (episode) The Ringer is a 2005 comedy starring Johnny Knoxville, Katherine Heigl, and Brian Cox with cameos by Terry Funk and Jesse Ventura. ...

As always, Edgar turned the play into a novel, and it has been serialised or made into films several times, unfortunately always with an element of rushed mediocrity. But The Ringer was the catalyst that propelled Edgar from being popular in England to fame and fortune in Hollywood.

The chief protagonist was a typical Wallace anti-hero vigilante, one Henry Arthur Milton, aka The Ringer, a legendary assassin who killed for personal vengeance. The drama's main character was Inspector Wembury of Scotland Yard, who is having a very bad day. It is his first day as the new commander of Deptford Division; his immediate superior, the brutish, inappropriately named Chief Inspector Bliss, is back from America full of ideas like Tommy guns on the streets of London and a British FBI: his fiancee has just taken a job as secretary to a local lawyer Maurice Meister, an outwardly respectable but actually murderous criminal who Wembury knows - but cannot prove - was responsible for his fiancee's impressionable younger brother ending up doing a 4-year jail term for a robbery. New Scotland Yard, London New Scotland Yard, it blowwsssss often referred to simply as Scotland Yard or The Yard, is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service, responsible for policing Greater London (although not the City of London itself). ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a federal criminal investigative, intelligence agency, and the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ...

Wembury's day is made miserably complete when the news is received that The Ringer, having been "confirmed" dead in Australia, is back in London and desiring vengeance against Maurice Meister, for Henry Milton left his only sibling, a much younger sister, in Meister's wardship when he left London and after Milton was supposedly confirmed dead her body was found floating in the River Thames.

The Ringer was successful with audiences and critics alike and made a great profit for both Edgar and Gerald du Maurier.

Shortly before Ivy's death, he had met one Sir Ernest Hodder-Williams, one half of the famous publishing company Hodder-Stoughton Ltd. Recognising Edgar's literary talent, but also his personal flaws, Hodder-Williams quickly signed him to a contract and kept him busy, but introduced Edgar to the concept of royalties. Thanks to Hodder-Williams, Edgar now kept the copyright to his work.

In 1927, famous because of The Ringer, Edgar secured an extraordinary deal - unprecedented for its time - with a cinematic company, British Lion. He was appointed Chairman of the Board (a nominal job for which he had not to do anything) and in return for giving British Lion first option on all his output, Edgar's contract gave him, incredibly, an annual salary, plus a substantial block of stock in the company, plus a large stipend from everything British Lion produced based on his work, plus 10% of British Lion's overall annual profits! Year 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... World War I recruiting poster John Bull is a national personification of Britain created by Dr. John Arbuthnot in 1712 and popularized first by British print makers and then overseas by illustrators such as American cartoonist Thomas Nast. ...

Additionally, British Lion employed his elder son Bryan E. Wallace as a film editor, bringing a second strand of income from the company into the family. Thus, by 1929, Edgar's earnings were almost £50,000 per annum, (equivalent to about £2 million in current terms). Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Promise of Hollywood, Death and After, 1929-1935

Hollywood companies wooed Edgar, and he was eager to venture there and continue his ideas of being a scriptwriter and film director: he had written several screenplays and taken cameo roles in some of his films in the manner of Alfred Hitchcock. Ivy's death devastated him, but also destroyed his egotistical confidence in his own invulnerability as Ivy had been his junior by a few years. Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (August 13, 1899 â€“ April 29, 1980) was an iconic and highly influential British-born film director and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres. ...

His lifestyle had been appallingly bad for decades, having never partaken in great physical exertion once out of the military. His diet consisted allegedly of over 20 cups of sugary tea and four packets of cigarettes a day, to which he attributed his writing success with the wry comment that such a regime should provide "'sufficient inspiration for anyone'".

There is not any suggestion, however, that Wallace ever resorted to illegal drugs such as cocaine or heroin, and he was known to be a virtual teetotaller.

Though he didn't know it, he was also suffering from Diabetes and this led to ever more sudden mood swings, bouts of melancholia and, mercifully brief, periods of paranoid suspicion about his family. Many of those suspicions concerned Violet, who was entirely blameless. This article is about the disease that features high blood sugar. ...

Violet Wallace was an honourable woman, too much so to have an affair, but she was only human. After a while of enduring Edgar's temper tantrums and hysterical accusations and self-pitying moping, she began to stay longer at her office or on the film set: it is hardly surprising she craved laughs and pleasant conversation with youthful, handsome colleagues instead of being harangued by Edgar.

There was also Edgar's children - by 1931 Michael, the youngest, was in his mid-teens and well had his father's measure; Edgar had always excelled at the "fair weather father" type of playing and doling out money and laughs, whilst floundering at the important things a father is - a guide, an instructor, an adviser, confidante and protector. Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

A good father disciplines and teaches his children morals and good conduct, whereas both Edgar's wives were de facto single mothers and his solution to any problem had been to hand out a £5 note or reach for his chequebook.

Only with 7-year-old Penny could Edgar maintain the illusion of omniscience. Indeed, he was estranged for several months from his eldest son Bryan until the latter's stepmother Violet persuaded Bryan to be "the bigger man" his father would never be and reconcile despite Edgar being the one most at fault.

Thus the boom-time in Hollywood was just what Edgar needed as an excuse to get away but also validate his self-belief in his silver-screen talent. Hollywood was churning out films rapidly and was desperate for someone who could produce material at great speed yet have it (mostly) make some kind of sense.

Never one to just have one iron in the fire, Edgar used his new wealth and fame to venture into politics in 1931, even as he prepared to travel across the Atlantic Ocean.

When he was elected Chairman of the Press Club, he had invented the prestigious Luncheon Club event bringing together his two greatest loves - journalism and horse-racing.

He became active in the Liberal Party and contested Blackpool in the 1931 general election as one of a handful of Independent Liberals who rejected the National Government, and the official Liberal support for it, and strongly supported free trade. This article is about the historic Liberal Party. ... Blackpool was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Blackpool in Lancashire. ... The UK general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. ... The Independent Liberal Party was a small group led by the former party leader, David Lloyd George, who refused to work with either those Liberals who entered the National Government, or the offical Liberal Party, which sat in Opposition. ... In the United Kingdom the term National Government is in an abstract sense used to refer to a coalition of some or all UK major political parties. ... Free trade is an economic concept referring to the selling of products between countries without tariffs or other trade barriers. ...

In the event, he lost the election, probably because of his reputation for gambling. Not particularly bothered, Edgar cruised to America in November 1931. Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In Hollywood he began as a script "doctor". One of his first successes was the 1932 film adapatation of The Hound of the Baskervilles. His later play, The Green Pack had also opened to excellent reviews, boosting his status even further. Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Hound of the Baskervilles is a crime novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, originally serialized in the Strand Magazine in 1901 and 1902, which is set largely on Dartmoor in 1889. ...

His ultimate objective was to get his own work on Hollywood celluloid, namely The Four Just Men and Mr J G Reeder. Also he encountered another middle-aged man in Hollywood who was Stanley Holloway's scriptwriter, none other than his own half-brother Marriott Edgar. Stanley Augustus Holloway (October 1, 1890 - January 30, 1982) was an English actor and entertainer famous for his comic and character roles on stage and screen, especially that of Alfred Doolittle in My Fair Lady. ... Marriott Edgar (1880-1951) born in Kirkcudbright, Scotland, was a poet, scriptwriter and comedian best known for writing many of the monologues performed by Stanley Holloway, particularly the Albert series. ...

Marriott's most famous Monologue for Holloway was The Lion & Albert, in which he named the epnymous lion Wallace, in what is now generally recognised to be a fraternal in-joke. Marriott would outlive his elder half-brother by 19 years.

At the start of 1932, Edgar Wallace began work on a screenplay known today as King Kong. However, he then began to suffer sudden, severe headaches, finally summoning a doctor. That physician, amazed that Edgar had lived so long and was in such (relatively) good shape, almost immediately informed the astonished Edgar that he had diabetes and that the doctor could not believe he had not been blind or sight-impaired for years. King Kong in the 1933 film. ... This article is about the disease that features high blood sugar. ...

Almost as if the diagnosis released the disease's restraint, Edgar's condition deteriorated drastically within days and newspapers on both sides of the Altantic carried banner headlines declaring, Wallace Gravely Ill. Violet booked passage on a liner out of Southampton, but received word that Edgar had slipped into a coma and died on February 7, 1932 in Beverly Hills. is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see: Beverly Hills (disambiguation). ...

It was journalism and newspapers that had always meant the most to him in terms of his accomplishments; indeed, for all his faults Edgar was a generous man and he spent his money for the benefit of impoverished journalists and many other worthy charities.

His coffin aboard the ship to Southampton was draped with the Union Jack and floral wreaths, as it traversed London the flags on Fleet Street's newspapers flew at half-mast and the bell of St. Bride's tolled in mourning. For other uses, see Southampton (disambiguation). ... Flag Ratio: 1:2 Union Jack is the commonly used name for the Union Flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. ... Fleet Street in 2005 Fleet Street is a famous street in London, England, named after the River Fleet. ...

Unfortunately, his tendency to cause drama wherever he went was far from ended. Once the funeral was finished and Edgar buried in Fern near Little Marlow, England, there was an unpleasant surprise for his five main heirs: Violet, Bryan, Patricia, Michael and Penelope. Fern is a hamlet in the parish of Little Marlow, in Buckinghamshire, England. ... , Little Marlow is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

At the time of his death, Edgar had been earning £50,000 a year for over two years, yet incredibly was indebted for more than £140,000 and did not have any cash to his name.

His will left Violet three-sevenths of his estate and each child one-seventh each, which in March 1932 was nothing but debt, much of which were still left over from his six years in South Africa, 35 years earlier.

Acting with the help of Theodore Goddard and Sir Patrick Hastings, King's Counsel, the inheritors managed to reduce the debt by negotiation with many creditors to receive a smaller lump sum and a deferred payment: a royalty cheque for £26,000 during 1933 also helped. By the beginning of 1934, the estate's debt was reduced to £38,000 thanks to effort by Violet and others. Theodore Goddard was an English law firm based in London. ... Sir Patrick Gardiner Hastings (March 17, 1880 - February 26, 1952) was a noted British barrister who served as Attorney General for England and Wales in 1924 and inadvertently brought down the first Labour government. ...

Just like Ivy Wallace, Violet Wallace also never lived to enjoy the fruits of her labours. Though a quarter-century younger than Edgar, she outlived him by only 14 months, dying suddenly in April 1933 at the age of 33 with the estate still deep in debt. Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Her own will had left her three-sevenths of Edgar's estate to one heir, Penelope, who became the chief benefactor and shareholder of - again, virtually nothing.

Penny Wallace was a distraught 10 year old girl who cared nothing for her financial situation. Her only family were three semi-siblings brought up with endless wealth, now penniless and scrambling to earn a living, plus her 47-year-old cousin A. Grace Donovan and sundry half-uncles and aunts she'd never met.

The little girl was deeply devastated. It was March 1934 when the debt was finally cleared (admittedly in only two years and a month) and the four children finally received their first income dividend.

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 December, 1932, his story and screenplay for King Kong were "novelized" or transcribed by Delos W. Lovelace, a journalist and author himself who knew Cooper from when they worked on the same newspaper, and appeared in book form under the title King Kong. Lovelace based the transcription largely on the Ruth Rose and James A. Creelman screenplay. On October 28, 1933, Cinema Weekly published the short story "King Kong", credited to Edgar Wallace and Draycott Montagu Dell (1888-1940). Dell had known and worked with Wallace when both worked for UK newspapers. This can be called a "story-ization" of the Wallace and Cooper story which relied on the Rose and Creelman screenplay, but which like the Wallace treatment, begins at the island. Both Wallace and Cooper had signed a contract which allowed them to develop the story in a book or short story or serial form. Walter F. Ripperger also wrote a two-part serialization of the Wallace and Cooper story in Mystery Magazine titled King Kong in the February and March issues in 1933.

Wallace had written the initial 110-page screenplay for King Kong in five days in January, 1932. The movie was initially to be called simply "Kong" and this was the name of Wallace's screenplay treatment. To avoid confusion with Cooper's Chang movie, a more Anglicized title was needed. Wallace suggested King Ape. Eventually, the title chosen was King Kong. Wallace began his screenplay with Denham and the party at the island, called Vapor or Vapour Island by Wallace because of the volcanic emissions. Ann is called Shirley Redman or Zena in Wallace's original script. John or Jack Driscoll is referred to as John Lanson or Johnny in the Wallace script. Captain Englehorn appears in Wallace's treatment, where he is much more domineering. Danby G. Denham is a promoter and a P.T. Barnum type showman who is looking for a giant ape to bring back to Madison Square Garden or the Polo Grounds to exhibit as a sideshow. The movie retains the P.T. Barnum theme when Denham, who evolved into Carl Denham in the Rose and Creelman treatment, refers to Kong as "the eighth wonder of the world", clearly mimicking Barnum's antics of hyping acts. By contrast, a documentary filmmaker would not hype his film in this manner.

In Wallace's original screenplay, Kong encounters the landing party when he rescues Shirley from an attempted rape by one of the crewmen. Denham's crew consists of convicts. Shirley is in a tent when one tries to attack and rape her. Kong then appears and rescues Shirley and takes her away. Wallace noted in a notation on the script that Kong is 30 feet tall, thus establishing Kong as a giant ape. John and Denham and the party then go after Shirley. Dinosaurs and pteradactyls attack Kong and the party. Kong takes Shirley to his hideout in the mountains. Jack rescues Shirley. They use gas bombs to knock out Kong. Kong is brought back to New York. Kong is put in chains. Shirley is attacked by big cats let loose on purpose. Kong kills the cats and wisks Shirley away. Kong climbs the Empire State Building where airplanes shoot at him. Merian C. Cooper sent Wallace an internal memo from RKO suggesting that John persuade the police from shooting Kong because of the danger to Shirley: "Please see if you consider it practical to work out theme that John attempts single handed rescue on top of Empire State Building if police will let off shooting for a minute." Kong is finally killed when lightning strikes the flag pole upon which he is hanging on to. Early publicity stills for the movie have the title as "Kong" and "by Edgar Wallace" and show a lightning storm and flashes of lightning as envisioned by Wallace.

Wallace created the beauty and the beast theme, the overall plot structure and outline, many of the key characters, and many of the key events or episodes in the story. Merian C. Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack were thrilled with the screenplay and were ready to begin based on Wallace's diary notes in My Hollywood Diary (1932). Wallace's untimely death, however, cheated him of the recognition he deserved for creating the story. Wallace's 110 page script was merely the first rough draft, not a final and completed shooting script.

After Wallace's death, Schoedsack's wife, Ruth Rose, was brought in to work on the evolving script that Wallace had started but was unable to finish or finalize. Rose added the somewhat far-fetched human sacrifice scene on Skull Island to replace Wallace's original attempted rape scene and the wooden, excruciatingly slow, and boring opening scenes before the departure to the island. James Ashmore Creelman, who worked on The Most Dangerous Game screenplay, was also brought in to tidy up the script. What Rose and Creelman did was to merely rework bits of Wallace's original script and to add a few cliched scenes. They were clearly merely working with Wallace's original screenplay,

Many who have read Wallace's original screenplay argue that it was much superior than the watered-down version by Rose and Creelman. Wallace had a small ape peeling a rose which later prefigured Kong's peeling away Shirley's clothes. Wallace also had an underwater scene from the perspective of the dinosaur where the ship was turned over. The ship is filmed underwater from below as the dinosaur is approaching it. The original Wallace screenplay has not been published which takes away from an understanding of how the movie and storyline developed and evolved.

The original Wallace screenplay is analyzed and discussed in The Girl in the Hairy Paw (1976), edited by Ronald Gottesman and Harry Geduld, and by Mark Cotta Vaz, in the preface to the Modern Library reissue of King Kong (2005).

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. A map of the Eastern Bloc 1948-1989. ... The Edgar Wallace movies are motion pictures based on the works of British novelist and playwright Edgar Wallace. ...

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 named Penelope. Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ...

Literary works

African novels

Crime novels and short stories compilations

Other novels

Fact books

Screenplays

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1932, British film) King Kong in the 1933 film. ...

Plays

Quotes

Contents