EDGAR WALLACE
English author (1875-1932)
Biography:
Edgar Wallace, journalist, novelist and playwright, was born in Greenwich in 1875. He left school at a very young age and took menial jobs before enrolling in the Army. In 1896 he was sent to Africa, were he wrote his first war poems, later collected in The Mission that failed (1898). He also began contributing in various newspapers like Daily Mail or Standard.
In 1905, his first novel titled The Four Just Men appeared, and with Sanders of the River (1911) his reputation as a writer was stablished. The Green Archer (1923), dealing with supernatural forces in a ghost-haunted castle, is one of his most famous novels and it has been filmed at leats three times. The Terror (1930) still ranks high as a thriller.
He wrote several plays, like The Calendar (1929) or On the Spot and The Case of the Frightened Lady (1931). In all, he was the author of more than 150 detective and adventure novels.
He died in 1932, while working on the scenarios for King Kong, film released in 1933.
Edgar Wallace, author of illustrated works:
King Kong, illustrated by Anthony Browne, Kaleidoscope, 1994.
Les quatre justiciers, illustrated by Véronique Ageorges, Deux Coqs d'Or, 1995.
Le cercle rouge, illustrated by Marie-José Banroques, Deux Coqs d'Or, 1996.
Le mystère du train d'or, Deux Coqs d'Or, 1997.
Edgar Wallace on the Internet:
Edgar Wallace's Biography