Sexton Blake Bibliography: 1905

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: Blake receives a plea for help from Richard Massarene, whose wife, Madge, the detective had known when she was a child. Blake hurries to the man's address but on his arrival an intruder knocks him down and flees. Massarene has been struck and has a serious head injury that has robbed him of his memory. Blake finds that the assailant has dropped a large jewel. Madge tells him that her husband had been in Peru and had voyaged home on the cargo-steamer Patagonia, which had been wrecked. Blake's first clue leads to John Stangland, former British vice-consul in Peru, who now resides in London. When Blake tries to locate him, he learns that a Spaniard is also looking for the man. The investigator takes the jewel he found to an expert who identifies it as a red tourmaline, very rare and valuable. He learns that the Incas supposedly mined such gems. Furthermore, an Incan urn decorated with tourmalines is currently up for auction. Blake attends this event in disguise, unaware that he has accidentally made himself up to resemble Stangland. Upon seeing the urn, Blake notes that the tourmaline in his possession has come from it, and deduces that it was Stangland who assaulted Massarene and who also put the urn up for sale. After the urn is purchased, Blake is mistaken for Stangland, attacked by the Spaniard, and thrown into the path of a taxi. He's knocked senseless and doesn't regain consciousness until two days later. While recovering, he hears that the wreck of the Patagonia has been sold and surmises that the urn was sold by Stangland to fund the purchase. He gains the seller's address but when he goes to see him, he arrives just in time to save Stangland from an attack by the Spaniard, who dives into the Thames to escape and appears to drown. Stangland recognises Blake and attempts to kill him. Fortunately, Tinker arrives in time save his guv'nor. The former vice-consul sets sail for the wreck of the Patagonia and the detective follows. A series of misfortunes sees him captured and marooned on a tiny reef while Stangland recovers a chest from the sunken ship. Once again, Tinker comes to the rescue. After voyaging back to England, Blake interviews Massarene, whose memory has returned. He tells the detective that Stangland had explored in the jungles of Peru and had returned without his native guide but with the chest, which he asked Massarene to take back to England on the Patagonia. The young man, though, had become suspicious and, after surviving the wreck, had confronted Stangland and been assaulted. Blake leads a the police to the house where the crook is opening the chest but, before they can raid it, Stangland is again attacked by the Spaniard, who evidently survived his apparent drowning. The police intervene and Stangland is arrested. The Spaniard confesses that he is the brother of the guide that the vice consul murdered. The chest is opened and is found to be filled with stolen Peruvian treasure.

Trivia: My copy is lacking a cover.

It is stated unequivocally (and twice) that Tinker is Sexton Blake’s adopted son.

Blake's Baker Street landlady is named Mrs Gaffney.

Blake's chainmail undershirt is once again employed.

In one scene, Tinker is reading THE MARVEL.

Blake's doctor is named Merton.

Blake receives £10,000 reward for his role in this affair. He pays a tenth of it to Tinker.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ The plot relies on too many incredible coincidences and Blake suffers a ridiculous amount of damage. He is knocked out multiple times, hit by a taxi, set adrift at sea, and more ... but somehow keeps coming back for more. A trace of the arrogance that characterises him in the earliest stories is apparent in this one. Also, his relationship with Tinker feels like it's not yet fully developed; Blake seems to prefer to work independently.

Notes: Sexton Blake is around 18-years-old and working as a clerk in the Lincoln Inn Fields office of a lawyer named Etheridge Dowson. One night, he discovers a woman in a black mask breaking into the office safe. She knocks him unconscious. A week later he regains consciousness in hospital and is told by Dowson's daughter, Lais, who he is in love with, that the lawyer has gone missing. Blake suspects that one of Dowson's clients, Baron de Leonant, is involved in the crime. Leaving the hospital, and assisted by a fellow clerk named Will Bastable, he returns to the office to begin his investigation. He discovers that his employer has been kidnapped, that a document belonging to the Baron has been removed, and that the perpetrators of the crime have taken the train to Plymouth. He and Will set off for that town and follow clues which lead them to a theatre where an illusionist called Professor Silas performs a clairvoyant act with a ventriloquist dummy; a beautiful model of a young woman decorated in sculpted glass. But the two amateur detectives discover that the model is, in fact, a real woman ... the woman in the black mask! The show ends with Silas declaring that he is to give a private performance to Earl Essen, the notorious Admiral of the Fleet at Plymouth. Blake and Will go to Essen's mansion where they find a costume ball in progress. The Baron is there and they overhear him making arrangements for a secret meeting with the Earl and his daughter, Paula. Blake accosts the woman in the black mask who turns out to be Paula's cousin. She tries to trap him in a secret room but he escapes and spies on the meeting in a cavern beneath the mansion. He learns that his employer had intended to reveal to the police a document placed in his trust by the Baron on behalf of the Essen family. It is a confession by the Earl who, once a month, becomes criminally insane. The family, which includes Silas, are trying to hide the fact that this famous man is, in fact, a serial killer. After a thrilling chase, Blake and Will round up the criminals and set free Dowson. As a reward, the latter establishes Blake in business as a private investigator — Blake & Co. — in offices in St. Martin's Lane, near Trafalgar Square. Will Bastable becomes Blake's very first assistant.

Trivia: Young Blake is 'shy in nature, and given more to books than to athletics'. He lives in lodgings on Doughty Street and has a formidable landlady. Sherlock Holmes gets a mention in this story, though it isn't clear whether he's regarded as a real or fictional character. Blake makes reference to a relative, Aunt Fannie, who has recently left him a legacy. However, by far the most interesting piece of information we get from this story comes at the end: Blake quotes his "great master, the Prince of Detectives" ... there follows a statement made by Monsieur Lecoq in the story LE DOSSIER NO.113, written by Émile Gaboriau in 1867. This raises the question, was Blake inspired by the writings of Gaboriau or did he actually meet Lecoq?

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Blake's deductive methods are described in great detail during this tale and he can certainly rival Sherlock Holmes. As an 'origins' tale, this works quite well; it's just a shame it doesn't tell us anything about Blake's family background.

Author debut: Nothing is known about this author. He contributed thirty-nine stories to the Sexton Blake saga, the last being just before the First World War, which suggests that he may have lost his life during the conflict.

Notes: A bank cashier, Arthur Keats, is arrested for stealing money. His sweetheart, Ethel Danbury, asks Sexton Blake to investigate. Blake interviews her guardian, a solicitor named Mitcham Putley, who expresses misgivings concerning Keats's character but Blake, in turn, has doubts about Putley. Keats escapes from custody. Blake sets Tinker to shadow Putley. When Keats is recaptured, Blake visits him in prison. The young man protests his innocence but stubbornly refuses to answer any questions. When Tinker reports that he saw Blake watching Putley's house and Miss Danbury claims to have seen the detective to arrange a rendezvous, it becomes clear that a talented impersonator is at work. Blake races to the agreed meeting place but the imposter makes a rapid getaway in a car. Blake traces the vehicle to a garage and learns that it is the property of Lord Blaxdale. The next day, after decoying Putley to Birmingham, he disguises himself as the solicitor and masquerades as him for the duration of a dinner party. From his guests, he manages to extract the name of his impersonator: Oakley, a disreputable actor. Afterwards, he learns that Ethel Danbury has gone off with Keats, who has apparently escaped from prison for a second time. Blake, though, finds the man still in his cell and, astonishingly, perfectly happy that his sweetheart has absconded with an imposter. Realising that Oakley has been at work again, Blake approaches one of the actor's acquaintances — a sailor named Scammell, who holds the detective in high regard — and asks him to track down the unpredictable thespian. This leads to a sequence of mistaken identities and a seeming proliferation of Keatses. It also results in the rescue of Ethel Danbury. Blake once more interviews the imprisoned Keats who confesses that he is actually Stephen Keats, Arthur's twin brother, who has posed as his sibling to give Arthur time to escape. Blake reveals that Arthur doesn't need to escape as he didn't steal the money. Stephen is released but is almost immediately re-arrested. Scammell delivers Arthur to Blake and Arthur reveals that he thought Stephen guilty of the robbery. Blake explains that Stephen concluded that Arthur was the culprit. They have tried to protect each other when, all along, Oakley was the crook. A trap is set and Oakley falls into it. Blake takes him to the police and exchanges him for Stephen Keats. Oakley confesses that Putley hired him to rob the bank and have Keats accused. Blake arranges for Putley to be confronted and, when he is, the criminal dies of shock and remorse.

Trivia: Blake says that Tinker has known him "for years." An intriguing statement in view of the fact that Tinker was introduced just five issues ago.

It is not stated where Blake's "office" is but the place is described in terms that make the interior sound similar to the later Baker Street location. The detective owns a "beautiful organ" and is a very accomplished musician.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Sir Roderick Loftus visits Blake and tells how, twenty-one years ago, under an assumed name, he was secretly married but abandoned his wife and never saw the daughter he fathered. He now wants the detective to trace her. Blake accepts the commission but first voyages to Java to apprehend a criminal named Garston. Six months later, he returns with his prisoner and is travelling on a train when a member of the gang to which Garston belongs shoots the crook dead. Seconds later, the train crashes and the assassin is killed. Taking the dead man's disguise, Blake uses it to infiltrate the gang. He is taken blindfolded to a secret location where he meets with a group of masked men led by a well-mannered gentleman: the League of the Crimson Circle. When Blake's identity is exposed, the leader, for his own purposes, allows him to go free. Blake returns to Baker Street and learns from Tinker that, during his absence, a great many large burglaries occurred. He deduces that the League is responsible and that its leader must move in aristocratic circles. When he questions one of the victims, his suspicions fall upon a mining expert named Mervyn Lorrimer. He visits Lorrimer's office and interrupts the man making advances on his typist, Violet Maxwell. Lorrimer attacks Blake, revealing himself to be the head of the League. His assault is interrupted by the arrival of Maxwell's fiancé, Sidney Trent. The villain makes a successful getaway in a brougham, forcing Miss Maxwell to go with him. Two uneventful days pass, then the detective learns that the brougham was the property of a Mr Silas Chadwick. He visits Lord Berkeley Carfax (from THE MYSTERY OF THE HILTON ROYAL, UNION JACK issue 62, 1904), who tells him that Chadwick has made himself well-liked in Society and, as a matter of fact, is throwing a party that very night. In disguise, Blake attends the soirée and recognises one of the servants as Jerry Cadge, a notorious crook. Holding him at gunpoint, Blake has him lead the way to a room in which Miss Maxwell lies drugged. Before he can free her, Chadwick appears, pounces on him, and knocks him unconscious. He recovers hours after the party has ended to find the house abandoned and ablaze. Climbing out of the window, he is rescued by Lais Dowson (from SEXTON BLAKE'S FIRST CASE (UNION JACK issue 69), who happened to be visiting the house next door when she heard his cries for help. Blake gets on Chadwick’s trail, taking Sidney Trent with him. In his desperation to elude them, the crook is hit by a train and killed. The detective recovers notepaper from the dead man that bears the imprint of a letter written in cipher. It takes him six days to crack the code but his success results in information that leads him, Tinker and Trent to an isolated mansion where Cadge is guarding a feverish Miss Maxwell. They capture the criminal. A bracelet on the girl’s wrist reveals her true identity. She is the lost daughter of Sir Roderick Loftus. When Cadge hears Blake make this declaration, he claims that Sir Roderick and Mervyn Lorrimer are one and the same. Cadge informs on the rest of the gang, which allows Blake and the police to round up its members. When Sir Roderick is told that the girl he has so mistreated is his own daughter, he recoils in shock and falls to his death.

Trivia: Blake's Baker Street landlady is again Mrs Gaffney.

SEXTON BLAKE'S FIRST CASE is described as having occurred ten years before this one.

Tinker is, according to Blake, “sort of an adopted son of mine.”

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: "Help! Help!" Hearing this appeal, Cambridge student James Vane rushes to the rescue of a man who's been bound and thrown into a river. It turns out to be Sexton Blake. He'd been tracking a group of forgers known as The Southern Coining Gang but they'd got the better of him ... and do so again, nearly drowning Blake and Vane in an old water mill. Making their escape, the two men join forces, along with Vane's brother Richard, to tackle the villains. After much detective work and more than a few lucky coincidences, the bad guys are caught and James goes on to lead the Cambridge boat team to victory over Oxford.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ No sign of Tinker in this adventure; instead we get the plucky Jim Vane who, as Blake is quick to note, possesses plenty of "true grit." With the Oxford and Cambridge boat race as its backdrop, this tale inevitably strays into 'school yarn' territory, with a villainous pupil receiving multiple thrashings courtesy of the honourable Jim. This gives proceedings a nice upbeat atmosphere which makes up for the lack of any real action. It's much more of a straightforward investigation than most and could have been rather dull in the hands of another author. As it is the whole thing is a pleasant, if slightly over-long read, and one filled with so many utterances of "By Jove!" and "I say!" that it could almost be called 'Wodehouse-ian'.

Notes: A shot is fired in room 77 at the Royal Western Hotel but when the staff break in they find that, though the door and windows were locked from the inside, there is no one within. Sexton Blake happens to be dining at the hotel and, when he starts to investigate, is told that the room had been occupied by a young millionaire named Franklin Weatherby. He suspects that one of the other hotel guests, Vincent Carstairs, is somehow involved. That evening, the detective is approached by a clairvoyant—Madame Ernestine—who offers to reveal Weatherby’s whereabouts in return for Blake retrieving from him a small box, which he will then hand over to her. Blake refuses the deal and, having noted a dwarf watching them, shadows the man to a dilapidated shop. The dwarf, he discovers, is named Nasmyth Oliver, and upon seeing him go through a trapdoor in the basement, Blake follows. He trails him through a long tunnel to a chemical laboratory beneath the Tower of London and eavesdrops as Oliver converses with a mad scientist named Julian Hawke. They spot him and render him insensible with a drug. Carstairs arrives and helps Nasmyth to throw the detective into a pit which, when the tide turns, will be flooded with water. Some days later, a fortune-teller, Lucretia de Valois, hosts a party. Carstairs and a Captain Cordova are among the guests. Cordova is, in fact, a heavily disguised Sexton Blake. Having managed to escape the pit, he has been shadowing Carstairs ever since. Now, he recruits a 16-year-old street arab named Jimmy Sykes to continue the task. He then reveals to de Valois that he knows that she’d previously worn the guise of Madame Ernestine. She confesses that Weatherby is being tortured until he reveals where he’s hidden a box containing the plan to a Mexican goldmine. Jimmy leads the detective to a house where they find Weatherspoon in manacles. Before they can liberate him, Oliver and another thug arrive, overpower them, and make off with Weatherby and Jimmy. Blake surmises that they've been taken to the labyrinth beneath the Tower. He enters the passages and locates the boy but becomes trapped in a room, the door of which has seven handles. From the other side of it, Oliver informs him that four of the handles are electrified and will kill him instantly upon being touched. Fortunately, Blake has (by unbelievable chance) a cork-lined glove in his pocket. He escapes and encounters Julian Hawke, who tells him that Weatherby has been moved to Oliver’s shop. Blake rescues the prisoner. Disguised as an Australian millionaire, he then takes up residence in Room 77 and attracts the attention of the crooks. Carstairs enters during the night, revealing the room’s hidden secret. Blake captures him. Hawke commits suicide by blowing the tunnels up, taking Oliver with him. That evening, Blake receives a visit from de Valois, who confesses to being the unhappy wife of Carstairs. The detective learns that her husband has killed himself with poison but he realises that this is a ruse; the poison is one of Hawke’s inventions, a potion to simulate death for some hours. He allows the woman to flee to the continent. Carstairs, meanwhile, recovers, is tried, and goes to the scaffold.

Trivia: Discussing Blake’s appearance in numerous papers, the author states that “… artists had to trust entirely to their memories, for Sexton Blake had always consistently refused to have his photograph taken, and imagination had come to the aid of the artists’ memories in nearly every case, with some very curious results.”

Jimmy Sykes is “permanently attached to Blake’s establishment” until the end of this case, after which Blake sends him to a good school. Blake “had another boy assistant but he was at present away” … a reference, no doubt, to Tinker.

The bowl of Blake’s old briar pipe is carved into the shape of a grotesque old head. He is prone to addressing it when ruminating on a case.

This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 13 as THE MYSTERY OF ROOM NO. 77 (1913).

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ This is a style of tale that, by this point, feels very outdated when compared to, for example, the more sophisticated yarns of William Murray Graydon or Norman Goddard.

Author debut: Nothing is known of Ernest A. Treeton. He wrote five Sexton Blake stories.

Notes: Blake investigates the mystery of the Marie Celeste. Not the Marie Celeste — that mystery dates back to 1872 (and, incidentally, it passed almost without notice until being used as the basis of a fictional story by Arthur Conan Doyle published under the title "J. Habakuk Jepson's Statement" in 1884). In Blake's case, the Marie Celeste is a yacht that turns up in the Mediterranean fully rigged but completely crewless. Called upon to investigate, Blake discovers a connection with a group of men who are about to set sail for the South Sea Isles. Tinker gets a job as 'Boy' aboard their ship, while the detective, heavily disguised, signs on as a deck hand. During the long voyage, Blake comes under suspicion and barricades himself inside a cabin. Besieged, he appears to have no way of escape, and holds fast until a massive storm nearly tears the ship apart. Forced into the open, he is captured and, after the storm abates, marooned on a small, barren atoll. Here, under a burning sun, he nearly dies of thirst and exposure before being rescued by a steam ship. After a characteristically quick recovery, he goes on to capture the gang and solve the mystery of the Marie Celeste.

Rating: ★★★★★ A superbly written and consistently thrilling adventure, this has a great deal to recommend it. Most notable of all, is the relationship between Blake and Tinker. The latter, 100% a cockney urchin, is wily, enthusiastic, intelligent and immensely likeable ... but he still feels like a new feature in Blake's life. There's a sense that the detective is constantly surprised by the lad's sharpness of wits and a real sense that the two companions are developing an intuitive and highly effective relationship. In fact, there's a foreshadowing of the Modesty Blaise/Willy Garvin team here, with secret hand signals and an understanding that borders on telepathy. Add to that a truly exciting adventure that mixes solid detective work with dramatic action, all tightly plotted and described with much style, and you have a winner.

Notes: A Russian named Novoski asks Sexton Blake to investigate the murder of one of his countrymen; a man who, the detective perceives, had been disguised to resemble the tsar of Russia. Novoski informs Blake that the murderer also resembles the monarch. Blake realises that Novoski—an Anarchist—committed the crime and intends for him to find the real tsar—who has fled Russia to England—so that Novoski might assassinate him. The detective sends the villain a letter stating that he has located the man, who will be at a certain address at a certain time. He then disguises himself as the tsar and, when Novoski arrives, handcuffs him. The assassin confesses that he belongs to a gang that is meeting tonight, then commits suicide by means of a small bomb. Blake survives the blast, disguises himself as the dead man, and attends the meeting. He informs the Anarchists that the tsar is dead. When he returns to Baker Street, the tsar’s envoy is waiting, and escorts him to the monarch. The tsar asks Blake to take him back to Russia. The detective agrees, and the next morning they set off. When they reach Paris, Tinker, who has followed, warns that men are on their trail. Blake again disguises himself as the tsar, puts himself in harm's way, is captured, but is then rescued by Tinker. In the meantime, left unguarded, the tsar is abducted. After a thrilling chase, Blake rescues him, but then receives notice from Russia that the tsar has arrived there safely. Realising that an impostor is in place, he proceeds alone, leaving the real tsar in a safety with Tinker. In St. Petersburg, the detective asserts that the impostor is Count Lamovitch, and that the villain intends to steal the Crown Jewels. To prevent this, the detective steals them himself, then approaches Lamovitch and informs him that he will investigate the theft. When he assures the count that he knows where the jewels are, Lamovitch tries to force the information from him by having him imprisoned. Blake refuses to give the information until a night when the false tsar holds a reception. At that event, he is brought forth and, when Tinker and the real tsar arrive, he exposes Lamovitch. The villain, however, makes a successful bid for freedom and evades pursuit only to fall into the hands of Anarchists who, mistaking him for the real tsar, assassinate him.

Trivia: “Tinker, his cheery-faced assistant, whom he had found destitute and adopted some years back …”

In this story, Blake’s bedroom is on the ground floor, the window overlooking a small garden in which there are two or three trees.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: This was reprinted as a paperback novel by Wildside Press in 2007.

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Notes: A revolution is brewing in the Balkan state of Tourania. Sexton Blake is caught in the middle as two rival factions fight out their cause in London.

Trivia: At one point in this story, Blake dons a lightweight chain mail undershirt as protection against knives and bullets.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ An over-long and fairly dull tale, this suffers from its London-bound setting and a plot reliant on wild coincidences. Things might have perked up had Blake packed a case and headed for Tourania but he never does. Also, he seems very much the victim of events rather than the driving force. Things happen around him — as well as 'offstage' — and he has to adapt; rarely does it feel like he's in control. Blake works independently throughout this story; Tinker is mentioned a few times but doesn't participate.

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: From this issue onward, Sexton Blake appears in every issue of UNION JACK.

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Author debut: Arthur Joseph Steffens (b. 1873) was born in London, the son of a Polish Tailor. Initially, he was an actor-manager, touring England with a theatre company. He started writing while on the road, penning his tales in dressing rooms while awaiting his call, and published them under the name Arthur S. Hardy. His devotion to sport shines through in many of his stories, especially in the non-Blakes, many of which had a boxing or football theme. He stopped writing in the eary 1930s and is thought to have died before the Second World War. He is credited with 26 Sexton Blake tales.

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: This story marks the first appearance of Mrs. Martha Bardell.

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Author debut: William Bolinbroke Home-Gall (1894 - 1982) joined Amalgamated Press in 1912 and was on the staff of many of its story papers, including THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY editorial team when the periodical launched in 1915. He also edited THE BOYS' FRIEND for a short period. Home-Gall served in both World Wars and after the second conflict went into engineering. He retired in 1967 and died in 1982. He wrote six Sexton Blake stories.

Notes: None at present.

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Author debut: Little is known about this author. He was prolific but only wrote nine Sexton Blake stories.

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: An important issue as it marks the first appearance of Pedro the Bloodhound. Blake is visiting Inspector Widgeon when a scream rings out from a house nearby, which belongs to a Mr. Pringle. They rush to it and capture a young man as he tries to flee. They also catch sight of a young woman but she eludes them and disappears into the night. Inside the house they find a man who has been throttled to death. Their prisoner, Arthur Musgrave, denies all knowledge of the murder. Blake believes him but notes that he's hiding something. Musgrave struggles free and runs away. Further investigations are interrupted when a large bloodhound bursts into the house and whines in grief over the dead man. A small brass plate on its collar reveals that the dog's name is Pedro. Blake and Widgeon use the bloodhound to track the unknown killer but the man escapes them. After they have left, Rafael Calderon arrives at the house, telling the constable on guard that he had expected to meet a friend. He reveals that the victim is named Nugent and vows to help Blake. The next day, he sends Blake a note which explains that the murderers are named Carnforth and Jervis, both Americans. Tinker finds the house where the missing Mr. Pringle is hiding but by the time Blake and his assistant get there, the bird has flown. They track him with Pedro only to find that Pringle has climbed a tree and mysteriously vanished. Later, at the inquest into the murder, Blake accosts Jorking, a sailor, who tells the detective how four months ago his ship had picked up two marooned men and a bloodhound. One of the men was Nugent, the other was Rafael Calderon, the ex-President of a South American country who was deposed after a revolution. Nugent had fought at the ex-President's side, as had Jervis and Carnforth. Afterwards, the four men had used an ancient Spanish map to track down buried treasure in the Pacific. However, Jervis and Carnforth had taken the loot and left their two companions castaway on an island. Blake realises that Carnforth and Pringle are one and the same man. He also learns that Carnforth/Pringle had escaped from the tree by means of a drifting hot air balloon that had broken from its moorings. Tracing this leads to the fugitive who is caught with his friend Jervis and arrested. As a gesture of thanks, Rafael Calderon gives Sexton Blake Pedro as a gift.

Trivia: At the beginning of this story we are informed that Blake has recently returned from Australia.

My copy is missing its cover. This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 1 as THE CASE OF THE TREASURE HUNTERS (1912).

Rating: ★★★★☆ A nice debut for Pedro though the plot has the usual quota of unbelievable coincidences.

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 14 as SEXTON BLAKE, MAN O' WAR'S MAN (1913).

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Notes: This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 2 as SEXTON BLAKE, FIREFIGHTER (1905).

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: This issue introduces Detective Will Spearing. Sexton Blake is feeling rather indignant after Scotland Yard's failure to acknowledge his contribution to crime fighting. The Yard is always happy to take the credit after he tips them off but is slow to thank him. Spearing is a prime example of this attitude, and Blake decides that it's time to teach him and his ilk a lesson. So he lays a bet that he can disappear in London after setting a £500 reward for his own capture. Spearing accepts the challenge. Blake hides ... by joining the police force! In disguise, he becomes 'Constable Brown' and rapidly achieves a string of successful arrests, practically clearing the local area of criminals. Finally, after successfully investigating a murder and catching the perpetrator, he is called to Scotland Yard and Spearing puts him onto the Blake case. The detective has been asked to hunt himself! 'P. C. Brown' makes a trail for Pedro to follow and reports to Spearing that he is on Blake's track. The Yard man accompanies him to Baker Street where they borrow the bloodhound. The trail leads to a pond. Spearing thinks the detective has committed suicide after failing over a case (which Blake finds vastly amusing) but when they drag the pond, instead of a body, they find a sack filled with loot from a recent robbery. The next day, 'Brown' visits a friend he has made in the force, Sergeant Lightening, and reveals his true identity. He arranges to meet Lightening at Spearing's office. There, as arranged, the sergeant exposes Blake in front of the inspector, much to the latter's chagrin. After an initial outburst, Spearing accepts his defeat in good humour and so begins his long and productive relationship with Sexton Blake. Lightening, meanwhile, gets the £500 reward and retires a happy man.

Trivia: This story was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 17 as £500 REWARD (1913).

Rating: ★★★★☆ This is a good-humoured and enjoyable tale, with Blake in a far less grumpy mood than is usual in Norman Goddard stories.

Notes: This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 22 as THE MYSTERY CAB (1913).

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Notes: This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 20 as A NARROW ESCAPE (1913).

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 18 as LORD VANCOURT'S LUCK (1913).

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Author debut: Nothing is known about Frank Howel Evans except that he was fond of writing about the theatre and was probably himself an ex-actor. He contributed six tales to the Sexton Blake saga.

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: This marks the first appearance in the Blake saga of Matthew Quin, 'Wild Beast Agent'. Outside of the Blake canon, the character dates back as far as May 1898. There's also an 1894 Graydon tale that, while not naming the principal character, has all the attributes of a Quin story. In the novel JUNGLES AND TRAITORS (GOOD NEWS, 1895; S&S ed. 1902; Shaw ed. UK 1905), Quin doesn't appear but his frequent assistant Carruthers does, as well as his arch enemy the Portuguese animal trapper Antonio Silva. There is also, in this novel, a panther-boy similar to the one in the Blake tale THE JUNGLE BOY (UNION JACK issue 85, 1905), although this one controls only one panther, and is a feral child as opposed to a teenager who took to the jungle. Thanks to Dr. Georges T. Dodds for this information.

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 11 (Christmas edition) as THE ORDER OF RELEASE (1912).

Unrated

Notes: 'A stirring Christmas adventure.' Richard Ferguson escapes from Dartmoor, where he is serving a sentence for the attempted murder of a solicitor, and makes his way to Baker Street. He pleads his innocence and asks Sexton Blake to help him. Blake learns that Ferguson has been cheated out of his inheritance by his cousin, Dalgety Hammond, who was assisted by a valet, Casimir Sang. Blake hires a cottage near the Ferguson estate, hides Ferguson and Tinker in a nearby lodge, and ingratiates himself with Hammond. He surmises that Hammond is keeping Sang prisoner somewhere to prevent him from revealing their deception. However, the detective's opponent becomes suspicious and informs the authorities that Blake is harbouring the escaped prisoner. Inspector Harkness arrives on the scene and, together with most of the local populace, begins combing the district for the fugitive. Blake, meanwhile, has intercepted a message from Hammond to a ruffian in London. The detective disguises himself as this man and calls on Hammond where he finds himself hired to ... murder Sexton Blake! Unfortunately, his disguise is pierced and the detective is overpowered by Hammond and a man named Jarvis. Upon escaping, Blake follows Jarvis and is led to where Sang is being held prisoner. Sang confesses to assaulting the solicitor and helping Hammond to cheat Ferguson. Hammond arrives on the scene just as his confederates are arrested and, as he tries to escape, is brought down by Pedro. Ferguson, proved innocent, is freed and inherits all that is rightfully his.

Rating: ★★★★☆ This is a thoroughly entertaining tale of detection involving disguises, deceptions, clues and hot pursuits. Pedro plays a key role, Tinker is impressive and Blake is at his best. There's even an early appearance by Mrs. Bardell. Very satisfying!

Notes: The story features Will Spearing.

Unrated