Sexton Blake: The Plummer Files

Synopsis:
“He was one of the most dangerous criminals I have come across. His relation with the Yard, lasting for so many years, gave him a great advantage. His unscrupulousness, his subtlety, resource, and determined audacity put him in the front rank of crime.” ~Sexton Blake, The Swell Mobsman

A fitting description of Blake’s arch foe, George Marsden Plummer, one of the first super villains the great detective ever faced and, arguably, one of his most formidable. This collection of tales picks up the action directly after The Mervyn Mystery, the last tale in our anthology Sexton Blake: The First Super Villains. Plummer, as you have guessed from the title of this collection, returns to match wits with the great detective.

The first two tales The Swell Mobsman, and The Problem of the Yellow Button, were written by Michael Storm in 1910. The Mystery of Room 11 and Plummer versus Blake, though attributed to him, differ slightly in style and were likely completed by someone else, perhaps his wife, or another Blake author.

D. Harkness and Josie Packman writing in Collectors Digest Christmas Annual 1984, identified Norman Goddard as the author of The Cotton “Corner”. Goddard wrote numerous adventures featuring Plummer until he was succeeded by Lewis Carlton in 1912. Carlton was followed by J. W. Bobin, Walter Shute and George Hamilton Teed. In all George Marsden Plummer featured in 125 tales, his criminal career spanning over 25 years.

Sexton Blake: The First Super Villains and Sexton Blake: The Plummer Files collect George Marsden Plummer’s adventures from 1908-1910. Plummer’s debut and his partnership with Rupert Forbes was chronicled in the first volume. In The Swell Mobsman, and The Problem of the Yellow Button, Plummer is once again on his own. In The Mystery of Room 11 he joins forces with John Marsh for the first time. The two would fight Blake multiple times over the next four years, Marsh making his final appearance The Pursuit of Plummer, in Union Jack #547, published in 1914.

This volume also collects the last works of Michael Storm, perhaps one of the most influential Blake writers of the Edwardian era. Blakeologist Walter Webb, writing in Collectors Digest #100, stated that Storm “possessed a powerfully descriptive pen” and in the matter of description “had no equal among Blake authors.” His work and style strongly influenced the work of later Blake author George Hamilton Teed, considered by many to be one of the greatest Blake authors of all time. Fans of Teed’s Brotherhood of the Yellow Beetle tales may note a few seeds of inspiration in The Problem of the Yellow Button. Each tale includes all of the original illustrations! Enjoy!