Sexton Blake: Schooldays #2 (Sexton Blake in the Sixth)

Synopsis:
“No character is so well known as Sexton Blake. He is famous wherever the sun sets. Against him the adventures of all other detectives—save, perhaps, those of his friend Nelson Lee—pale into insignificance. He has travelled round the world not once but a dozen times. He has had more attempts made on his life than any man living. He has had hair-breadth escapes by the score, and is without doubt one of the greatest Britishers who ever trod the earth. Therefore, the school-day life of so famous a character cannot fail to be most interesting and absorbing reading, and, therefore, I predict a huge and instantaneous success for Sexton Blake at School.” The Boys' Herald #236, 1908

Those words announced the start of a trilogy that ran in The Boys Herald from March 2, 1908 to April 3, 1909. Sixty-one instalments divided into three parts:Sexton Blake at School, Sexton Blake in the Sixth, and Sexton Blake at Oxford. Together they formed the foundational stories of Blake’s youth and gave readers the opportunity to learn about the great detective’s mysterious past. To say that Blake was a remarkable youth is somewhat of an understatement, even as a boy it was evident he was far above his classmates in brains and skills.

The tales were so popular they were reprinted (though heavily abridged) in the Boys’ Friend Library in 1909 and 1910, updated and reprinted in the Boys' Friend Library in 1933 as Sexton Blake’s Schooldays, Sexton Blake Sixth-Former and Sexton Blake at the Varsity; and then again by John Garbutt as Sexton Blake at School for The Pilot in 1937.

This is the first time the complete unabridged saga has been reprinted since its serialized publication in 1908. Aside from an excellent adventure mystery, it provides an interesting glimpse into British boarding school life during the Victorian/Edwardian era.

Author Spotlight
Cecil Goodenough Hayter (1871-1922) was a prolific and popular British author who also wrote under the names Howard Steel and Lewis Bird. He wrote predominantly for the Amalgamated Press, his work appearing in several publications. His first Blake tale The Slave Market (Union Jack #171) introduced two of Blake’s most popular allies: Lobangu, the Zulu chief of the Etbaia, and Sir Richard Losely, better known to all as ‘Spots’. The two would team up with Blake and Tinker in close to forty adventures over the next 25 years, often solving mysteries in different corners of the world.
This is the first of several anthologies collecting the great Sexton Blake serials. Each edition includes all the original illustrations! Enjoy!