Sexton Blake: Yvonne's Vengeance (The Teed Files #1)

Synopsis:
“One of the most prolific (and arguably the best) Blake authors, giving us Prince Wu Ling, Huxton Rymer, and many more, including perhaps the finest, sexiest, bravest and most beautiful bunch of adventuresses in all of popular fiction.” ~Michael Moorcock on G. H. Teed, Sexton Blake Detective, 2009

George Hamilton Teed (1886-1938) was a Canadian writer who is regarded by fans as one of the best Sexton Blake authors of all time. He was born in Woodstock, New Brunswick and studied at McGill University, in Montreal. After graduation he travelled the world, trying his hand at various jobs including overseeing a banana plantation in Costa Rica, and sheep-farming in Australia. His writing career began by chance. While sailing to England from Australia in May 1912, he met the widow of Michael Storm, (Ernest Sempill, 1862-1909) a popular author of Sexton Blake tales. He convinced her to allow him to ghost her late husband’s stories for part of the fee. Over the summer with Teed at the typewriter and Mrs. Storm making the sales, the pair produced four works which they sold to the Amalgamated Press.

Legend has it that after falling out with Mrs. Storm, he approached the editors of the Amalgamated Press and declared himself to be the true author of the Michael Storm tales that they had published. The editors, of course, did not believe him, but when challenged Teed sat down at a typewriter and banged out the first few chapters of a new tale. The editors, impressed, bought the story on the spot and Teed became a regular contributor for Union Jack and other Amalgamated Press publications. He made his official debut in November 1912 with Dead Men’s Shoes.

It was in 1913 however, that the ‘Teed era’ truly began. That year saw the creation of three of his most legendary characters: Yvonne Cartier, a female criminal mastermind who sets out to avenge a crime against her family, Dr. Huxton Rymer a world-renowned surgeon who turns to a life of crime, and Prince Wu Ling, a member of the Chinese imperial family bent on world domination.

This first volume of the Teed Files is dedicated to one of the authors’ most beloved characters: Mademoiselle Yvonne Cartier. Known as Yvonne the Adventuress, the Princess of Mystery, of just simply Mademoiselle Yvonne, whatever her title, most fans agree her first appearance changed Sexton Blake’s world forever. No female adversary before her matched her in style and daring, no one before her captured the detective’s heart so thoroughly. She quickly became a fan favourite and appeared in Blake adventures for thirteen years, at first matching wits with the great detective and then later fighting alongside him.

Yvonne’s story begins with an act of betrayal. Towards the end of the Edwardian age, the Cartiers are swindled out of their land in Australia. Yvonne swears vengeance upon the eight men who destroyed her family and begins to go after them one by one. The ‘Vengeance Series’ ran in the Union Jack from January to July 1913 and was comprised of the eight titles collected in this anthology: Beyond Reach of Law, When Greek Meets Greek, On the Brink of Ruin, Settling Day, A Minister of the Crown, The Detective Airman, The Missing Guests and By Right of Possession. Of special note: When Greek Meets Greek also marks the debut of legendary Blake foe Dr. Huxton Rymer. You’ll find out more about him in our second Teed anthology Sexton Blake: Rymer and Wu Ling.

This is the first of 14 anthologies that collects G. H. Teed’s most popular works from 1913 to 1917. Each edition includes all of the original illustrations! Enjoy!