Sexton Blake: Cunning Schemes (The Teed Files #4)

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.

The anthology begins with The Sacred Sphere, considered by many fans to be one of Teed’s greatest tales and one of the best Sexton Blake cases of all time. It’s a double-length Christmas issue and features Yvonne Cartier, Dr. Huxton Rymer and Prince Wu Ling. It’s followed by The Grey Domino, where Blake and Yvonne discover a crime is being committed at a masked ball. Dr. Huxton Rymer makes his second appearance in The Case of the Radium Patient, a double-length Easter special where Yvonne once again helps Blake attempt to unravel a mystery. The last tale in the collection, Pirated Cargo, pits Blake against Prince Wu Ling once again. The leader of The Brotherhood of the Yellow Beetle is still intent on world domination and the pair face off in their deadliest showdown to date.

This is the fourth 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!