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Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was a British writer of sensational detective, gangster, adventure, and sci-fi novels, plays and stories.
Born into poverty, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during the Second Boer War for Reuters and the Daily Mail. Struggling with debt, he left South Africa, returned to London and began writing thrillers to raise income, publishing books including The Four Just Men (1905). Drawing on his time as a reporter in the Congo, covering the Belgian atrocities, Wallace serialised short stories in magazines such as The Windsor Magazine and later published collections such as Sanders of the River (1911). He signed with Hodder and Stoughton in 1921 and became an internationally recognised author.
Wallace was such a prolific writer that one of his publishers claimed in 1929 that a quarter of all books in England were written by him. In 1931, Wallace moved to Hollywood, where he worked as a script writer for RKO. He died suddenly from undiagnosed diabetes, preparing the initial draft of King Kong (1933). Over his lifetime, Wallace wrote screenplays, poetry, historical non-fiction, 18 stage plays, 957 short stories and over 170 novels, 12 in 1929 alone. More than 160 films have been made of Wallace’s work.
This collection of BBC Radio productions of Wallace’s stories includes full-cast dramas and readings.
The Calendar – The Racing Calendar is a popular newsletter for the horse racing/betting crowd, eagerly perused by our characters, and the social media of its day. The setting of this mystery/thriller is the horse-racing world. In an impulsive moment, a man agrees to throw a big race-and then is faced with all the consequences.
“There are only two calendars, old boy – the ‘Newgate Calendar’ and the ‘Racing Calendar’ – the losers of the past and the losers of the future. The ‘Calendar’ or the ‘Racing Calendar’ is a sober sheet, which few but racing men ever see.”
The Case of the Frightened Lady – The ancestral home of Lord Lebanon is the scene of two murders. Inspector Tanner goes down to investigate and is confronted by a very frightened young lady.
On the Spot – Edgar Wallace’s most famous play is set against a completely authentic background of gangland life in Chicago during Prohibition of 1920s and 30s USA: Tony Perelli is the Big Shot with his gunmen and his dames – running a drinks racket. Playing the organ in his fancy home, he loads “his women with jewels and the coffins of his enemies with orchids” – an appalling figure of polished criminality. But Detective-Commissioner John Kelly, Chief of Police is after Perelli – and if he catches him, he wants to watch him hang for murder…
The Four Just Men
For the public good, four mysterious men threaten the life of a UK Secretary of State unless proposed legislation is withdrawn.
Educated Evans – Camden Town in London, 1920s. Can Evans, a self-styled but skint “sporting authority” tipster plot revenge on a local informant, help a friend in trouble and end up a winner too? Evans gets an unlikely helping hand from a self-righteous police inspector.
The Ringer – a dangerous criminal believed to have died in Australia, turns up again in England, to the consternation of Scotland Yard. Maurice Meister, a crooked lawyer, has more reason than most to fear the master crook’s return, but who can be sure of the elusive Ringer’s real identity? This play was the turning point in Edgar Wallace ‘s meteoric career from newspaper boy to dramatist and writer of best-selling fiction. Adapted from his novel of 1925. The Gaunt Stranger, the play scored an immediate success at Wyndham’s Theatre, London, in May 1926.
The Man with the Red Beard – ‘As you are a man of considerable property and may wish to have time to make arrangements as to its disposal, I will give you a little grace. At the end of a reasonable period, I shall come to London and kill you.’ Notorious vigilante, The Ringer, sets out to exact his revenge.
PC Lee stories – In 1909 Edgar Wallace wrote a series of 24 short stories featuring a street-wise London police-constable, PC Lee. Wallace himself features in some, with PC Lee recounting his adventures as a bobby on the beat in and around the district of Notting Dale. Toby Jones brings this wonderful, little-known character to life for BBC Radio in 8 charming and witty tales.
How He Lost His Moustache – When a notorious local criminal’s wife asks for help, PC Lee decides to take matters into his own hands.
Sergeant Run-A-Mile – ‘The best friends policemen have are policemen. The worst enemies are policemen too’. A tale of comeuppance.
The Snatchers – When Mr Simmy’s electric thief-catcher fails to stop him losing his stock, PC Lee has an ingenious solution.
A Case for Angel Esquire – A cashier is attacked in an alleyway and £500 disappears without a trace, so Mr Angel is summoned from the Yard.
Mouldy the Scrivener – The story of a dubious character named Mouldy, as PC Lee charts his adventures as a literary criminal.
The General Practitioner – Swearing he has left the tale-pitching business, Toppy White aims to show PC Lee what ‘real genius can do’.
Pear Drops – PC Lee recalls a case from back in his Lambeth days involving anarchists, bombs and confectionery.
The Silence of PC Hirley – PC Lee investigates the mystery of the Ladbroke Gardens murder and discovers a distinct sting in the tale.
Episode List
- 01 – The Calendar
- 02 – The Case Of The Frightened Lady
- 03 – On the Spot
- 04 – The Four Just Men part1
- 05 – The Four Just Men part2
- 06 – Educated Evans – Inside Information
- 07 – Educated Evans – The Snout
- 08 – Educated Evans – A Judge of Racing
- 09 – Educated Evans – A Matched Pair
- 10 – The Ringer
- 11 – The Man with the Red Beard
- 12 – How He Lost His Moustache
- 13 – Sergeant Run-A-Mile
- 14 – The Snatchers
- 15 – A Case for Angel Esquire
- 16 – Mouldy the Scrivener
- 17 – The General Practitioner
- 18 – Pear Drops
- 19 – The Silence of PC Hirley