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The Stretton Street Affair
William Tufnell Le Queux (1864-1927) was a British journalist and writer. He was also a diplomat, a traveller, a flying buff who officiated at the first British air meeting at Doncaster in 1909, and a wireless pioneer who broadcast music from his own station long before radio was generally available. He studied painting in Paris. He was foreign editor of The Globe newspaper during the 1890s. He subsequently wrote professionally. He reported on the First Balkan War. He wrote in the genres of mystery, thriller, and espionage, particularly in the years leading up to World War I. Apart from fiction he wrote extensively on wireless broadcasting, various travel works including An Observer in the Near East and several short books on Switzerland, and an unrevealing and often misleading autobiography, Things I Know about Kings, Celebrities and Crooks. He also wrote The Czar's Spy: The Mystery of a Silent Love (1905), The Four Faces: A Mystery (1914), The Minister of Evil (1918), The Doctor of Pimlico (1919), Mademoiselle of Monte Carlo (1921), and The Secret of the Fox Hunter.
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First published January 1, 1922
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About the author
William Le Queux
413 books29 followersWilliam Tufnell Le Queux was born in London on 2 July 1864. His father, also William of Chateauroux, Indre, was a French draper's assistant and his mother was English.
He was educated in Europe and studied art under Ignazio Spiridon in Paris. He walked extensively in France and Germany and supported himself for a time writing for French newspapers. It was one of his sensational stories in 'The Petit Journal' that attracted the attention of the French novelist Emile Zola and it was supposedly he who encouraged Le Queux to become a full-time writer.
In the late 1880s he returned to London where he edited the magazines 'Gossip' and 'Piccadilly' before joining the staff of the newspaper 'The Globe' in 1891 as a parliamentary reporter. But he resigned in 1893 and decided to abandon journalism to concentrate on writing and travelling. And his extensive travelling saw him visit Russia, the Near East, North Africa, Egypt and the Sudan and in 1912-13 he was a correspondent in the Balkan War for the Daily Mail. On his travels he found it necessary to become an expert revolver shot.
His first book was 'Guilty Bonds' (1891), which concentrated on political conspiracy in Russia to such a degree that it was subsequently banned in that country. A series of short stories 'Strange Tales of a Nihilist' followed in 1892 and from then on he was producing books on a regular basis until his death, and beyond, as a number of posthumous works were published.
His works mainly related to espionage activity and it was said that he was employed for a number of years as a member of the British Secret Service, where he was an expert on wireless transmission. He did claim to have been the first wireless experimenter to have broadcast from his station at Guildford in 1920/21 and he was president of the Wireless Experimental Association and a member of the Institute of Radio Engineers.
He stated at one time that he began writing to help finance his work for British Intelligence for whom he was required to undertake much travelling and to make personal contact with royalty and other high-ranking people. He recorded some of the latter meetings in his autobiography entitled 'Things I Know about Kings, Celebrities and Crooks' (1923).
He was at one time Consul of the Republic of San Marino and he possessed Italian, Serbian and Montenegrin decorations. He was also a keen collector of medieval manuscripts and monastic seals.
However, all his activities did not stop him turning out novel after novel and at the time of his death he had well over 100 books to his credit.
After several weeks' illness, he died at Knocke, Belgium, in the early hours of 13 October 1927. His body was returned to England and on 19 October he was cremated at Golders Green with the Reverend Francis Taylor of Bedford conducting the service, which was attended by Le Queux's brother and a few intimate friends.
Gerry Wolstenholme
January 2013
He was educated in Europe and studied art under Ignazio Spiridon in Paris. He walked extensively in France and Germany and supported himself for a time writing for French newspapers. It was one of his sensational stories in 'The Petit Journal' that attracted the attention of the French novelist Emile Zola and it was supposedly he who encouraged Le Queux to become a full-time writer.
In the late 1880s he returned to London where he edited the magazines 'Gossip' and 'Piccadilly' before joining the staff of the newspaper 'The Globe' in 1891 as a parliamentary reporter. But he resigned in 1893 and decided to abandon journalism to concentrate on writing and travelling. And his extensive travelling saw him visit Russia, the Near East, North Africa, Egypt and the Sudan and in 1912-13 he was a correspondent in the Balkan War for the Daily Mail. On his travels he found it necessary to become an expert revolver shot.
His first book was 'Guilty Bonds' (1891), which concentrated on political conspiracy in Russia to such a degree that it was subsequently banned in that country. A series of short stories 'Strange Tales of a Nihilist' followed in 1892 and from then on he was producing books on a regular basis until his death, and beyond, as a number of posthumous works were published.
His works mainly related to espionage activity and it was said that he was employed for a number of years as a member of the British Secret Service, where he was an expert on wireless transmission. He did claim to have been the first wireless experimenter to have broadcast from his station at Guildford in 1920/21 and he was president of the Wireless Experimental Association and a member of the Institute of Radio Engineers.
He stated at one time that he began writing to help finance his work for British Intelligence for whom he was required to undertake much travelling and to make personal contact with royalty and other high-ranking people. He recorded some of the latter meetings in his autobiography entitled 'Things I Know about Kings, Celebrities and Crooks' (1923).
He was at one time Consul of the Republic of San Marino and he possessed Italian, Serbian and Montenegrin decorations. He was also a keen collector of medieval manuscripts and monastic seals.
However, all his activities did not stop him turning out novel after novel and at the time of his death he had well over 100 books to his credit.
After several weeks' illness, he died at Knocke, Belgium, in the early hours of 13 October 1927. His body was returned to England and on 19 October he was cremated at Golders Green with the Reverend Francis Taylor of Bedford conducting the service, which was attended by Le Queux's brother and a few intimate friends.
Gerry Wolstenholme
January 2013
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 4, 2014
When a young man finds himself in a situation he neither understands nor knows how to escape from, you could have the nucleus of a good plot. Hugh Garfield returned from the Great War as a captain and started his post war life as an electrical engineer. After suffering a financial setback, he finds himself at the house of Oswald De Gex, a prominent and wealthy Englishman. While conversing with his host in the library they hear a woman scream and soon discover a young woman in a bedroom; dead. Oswald De Gex makes a strange proposal to his guest in exchange for five hundred pounds. The request is to sign a falsified death certificate which states that the young woman died of natural causes. Hugh Garfield soon finds himself in France with no idea how he got there. This begins his quest for answers and a very exciting European tour. I am surprised that this author isn’t better known. It might have to do with the lack of his works reviews. People won’t generally buy or read a book based solely on stars and that is why I ALWAYS write reviews. This book is well worth the time and effort to read it and I’m sure it will pleasantly surprise many readers.
March 14, 2022
Found myself enthralled by this mystery and satisfied with ending. Well narrated by Tom Weiss.
Librivox.org - free audiobook
Librivox.org - free audiobook
December 2, 2011
Quite good, overall.
July 29, 2025
2.6 *. A little too much “ I can’t tell the police what I know because they wouldn’t believe me.” But yet brings in police from several countries (without telling them all)
Too often we encounter:
Q: what reason do you have to suspect Mr X?
A: I have reasons of my own
I KNOW! That is Why I am asking what those reasons are!!!!
The love story part is estupido.
Too often we encounter:
Q: what reason do you have to suspect Mr X?
A: I have reasons of my own
I KNOW! That is Why I am asking what those reasons are!!!!
The love story part is estupido.
February 18, 2021
One of the best books I’ve read in a long while : full of action all the way through
October 3, 2024
This is a solid mystery thriller. The characters run the gamut from nice and helpful to Snidely Whiplash evil types. The story offers simple good, clean fun, peopled with plenty of bad guys.
December 27, 2018
A young veteran of war is drawn into a web of deceit and evil. After finding himself called in to a house to help a servant with his master, Hugh goes through a very strange experience and wakes up to find himself in a strange place one month later. He has to figure out the whole conspiracy and tale of what happened to him and to a young woman involved. In the process, he helps the police find some criminals and falls in love.
Gripping. Had me hooked in the first chapter. Strange and terrifying and well-written.
Gripping. Had me hooked in the first chapter. Strange and terrifying and well-written.
May 24, 2013
Liked this one
July 7, 2016
Fun international rigmarole of a mystery in the style of its era. Worth a gander.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews