The Brigand

by Edgar Wallace

1st Allan Sutton 1984 trade edition paperback, fine In stock shipped from our UK warehouse

Genres: Crime, Humor

140 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1928

About the author

Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1875-1932) was a prolific British crime writer, journalist and playwright, who wrote 175 novels, 24 plays, and countless articles in newspapers and journals.

Over 160 films have been made of his novels, more than any other author. In the 1920s, one of Wallace's publishers claimed that a quarter of all books read in England were written by him.

He is most famous today as the co-creator of "King Kong", writing the early screenplay and story for the movie, as well as a short story "King Kong" (1933) credited to him and Draycott Dell. He was known for the J. G. Reeder detective stories, The Four Just Men, the Ringer, and for creating the Green Archer character during his lifetime.

Reviews

[Julie Davis]

When Tony can't get a job after returning from the war then he turns his talents to being a "brigand." What this means is that he cons the con-men of London ... and does a good job of it. The book is a series of short stories which are mostly stand alone. I enjoyed them a lot as there were many humorous aspects to Tony turning the tables on the bad guys.

[James Shrimpton]

A series of enjoyable vignettes

[Jolie Beaumont]

The premise of this collection of short stories is this: A young veteran of World War I is unable to find a job in post-war London. Deprived of a legal source of income and faced with homelessness and hunger he decides to become a brigand - a sort of modern-day Robin Hood - and trick rich capitalists into parting with their ill-gotten gains. Some of the ruses are clever, some only mildly interesting. What disappointed me the most, though, was the hero, Tony Newton, who goes through the book with a perennial chip on his shoulder, even though he has grown quite rich from his chosen profession. I couldn't help but think that if he had landed some cushy job after the war, he wouldn't have been so critical of the capitalists that he decided it was his duty to exploit.

[Neil]

An excellent collection of connected short stories all about likeable conman Anthony Newton. Newton returning from the great war and unable to find employment decides start redistributing wealth in his own way.

[Steven Heywood]

A collection of short crime stories told from the perspective of the gentleman rogue.