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The Master Mummer
1904. A best-selling author of novels, short stories, magazine articles, translations, and plays, Oppenheim published over 150 books. He is considered one of the originators of the thriller genre, his novels also range from spy thrillers to romance, but all have an undertone of intrigue. He also wrote under the name of Anthony Partridge. The Master Mummer begins: Sheets of virgin manuscript paper littered my desk, the smoke of much uselessly consumed tobacco hung about the room in a little cloud. Many a time I had dipped my pen in the ink, only to find myself a few minutes later scrawling ridiculous little figures upon the margin of my blotting-pad. It was not at all an auspicious start for one who sought immortality. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1904
About the author
E. Phillips Oppenheim
488 books79 followersEdward Phillips Oppenheim was an English novelist, primarily known for his suspense fiction.
He was born in Leicester, the son of a leather merchant, and after attending Wyggeston Grammar School he worked in his father's business for almost 20 years, beginning there at a young age. He continued working in the business, even though he was a successful novelist, until he was 40 at which point he sold the business.
He wrote his first book 'Expiation' in 1887 and in 1898 he published 'The Mysterious Mr Sabin', which he described as "The first of my long series of stories dealing with that shadowy and mysterious world of diplomacy." Thereafter he became a prolific writer and by 1900 he had had 14 novels published.
While on a business trip to the United States in 1890 he met and married Elise Clara Hopkins of Boston and, on return to England, they lived in Evington, Leicestershire until the First World War,and had one daughter. His wife remained faithful to him throughout his life despite his frequent and highly publicised affairs, which often took place abroad and aboard his luxury yacht.
During World War I Oppenheim worked for the Ministry of Information while continuing to write his suspenseful novels.
He featured on the cover of 'Time' magazine on 12 September 1927 and he was the self-styled 'Prince of Storytellers', a title used by Robert standish for his biography of the author.
His literary success enabled him to buy a villa in France and a yacht, spending his winters in France where he regularly entertained more than 250 people at his lavish parties and where he was a well-known figure in high society.
He later purchased a house, Le Vanquiédor in St. Peter Port, in Guernsey. He lost access to the house during the Second World War when Germany occupied the Channel Islands but later regained it.
He wrote 116 novels, mainly of the suspense and international intrigue type, but including romances, comedies, and parables of everyday life, and 39 volumes of short stories, all of which earned him vast sums of money. He also wrote five novels under the pseudonymn Anthony Partridge and a volume of autobiography, 'The Pool of Memory' in 1939.
He is generally regarded as the earliest writer of spy fiction as we know it today, and invented the 'Rogue Male' school of adventure thrillers that was later exploited by John Buchan and Geoffrey Household.
Undoubtedly his most renowned work was 'The Great Impersonation' (1920), which was filmed three times, the last time as a strong piece of wartime propaganda in 1942. In that novel the plot hinges around two very similar looking gentlemen, one from Britain and the other from Germany, in the early part of the 20th century. Overall more than 30 of his works were made into films.
Perhaps his most enduring creation is the character of General Besserley, the protagonist of 'General Besserley's Puzzle Box' and 'General Besserley's New Puzzle Box'.
Much of his work possesses a unique escapist charm, featuring protagonists who delight in Epicurean meals, surroundings of intense luxury, and the relaxed pursuit of criminal practice, on either side of the law.
Gerry Wolstenholme
He was born in Leicester, the son of a leather merchant, and after attending Wyggeston Grammar School he worked in his father's business for almost 20 years, beginning there at a young age. He continued working in the business, even though he was a successful novelist, until he was 40 at which point he sold the business.
He wrote his first book 'Expiation' in 1887 and in 1898 he published 'The Mysterious Mr Sabin', which he described as "The first of my long series of stories dealing with that shadowy and mysterious world of diplomacy." Thereafter he became a prolific writer and by 1900 he had had 14 novels published.
While on a business trip to the United States in 1890 he met and married Elise Clara Hopkins of Boston and, on return to England, they lived in Evington, Leicestershire until the First World War,and had one daughter. His wife remained faithful to him throughout his life despite his frequent and highly publicised affairs, which often took place abroad and aboard his luxury yacht.
During World War I Oppenheim worked for the Ministry of Information while continuing to write his suspenseful novels.
He featured on the cover of 'Time' magazine on 12 September 1927 and he was the self-styled 'Prince of Storytellers', a title used by Robert standish for his biography of the author.
His literary success enabled him to buy a villa in France and a yacht, spending his winters in France where he regularly entertained more than 250 people at his lavish parties and where he was a well-known figure in high society.
He later purchased a house, Le Vanquiédor in St. Peter Port, in Guernsey. He lost access to the house during the Second World War when Germany occupied the Channel Islands but later regained it.
He wrote 116 novels, mainly of the suspense and international intrigue type, but including romances, comedies, and parables of everyday life, and 39 volumes of short stories, all of which earned him vast sums of money. He also wrote five novels under the pseudonymn Anthony Partridge and a volume of autobiography, 'The Pool of Memory' in 1939.
He is generally regarded as the earliest writer of spy fiction as we know it today, and invented the 'Rogue Male' school of adventure thrillers that was later exploited by John Buchan and Geoffrey Household.
Undoubtedly his most renowned work was 'The Great Impersonation' (1920), which was filmed three times, the last time as a strong piece of wartime propaganda in 1942. In that novel the plot hinges around two very similar looking gentlemen, one from Britain and the other from Germany, in the early part of the 20th century. Overall more than 30 of his works were made into films.
Perhaps his most enduring creation is the character of General Besserley, the protagonist of 'General Besserley's Puzzle Box' and 'General Besserley's New Puzzle Box'.
Much of his work possesses a unique escapist charm, featuring protagonists who delight in Epicurean meals, surroundings of intense luxury, and the relaxed pursuit of criminal practice, on either side of the law.
Gerry Wolstenholme
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 27, 2018
Arnold (a writer), Allan (an artist) and Arthur (works in finance) all live together. Arthur has been successful at writing fantasy stories, but he wants to write a real story. Allan tells him to go out and observe humanity, so he goes to a train station. While there, he chances to meet a man who seems to be doing the same thing. Their attention is caught by a middle age man and a young girl about sixteen who seems frightened. They overhear where they are eating and follow them there. They continue to watch the couple and Arnold even goes over to offer her assistance. Then a surprising thing happens, his acquaintance shoots the man she's with and disappears. Amid all the confusion and hospital and police, Arnold stays with the young woman and brings her home. The three men and their housekeeper become her guardians for the next couple of years. The mysterious man comes to see them and asks them to take care of her and not let her go to anyone.
They take their charge seriously. There are at least three parties who try to get the girl--a convent, a former love of Arnold's and some royalty. But none of them can prove legally they have a right, so the three men don't give her up. They go to the point of even physically rescuing her.
Why do so many people want her?
What happens when she becomes a woman?
Does Arnold get his real story?
They take their charge seriously. There are at least three parties who try to get the girl--a convent, a former love of Arnold's and some royalty. But none of them can prove legally they have a right, so the three men don't give her up. They go to the point of even physically rescuing her.
Why do so many people want her?
What happens when she becomes a woman?
Does Arnold get his real story?
January 20, 2019
Continuing making my way through the works of Oppenheim…
To be honest, I prefer other EPO novels to this novel of crime syndicate members. The plot sounds intriguing enough, but I got lost among all the stock exchange jargon (dated, and foreign to me). It did, as EPO stories go, keep me guessing as to the motives behind certain characters. But it was hard to find sympathy for the main character, Reuben, since he was neither a goodie or a baddie. He professes a love for Chamber’s lover Ambouyna (a name I still have no idea how to pronounce), but yet pursues Miss Violet Withers on the side. In fact, while admitting to her that he doesn’t love her, he asks if she would fill in for him since he can’t have whom he really wants? Sure, that’s the way to win any girl’s heart!
Actually, Violet Withers was my favorite character from the book. She easily balances a personality of modesty and mystery. I loved a couple of quotes surrounding her sensibility:
“Lots of girls do things they don’t want to because they have to. I’m not one of them…. If I get to like you well enough, I shall certainly allow you to call me by my Christian name, and possibly to kiss me occasionally. If I don’t, I shan’t. Believe me,… I am much more worth kissing because I have such queer ideas.”
SPOILER ALERT: It’s painful to watch Argels slowly being dragged to the bottom all the way to the end of the book. He’s sent over the edge, but at the last minute is saved by his enemy of all people– on purpose. And then they shake hands and a check is written and all is honkey dorey. I don’t know. It just didn’t fit together right at the end. There’s all this build up of suspense because of the hatred of these two enemies, neither of which you particularly want to side with, but then suddenly it all disappears and Chambers has a change of heart for no reason. It just didn’t make sense and the story fell flat on its face for me. END OF SPOILER.
So if you like the idea of characters existing in a glamorous world of the 1930’s, full of crime and blackmail, you might have your next favorite novel (which you can read for free here). But if you’re more plot-oriented (like me), you might want to skip past this one.
To be honest, I prefer other EPO novels to this novel of crime syndicate members. The plot sounds intriguing enough, but I got lost among all the stock exchange jargon (dated, and foreign to me). It did, as EPO stories go, keep me guessing as to the motives behind certain characters. But it was hard to find sympathy for the main character, Reuben, since he was neither a goodie or a baddie. He professes a love for Chamber’s lover Ambouyna (a name I still have no idea how to pronounce), but yet pursues Miss Violet Withers on the side. In fact, while admitting to her that he doesn’t love her, he asks if she would fill in for him since he can’t have whom he really wants? Sure, that’s the way to win any girl’s heart!
Actually, Violet Withers was my favorite character from the book. She easily balances a personality of modesty and mystery. I loved a couple of quotes surrounding her sensibility:
“Lots of girls do things they don’t want to because they have to. I’m not one of them…. If I get to like you well enough, I shall certainly allow you to call me by my Christian name, and possibly to kiss me occasionally. If I don’t, I shan’t. Believe me,… I am much more worth kissing because I have such queer ideas.”
SPOILER ALERT: It’s painful to watch Argels slowly being dragged to the bottom all the way to the end of the book. He’s sent over the edge, but at the last minute is saved by his enemy of all people– on purpose. And then they shake hands and a check is written and all is honkey dorey. I don’t know. It just didn’t fit together right at the end. There’s all this build up of suspense because of the hatred of these two enemies, neither of which you particularly want to side with, but then suddenly it all disappears and Chambers has a change of heart for no reason. It just didn’t make sense and the story fell flat on its face for me. END OF SPOILER.
So if you like the idea of characters existing in a glamorous world of the 1930’s, full of crime and blackmail, you might have your next favorite novel (which you can read for free here). But if you’re more plot-oriented (like me), you might want to skip past this one.
December 10, 2017
A man, Reuben Argels, perjures himself in a criminal case against his partner. As a result, the partner, Moran Chambers, is sent to prison, but, as he is sentenced, he gives a spooky smile to the man who had him convicted.
Over the years, Reuben Argels lives in the fear of Moran Chambers: that he will escape and get his revenge. The fear is real and he tries to protect himself. But Reuben Argels manages to build a great deal of wealth.
Until one day ...
What a great story. Well written, captivating. I'm not sure if I love or hate the ending, but it was very imaginative.
Over the years, Reuben Argels lives in the fear of Moran Chambers: that he will escape and get his revenge. The fear is real and he tries to protect himself. But Reuben Argels manages to build a great deal of wealth.
Until one day ...
What a great story. Well written, captivating. I'm not sure if I love or hate the ending, but it was very imaginative.
October 6, 2024
A nice little melodrama of the financial markets. It would work well dramatised for television or radio.
April 15, 2026
This was a great story. I have read quite a number of Oppenheim's books. Some were great and some were just OK. This was a great one.
February 14, 2025
First published by the UK’s Hodder and Stoughton in 1932, reading this will take one right back to the 1920’s with its glitz, glamour and intoxicating business climate. While some might say that both the protagonist and antagonist are equally seedy, I think that part of the story framework is one of the book’s real strengths. In this sense, E. Phillips Oppenheim, creates a gargantuan storyboard, which is much larger than any of its characters. (In this day and age of feelings and me, me, me — I found this classic storytelling to be a real departure and frankly refreshing.) The backstory is that of a ruthless businessman deal gone wrong and the ensuing trial which ensured that only one of the three baddies would take the fall. What happens next in the suspenseful story? You’ll have to step back in time and happily read it yourself. My copy was published in paperback form in 1954, with a splintering spine and deeply yellowing pages. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
December 26, 2015
Delightful story, just the sort I would expect from an Oppenheim adventure. Intrigue and a lost princess and an unknown girl who everyone seems to want...this story keeps you guessing to the very end.
April 8, 2016
Very pleasant period novel - bit like a Conan Doyle. Full of mystery, chases and escapes .
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews