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The Kingdom of the Blind
Lady Anselman stood in the centre of the lounge at the Ritz Hotel and with a delicately-poised forefinger counted her guests.' (Excerpt)
- GenresClassics
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1916
14 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
E. Phillips Oppenheim
613 books80 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 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 17, 2014
Espionage and Counter-Espionage
World War One.
Surgeon-Major Hugh Thomson is engaged to the beautiful Geraldine Conyers. Ostensibly responsible for military hospitals on the front in France, in reality he is in charge of military counter-intelligence. He is on the trail of a German master spy who seems to be able to travel across the lines and back and forth between Germany and England.
Captain Granet is a wounded war hero recently awarded the DSO and recovering after having been captured twice and escaping twice from the Germans. He meets and falls in love with Geraldine Conyers.
This novel was written and published in 1916, during the early years of World War 1. It relates with remarkable clarity the thoughts and feelings of the upper class in London during the early, romantic, phase of the war. Although there are intimations of the brutality of Ypres and other battles, there is still the remarkable fluidity between the battlefields in France, and society in London. Much is made of the ignorance and cowardice of politicians and businessmen, and the courage of military men in confronting the enemy.
The plot evolves around the development and implementation of secret war weapons aimed at German Submarines. Airplanes are still a novelty, and there is a nighttime Zeppelin raid on a secret weapons laboratory.
Oppenheim served as a press liaison with the British military in France. He was one of the authors who notably tried to warn Britain about German intentions before the war, and then cursed the inadequate British conduct of the war. Writing clearly from the viewpoint of the upper class, this novel is a interesting window into the thoughts and feelings of the participants.
World War One.
Surgeon-Major Hugh Thomson is engaged to the beautiful Geraldine Conyers. Ostensibly responsible for military hospitals on the front in France, in reality he is in charge of military counter-intelligence. He is on the trail of a German master spy who seems to be able to travel across the lines and back and forth between Germany and England.
Captain Granet is a wounded war hero recently awarded the DSO and recovering after having been captured twice and escaping twice from the Germans. He meets and falls in love with Geraldine Conyers.
This novel was written and published in 1916, during the early years of World War 1. It relates with remarkable clarity the thoughts and feelings of the upper class in London during the early, romantic, phase of the war. Although there are intimations of the brutality of Ypres and other battles, there is still the remarkable fluidity between the battlefields in France, and society in London. Much is made of the ignorance and cowardice of politicians and businessmen, and the courage of military men in confronting the enemy.
The plot evolves around the development and implementation of secret war weapons aimed at German Submarines. Airplanes are still a novelty, and there is a nighttime Zeppelin raid on a secret weapons laboratory.
Oppenheim served as a press liaison with the British military in France. He was one of the authors who notably tried to warn Britain about German intentions before the war, and then cursed the inadequate British conduct of the war. Writing clearly from the viewpoint of the upper class, this novel is a interesting window into the thoughts and feelings of the participants.
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August 3, 2011I thought this was a really good book. It was all about the qualms of a spy during world war II and the laws of British genteel society. I wasn't super impressed with a few of the characters, but there were others that were awesome. :)
May 20, 2019
1917. Well written and well plotted. The kingdom is England, the blind are all too many Brits, many in high places. Oppenheim was never one to underestimate the Germans, but, as we know, following orders doens't always win the day.
July 25, 2020
I've always said I'd rather be lucky than good and I've gotten lucky finding two authors that wrote suspense mysteries back in the early 1900s in E. Phillips Oppenheim and William Le Queux. This book, The Kingdom of the Blind is a suspense book revolving around espionage in England during WWI.
March 20, 2013
First world war spy thriller, well written and engaging.
January 19, 2022
This book was written smack dab in the middle of WWI in 1916, and as such it gives a remarkable window into the thoughts and attitudes of the day. There's a spy story here too, but what I thought fascinating was to see that people in 1916 were going around saying the war was a splendid chance to do some daring do and that the problem was soldiers weren't fighting hard enough. The understanding of just where a war of attrition leads you was clearly a 20/20 sight.
April 28, 2020
I just didn't get it. I know that the book was written over 100 years ago and it was a different audience that he was writing to and the readers had different expectations than I do but I just didn't get it. For the target audience, I would score a 4 but for me, as the audience, I only give it a 3.
December 2, 2025
gammache is suspended.
sends agent to Montreal to track own the fentanal missing from his las arrest where he allowed it to escape.
The agent was undercover as a disgraced officer
Simultaneously a woman left a possibly non existence fortune to her sons. There was embezzlement
sends agent to Montreal to track own the fentanal missing from his las arrest where he allowed it to escape.
The agent was undercover as a disgraced officer
Simultaneously a woman left a possibly non existence fortune to her sons. There was embezzlement
May 7, 2024
This was among a stack of old clothbound books I picked up at our local used bookstore. It's a WW1 tale of espionage written smack dab in the middle of the war.
May 31, 2025
An interesting WWI spy drama. Will they catch the smug little SOB?
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews