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The Lighted Way
Edward Phillips Oppenheim (1866-1946), was an English novelist, in his lifetime a major and successful writer of genre fiction including thrillers. Featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1918, he was the self-styled "prince of storytellers. " He composed more than a hundred novels, mostly of the suspense and international intrigue nature, as well as romances, comedies, and parables of everyday life. Perhaps Oppenheim's most enduring creation is the character of General Besserley, the protagonist of General Besserley's Puzzle Box and General Besserley's New Puzzle Box (one of his last works). His work possesses a unique 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. His first novel was about England and Canada, called Expiation (1887); followed by such titles as The Betrayal (1904), The Avenger (1907), The Governors (1908), The Double Life of Mr. Alfred Burton (1913), An Amiable Charlatan (1915), The Black Box (1915), The Double Traitor (1915), The Cinema Murder (1917), The Box with Broken Seals (1919), The Devil's Paw (1920) and The Evil Shepherd (1922).
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1912
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 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 28, 2013
Business in London, Revolutionaries, and Romance
E. Phillips Oppenheim created many of the basic plot formats for novels and movies. In this 1912 novel he uses several of his recurrent themes:
1. A dramatic change in fortune for a deserving hero
2. A beautiful and unfortunate invalid
3. Eastern European Royalty fighting against anarchist revolutionaries
4. A mysterious disappearance.
4. London Society contrasted with the working world of the City of London.
etc.
Arnold Chetwode is a well-born young man who is poverty stricken as a result of undescribed relatives. Ruth Lalonde is the beautiful invalid who takes him in and shares her meals with him. Arnold finds work in the wholesale grocery firm run by Mr Weatherley, an industrious but common merchant. Weatherley is married to the beautiful, mysterious, and extravagant Fenella Sabatini, sister of the dashing, worldly and indifferent Count Sabatini.
Ruth's uncle, the ragged revolutionary Isaac Lalonde, haunts the social gatherings of the group.
Full of descriptions of London settings, society, restaurants, country houses, and early motorcars, the novel careens back and forth between politics and romance.
1912
E. Phillips Oppenheim created many of the basic plot formats for novels and movies. In this 1912 novel he uses several of his recurrent themes:
1. A dramatic change in fortune for a deserving hero
2. A beautiful and unfortunate invalid
3. Eastern European Royalty fighting against anarchist revolutionaries
4. A mysterious disappearance.
4. London Society contrasted with the working world of the City of London.
etc.
Arnold Chetwode is a well-born young man who is poverty stricken as a result of undescribed relatives. Ruth Lalonde is the beautiful invalid who takes him in and shares her meals with him. Arnold finds work in the wholesale grocery firm run by Mr Weatherley, an industrious but common merchant. Weatherley is married to the beautiful, mysterious, and extravagant Fenella Sabatini, sister of the dashing, worldly and indifferent Count Sabatini.
Ruth's uncle, the ragged revolutionary Isaac Lalonde, haunts the social gatherings of the group.
Full of descriptions of London settings, society, restaurants, country houses, and early motorcars, the novel careens back and forth between politics and romance.
1912
December 26, 2015
Arnold Chetwode never intended to become involved in international intrigue. He was gently bred and fell upon hard times after his father made a bad investment and died soon after; he goes to London to make his fortune. A surprising invitation puts him at the right time and place to be a witness to a public murder. His employer and employer's family are involved in the aftermath...is anyone who they seem to be? Even Ruth, the poor invalid who befriended him when he was penniless?
November 22, 2019
Unusual story. I couldn't imagine quite where the author was going with all the disparate elements, but he brought them together in the end (albeit with a lot of wildly improbably coincidences, but then you don't read Oppenheim looking for gritty reality).
July 9, 2019
There are no particularly interesting people in this one, but the plot, with it's wrinkles, is interesting enough to make up for character.
1912
1912
April 22, 2025
Another good mystery. Who's good? Who's bad? Why did they kill that guy? I thought he was with them.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews