What do you think?
Rate this book
The Pawns Count
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).
315 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1918
7 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
E. Phillips Oppenheim
632 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
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 17, 2021
A thrilling story from the beloved British novelist who hoped to convince the US to join them against Germany in the WW1 trenches. There are lots of surprising tidbits of modern foreign policies, including a side-swipe at British enforcement of maritime law and a rather shocking foreshadowing of the Japanese attitude toward the US just a quarter century before Pearl Harbor was to happen.
The spy portions are all edge-of-year-seat and the audio (from LibriVox) was easy to listen to. I definitely enjoyed this one.
Content: a handful of basic profanities.
The spy portions are all edge-of-year-seat and the audio (from LibriVox) was easy to listen to. I definitely enjoyed this one.
Content: a handful of basic profanities.
May 5, 2014
Espionage in the US and England during World War One
John Lutchester is a wounded English Officer during World War 1. He is working as an "inspector of munitions" for the Secret Service. A scientist he is meeting at a London restaurant/club is abducted, and the formula for a powerful new explosive is stolen. At the same restaurant is Pamela Van Teyl, a wealth American girl who runs mysterious errands for her government. Also present are Mr. Fischer, a German American millionaire, and the Baron Sunyea, ambassador of Japan. These four will contend for the formula. The action moves swiftly from the underground of spies in London, to the heights of society in New York. The combatants seek not only secrets, but also love.
The action in this novel takes place in the Spring of 1916. Germany and England are at war, and the alliances of the United States and Japan are key to ultimate victory. Germany is looking to strengthen the neutrality of the US, and keep American out of the war, at all costs. Japan is seen as a future power that can attack or support Germany's global ambitions. The novel explores the actions of German American businessmen who plot to keep American neutral, or destroy it's ability to help English and French. American polticians are bribed, factories are burned.
The Battle of Jutland, which took place at the end of May, 1916, features prominently in the story. The novel was published in March of 1918, while the war was still being waged in Europe. Oppenheim worked for the British Government in public affairs, and was heavily engaged in the effort to convince the Americans to join the war.
John Lutchester is a wounded English Officer during World War 1. He is working as an "inspector of munitions" for the Secret Service. A scientist he is meeting at a London restaurant/club is abducted, and the formula for a powerful new explosive is stolen. At the same restaurant is Pamela Van Teyl, a wealth American girl who runs mysterious errands for her government. Also present are Mr. Fischer, a German American millionaire, and the Baron Sunyea, ambassador of Japan. These four will contend for the formula. The action moves swiftly from the underground of spies in London, to the heights of society in New York. The combatants seek not only secrets, but also love.
The action in this novel takes place in the Spring of 1916. Germany and England are at war, and the alliances of the United States and Japan are key to ultimate victory. Germany is looking to strengthen the neutrality of the US, and keep American out of the war, at all costs. Japan is seen as a future power that can attack or support Germany's global ambitions. The novel explores the actions of German American businessmen who plot to keep American neutral, or destroy it's ability to help English and French. American polticians are bribed, factories are burned.
The Battle of Jutland, which took place at the end of May, 1916, features prominently in the story. The novel was published in March of 1918, while the war was still being waged in Europe. Oppenheim worked for the British Government in public affairs, and was heavily engaged in the effort to convince the Americans to join the war.
August 13, 2011
An early spy thriller from the days of World War I. A man comes up with a new explosive, but then he quickly disappears. (Loose lips sink ships, dude.) This sets in motion several spies from several countries, even Japan, searching for the missing inventor. I was especially impressed with the lead heroine. While I can't remember her name, I remember she had intelligence, spunk, a backbone, courage, common sense, and style.
May 30, 2019
An excellent read, even if there is a fair amount of vagueness. Was Nikasti's hostility a reaction to the allies gutting of the 29 demands? Or to the US's hostile [California most particularly] reaction to Japanese immigrants? Why did German [or German-American] terror cells blow up US ammunition factories, and infect horses being sent to the the European front with anthrax [among other things], if their fixed goal was to keep America neutral? The short answer is Germans are very poor at diplomacy; the long answer is WWII.
1918
1918
January 18, 2026
Nope. This author was more concerned with painting racial prejudices than with the actual war. All persons non-white were villains, underhanded, and spies. The actual plot was good in places, but the undercurrent of mistrust to anyone not born in America was heavy handed. Understandable, perhaps, given that it was written in the era of WWI, but certainly generalized and quite questionable.
December 27, 2017
Up-to-date tale of duplicity, war and murder. Well read (Librivox) by Tom Weiss Recommended.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews