Sexton Blake | |
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First appearance | The Missing Millionaire (20 December 1893) |
Created by | Harry Blyth (as Hal Meredeth) |
Portrayed by | Langhorn Burton George Curzon David Farrar Geoffrey Toone William Franklyn Laurence Payne Jeremy Clyde Simon Jones |
In-universe information | |
Gender | Male |
Occupation | Detective |
Family | Henry Blake (brother) Nigel Blake (brother) |
Nationality | British |
Sexton Blake is a fictional character, a detective who has been featured in many British comic strips, novels and dramatic productions since 1893. [1] Sexton Blake adventures were featured in a wide variety of British and international publications (in many languages) from 1893 to 1978, comprising more than 4,000 stories by some 200 different authors. Blake was also the hero of numerous silent and sound films, radio serials, and a 1960s ITV television series.
The first Sexton Blake story was "The Missing Millionaire". Written by Harry Blyth (using the pseudonym Hal Meredeth), it was published in The Halfpenny Marvel number 6, on 20 December 1893, a story paper owned by the Amalgamated Press. [2] Blyth wrote six more Sexton Blake tales, three for the Marvel and three for The Union Jack a story paper launched in April 1894. [2]
The Amalgamated Press purchased the copyright to Blake along with the first story Blyth had submitted and from 1895 onwards several authors began to pen Blake tales. [2] From August 1905 Blake became the resident character in Union Jack, appearing in every issue until its transformation into the Detective Weekly in 1933. [2] Blake continued as the main feature until Detective Weekly ended in 1940.
Blake's popularity began to grow during the Edwardian era, and he appeared in a number of different story papers. These appearances included serials in the tabloid sized Boys' Friend (1905), complete tales in the pocket-sized Penny Pictorial (from 1907 to 1913 (when that magazine ended), and short stories in Answers, (1908-1911) one of the Amalgamated Press' most popular papers. [3] Writers from this era include: William Murray Graydon, Maxwell Scott, Norman Goddard, Cecil Hayter, D. H. Parry, E. W. Alais, W. J Lomax, and Michael Storm.
In the second decade of the 20th century, new writers joined the ranks and created the formidable master criminals that matched wits with Blake. These include Andrew Murray, Anthony Skene, Robert Murray Graydon, Edwy Searles Brooks and George Hamilton Teed.
Longer tales of 60,000 words or so appeared in The Boys' Friend Library and the success of these led to the creation of The Sexton Blake Library in 1915. [4] This digest-sized publication specialized in longer tales, and at the height of its popularity was published 5 times a month. [4] It ran for just under 50 years.
The majority of Sexton Blake Library covers (prior to editor William Howard Baker's 1956 revamp of the character) were painted by master Sexton Blake illustrator Eric Parker
Writers who worked on Sexton Blake stories throughout this 53-year span included Charles Henry St. John Cooper, [5] John Creasey, Jack Trevor Story, John G. Brandon [6] Michael Moorcock, and (allegedly) Brian O'Nolan (aka Flann O'Brien and Myles Coppaleen.)
In 1959 Fleetway Publications acquired the rights to Sexton Blake adventures and published The Sexton Blake Library until the title's demise. The final tale, The Last Tiger, was published in June 1963. [7]
In 1965, Blake editor William Howard Baker licensed the rights of the Sexton Blake character. He published the fifth series of The Sexton Blake Library independently via Mayflower-Dell Books, which ran until 1968. He then issued a final series of four Sexton Blake novels, using his Howard Baker Books imprint, in 1969. [7] From 1968 to 1971 Valiant published new comic strips in the style of the Knockout strips from decades earlier. [7] Blake's last original appearance was in Sexton Blake and the Demon God “a period thriller with ancient curses and cliff-hanger endings” in 1978. [7]
Blake comic strips featured in The Knock-Out Comic (later Knock-Out Comic & Magnet and, finally, simply Knockout ) from 1939 to 1960. The Blake strip was illustrated originally by artist Jos Walker and then by Alfred Taylor, who illustrated Blake's adventures for ten years. The undoubted highlight of Blake's 21-year run in Knockout was a 14-part 1949 strip drawn by Blake's greatest illustrator Eric Parker, entitled The Secret of Monte Cristo. This was Parker's only contribution to Blake's comic strip adventures.
There was one Super Detective Library story about Blake: issue 68 (published November 1955), featuring a comic strip entitled Sexton Blake's Diamond Hunt.
A final Sexton Blake comic strip (initiated to tie in with the 1967–1971 television show) featured in IPC's weekly boys' anthology Valiant, from January 1968 to May 1970.
A seven-part Blake comic strip featured in IPC's comic Tornado from March 1979 to May 1979. A contract dispute (subsequently resolved in IPC's favour) caused the Tornado editorial team to rename Blake "Victor Drago" (and Tinker & Pedro "Spencer & Brutus") for the duration of this strip.
A series of 160-page Sexton Blake annuals, featuring old stories and new material, began in 1938 and lasted till 1941.
Four hardbacks designed for the younger market were published by Dean & Son Ltd during 1968. The third of these, Raffles' Crime in Gibraltar, portrayed Blake contending with A. J. Raffles, E.W. Hornung's amateur cracksman.
There were a few anthologies and reprints in the 80s and 90s.
In 2009, IPC's information manager, David Abbott, signed licenses to publish two Blake omnibus archive editions: The Casebook of Sexton Blake, published by Wordsworth Editions, and Sexton Blake, Detective published by Snowbooks.
In 2009 Wordsworth Books published the casebook of Sexton Blake and Snowbooks published Sexton Blake Detective.
In 2013, Obverse Books licensed the character and published The Silent Thunder Caper by Mark Hodder, the first book in a proposed sixth series of the Sexton Blake Library, [8] [9] The imprint had previously published a collection of short stories featuring Blake villain Zenith the Albino. [10]
2018 saw an uptick in Sexton Blake reprints, with the first print novels published by Stillwoods Publishing, a Canadian publisher out of Nova Scotia.
In 2020 ROH Press began publishing Sexton Blake tales with Sexton Blake The Early Years, [11] a collection of Blake's first cases.
That same year British publishers Rebellion Developments released a Sexton Blake special under its Treasury of British Comics imprint. [12] They also produced four anthologies in 2020-21, each introduced by Blakeologist Mark Hodder. [13]
The Sexton Blake is so extensive it has been divided into four sections. For a list of titles from the different Blake eras check out the links below.
1893-1911: The Victorian/Edwardian Era Sexton Blake bibliography
In this era Blake works solo and with a variety of partners and detectives. In 1904 he acquires a sidekick, a young boy named Tinker. The following year he moved to Baker Street and acquired a dog named Pedro and a landlady named Mrs Bardell.
1912-1945: The Master Criminals Era Sexton Blake bibliography part 2: 1912-1945
From 1913 onwards the master criminals reigned supreme, regularly matching with Blake.
1946-1978: The Post War Era Sexton Blake bibliography part 3: 1946-1978
The era of the New Order saw Blake become more of a James Bond type. It also saw the end of the Sexton Blake Library in 1963. There were a few attempts at bringing him back, but the last original Sexton Blake story was published in 1978.
1979–present: Revivals and Republications Sexton Blake bibliography part 4: 1979-present
Various publishers issued Blake novels and anthologies, collections of some of his most popular adventures.
As the years passed, Blake's character experienced various permutations. The first descriptions and illustrations of him showed him to be "a middle-aged Victorian gentleman dressed in the typical clothing of the era and carrying a heavy walking stick." [14]
At the start of his career in 1893 he was partnered with Jules Gervaise a French detective who was also his mentor. By early in 1894 Blake was solving cases solo. During the remainder of the Victorian era he worked with various assistants Griff (half-man and beast) and a Chinese boy named We-Wee. [15] He lived in a variety of places including Norfolk Street, Strand, New Inn Chambers, and Wych Street. [15]
In The Lamp of Death (1894) Sexton Blake met Muriel Lane a woman who would eventually become his wife. His wife was referred to again in the Union Jack Christmas Number for 1901 then disappeared from the Blake canon forever. Blake remained a strict bachelor for the rest of his career. [14]
In 1904 Blake moved to Baker Street, acquired an assistant named Tinker, a landlady named Martha Bardell and a dog named Pedro. Blake began more and more to resemble Sherlock Holmes. Blake was tall, lean, strong limbed, with hair receding at the temples, and with a high intellectual forehead. When indoors at Baker Street he wore a red dressing gown, smoked a briar pipe and had a favourite chair. [15]
Throughout the Edwardian era he worked undercover at variety of jobs: reporter, cab driver, laundryman, sailor, cowboy all of which were reflected in the titles of his adventures. In Sexton Blake KC it was disclosed that he was a fully trained lawyer, in "The Tattooed Eye" (21 November 1908) he says he is a duly qualified medical man but has never practised medicine.
Throughout his career Blake also visited many countries in North America, Africa, South America, the Middle East, Asia and Oceania. Blake spoke a variety of languages and often disguised himself as a local.
In 1908 Blake matched wits with George Marsden Plummer, the first of what would become a long line of master criminals. He was followed by Count Ivor Carlac in 1912, then Professor Kew, Prince Wu Ling, Zenith the Albino and many others.
The 1920s and early 1930s are considered Blake's Golden Age, a time when he matched wits with some of his greatest foes. By the mid 1940s most had disappeared.
Many of Blake's writers had been men of adventure who had travelled the world. When World War II started, they enlisted, leaving just a small group of writers behind (with the addition of the occasional guest writer). Consequently, the standard of Blake's stories suffered.
In November 1955, William Howard Baker became editor of the Sexton Blake Library and, during 1956, introduced a successful update of the Blake formula. The Sexton Blake Library found new popularity with faster-moving, more contemporary stories (often influenced by American pulp fiction).
Blake, who had been relocated a number of times over the years, was relocated to a suite of plush offices in Berkeley Square (while retaining lodgings at Baker Street) and acquired a secretary, Paula Dane, who became a not-quite-love interest for Blake. [15]
Tinker was no longer a boy assistant, but a mature young man who went by his full name Edward Carter. [15] Blake's office receptionist, Marion Lang, was introduced as his female counterpart. [15]
Covers, which had become rather staid during the early 1950s, became much more dynamic and a new group of authors was commissioned. [16]
Baker remained as editor until 1963 (his last story was "The Last Tiger") before becoming Blake's licensor/publisher and continuing to oversee Blake's print adventures until January 1970. [17]
There were a few reprints in anthologies in the 1970s and 1980s. The new millennia has seen an up tick in reprints.
Blake's first associate from The Halfpenny Marvel No. 6 ("The Missing Millionaire") is the Frenchman Jules Gervaise, who gives him the first recorded case. [18] By issue No. 7 ("A Christmas Crime"), they initiate an investigative company together. [19] In the third story of issue No. 11 ("A Golden Ghost"), Gervaise is not mentioned. [20] [21]
In Union Jack number 53, in a story titled "Cunning Against Skill" (1904), (written by W. J. Lomax under the pen-name of Herbert Maxwell), Blake picked up a wiry street-wise orphan as an assistant who was known only as Tinker until the 1950s. With the popularity of school stories during the early 1900s, Tinker's schooldays were chronicled in issues 229 and 232. Over the years, Tinker changed from a boy and good fighter to a rugged and capable young man. As well as assisting the "guv'nor", as he called Blake, Tinker kept Blake's crime files up to date with clippings from the daily newspapers, in addition to assisting Blake in his fully equipped crime laboratory. The Edwardian British private detective Herbert Marshall was a friend of one of the Blake authors', Charles Henry St John Cooper (1869–1926), and stated that Cooper had based the character of Tinker on Marshall's own teenaged assistant Henry Drummond. Drummond sold newspapers in Northumberland Avenue in order to support his widowed mother until, aged just 14, [22] he was offered a job by Marshall. Drummond died in around 1905 from tuberculosis, aged 19. [23]
In 1905, Blake's bustling housekeeper Mrs Bardell (created by William Murray Graydon, who also created Pedro the bloodhound), was introduced and remained until the end. Her misuse of the English language was legendary in stories – she was a gifted cook and would always be on hand if a client needed food or a cup of tea. Mrs Bardell even featured as the main character in stories such as: "The Mystery Of Mrs Bardell's Xmas Pudding" in 1925 and "Mrs Bardell's Xmas Eve" in 1926.
In Union Jack number 100 (9 September 1905), a story entitled "The Dog Detective" introduced Blake's faithful, wise and ferocious bloodhound, Pedro. Pedro was originally owned by Rafael Calderon, ex-president of a South American state, but after performing various services for Calderon, Blake was given Pedro by Calderon, using the guise of "Mr. Nemo". Pedro tracked many villains to their lairs in subsequent stories.
Another notable non-human associate (and almost a character in itself) was Blake's bullet-proof Rolls-Royce, named The Grey Panther (introduced at a time when most other sleuths were still taking cabs). For a short while, Blake also flew a Moth monoplane (also called The Grey Panther and designed by Blake himself).
Sexton Blake had a large rogues gallery of supervillains from around the globe. Some of the most famous included:
The type of villain Blake opposed changed with the times (as did Blake himself). After World War II, his opponents became more ordinary, their personalities and motives less fantastic. Veteran writers John Hunter and Walter Tyrer excelled at this type of writing, but others failed to maintain their standards.
Sexton Blake also teamed up with a variety of police officers, private detectives and other assorted crime fighters from time to time. Some of the most popular include:
Other associates included Derek "Splash" Page of the Daily Radio; Ruff Hanson, a tough American investigator (both created by Gwyn Evans), and Blake's friends at Scotland Yard: Chief Detective Inspector Lennard, and Superintendent Venner.
There were several Sexton Blake stage plays:
Year | Film title | Starring | Directed by | Novel | Notes | |
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Blake | Tinker | |||||
1909 | Sexton Blake | Charles Douglas Carlile | Charles Douglas Carlile | Five Years After by William Murray Graydon [26] | 12 minutes [27] | |
1909 | The Council of Three | S. Wormald | ||||
1910 serial [28] | Lady Candale's Diamonds | |||||
The Jewel Thieves Run to Earth by Sexton Blake | Possibly The Jewel Thieves by Ernest Sempill? | |||||
1914 | Sexton Blake Vs Baron Kettler | Hugh Moss [28] | Hugh Moss | Possibly The Adventure of the Lady Typist? [29] | [30] | |
1914 | The Clue of the Wax Vesta | Arthur Dean | The Vengeance Series by George Hamilton Teed. The title is drawn from a clue in Teed's The Missing Guests. | 30 minutes [31] | ||
1914 serial [28] | The Mystery of the Diamond Belt | Philip Kay | Lewis Carlton | Charles Raymond | The Mystery of the Diamond Belt by Lewis Carlton [29] | [32] Manufactured in England by F. Bernard Davidson. Exclusively controlled by The Kinematograph Trading Co. Sexton Blake vs George Marsden Plummer |
The Kaiser's Spies | ||||||
Britain's Secret Treaty | The Case of the German Admiral [33] by Andrew Murray | |||||
1915 serial [28] | The Stolen Heirlooms | Harry Lorraine | Bert Rex | Possibly The Case of the Missing Heirlooms by Cecil Hayter? | ||
The Counterfeiters | The Counterfeiters by J.W. Bobin | |||||
The Great Cheque Fraud | The Great Cheque Fraud | |||||
The Thornton Jewel Mystery | Possibly The Marfield Jewel Mystery? | |||||
1919 | Further Exploits of Sexton Blake: The Mystery of the S. S. Olympic | Douglas Payne | Neil Warrington | Harry Lorraine | The Mystery of the S. S. Olympic by Robert Murray Graydon | [29] |
1922 | The Doddington Diamonds | Jack Denton | Possibly The Conniston Diamonds by G. H. Teed? | |||
1928 serial [34] | The Clue of the Second Goblet | Langhorne Burton | Mickey Brantford | George A. Cooper | The Clue of the Second Goblet by G. H. Teed | [35] |
Blake the Lawbreaker | ||||||
Sexton Blake, Gambler | George J. Banfield | |||||
Silken Threads | Leslie Eveleigh | |||||
The Great Office Mystery | The Great Office Mystery by Jack Lewis (Lewis Jackson) | |||||
The Mystery of the Silent Death | Leslie Eveleigh | Possibly The Menace of the Silent Death by E. J. Murray? |
There was also a spoof film titled Sexton Pimple (1914), starring the comedian Fred Evans. [29]
ITV broadcast Rediffusion/Thames Television's Sexton Blake featuring Laurence Payne as Blake and Roger Foss as Tinker from Monday 25 September 1967 to Wednesday 13 January 1971. In keeping with Sexton Blake's classic print adventures, Payne's Blake drove a white Rolls-Royce named "The Grey Panther" and owned a bloodhound named Pedro. The show was produced originally by Ronald Marriott for Associated Rediffusion, with Thames Television assuming production in 1968.
Pedro was played by one or more bloodhounds (bitches), which doubled as 'Henry', for Chunky dog food advertisements with Clement Freud, and were owned by the then secretary of the Bloodhound Club, Mrs Bobbie Edwards.
During rehearsals for the show in 1968, Laurence Payne was blinded in his left eye by a rapier.
Typical of the TV series's sometimes-fantastic storylines (all of which lasted 2–6 episodes) was 1968's "The Invicta Ray" in which a villain dressed in a costume and hood of sackcloth-like material and, under the rays of The Invicta Ray, became invisible so that he could commit crimes without being seen.
Of 50 episodes, only the first episode is thought to exist still.
The cast:
Simon Raven's Sexton Blake and the Demon God was a six-part television serial produced by Barry Letts for the BBC in 1978. The serial was broadcast by BBC One at tea-time from Sunday 10 September 1978 until Sunday 15 October 1978 and was directed by Roger Tucker.
Jeremy Clyde played Blake, with Philip Davis appearing as Tinker and Barbara Lott playing Mrs Bardell. [49]
Monsieur Zenith the Albino is an ambiguous villain created by writer Anthony Skene for the "Sexton Blake" series of detective pulp fiction.
Valiant was a weekly British comics periodical published by Fleetway Publications and later IPC Magazines from 4 October 1962 to 16 October 1976. A boys' adventure comic, it debuted numerous memorable characters, including Captain Hurricane, The Steel Claw and Mytek the Mighty. Valiant lasted for 712 issues before being merged with stablemate Battle Picture Weekly.
Story Paper Collectors' Digest was a journal published from November 1946 until May 2005, and with special intermittent issues continuing on until late 2007. It was created by Herbert Leckenby. With articles on story papers, it heavily featured the work of Charles Hamilton, Edwy Searles Brooks and the tales of detectives Sexton Blake and Nelson Lee. It was published monthly until 2004. The editors were Herbert Leckenby until his death in October 1959, then Eric Fayne until January 1987 when he retired as editor, then Mary Cadogan.
ITV aired Sexton Blake starring Laurence Payne as Sexton Blake and Roger Foss as Tinker from Monday 25 September 1967 to Wednesday 13 January 1971.
Mark Hodder is an English author, since 2008 living in Spain. His six-part series of 'Burton & Swinburne' steampunk novels opened with The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack, which went on to win the 2010 Philip K. Dick Award. The following two novels, The Curious Case of the Clockwork-Man and Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon, were released in 2011 and 2012 respectively to wide acclaim from fans of the genre, with the latter nominated for a Sidewise Award. His fourth novel in the Burton & Swinburne series, The Secret of Abdu El Yezdi, was also nominated for a Sidewise Award.
Eric Robert Parker was a prolific British illustrator and comics artist best known for illustrating the adventures of Sexton Blake in various periodicals.
Sexton Blake is a 1928 six-part silent film serial produced by British Filmcraft. The serial stars Langhorne Burton as the fictional detective Sexton Blake, and Mickey Brantford as his assistant Tinker.
Sexton Blake and the Demon God is a 1978 six-part British BBC miniseries starring Jeremy Clyde as the fictional detective Sexton Blake. It was scripted by Simon Raven, directed by Roger Tucker and produced by Barry Letts. The serial was broadcast by BBC One at tea-time from Sunday, 10 September 1978, until Sunday, 15 October 1978. Like the 1967–1971 Sexton Blake series, it is set in the 1920s.
Francis (Frank) Howel Evans (1867–1931) was a Welsh author who wrote for many British story papers such as Chums, The Boy's Own Paper, and The Boys' Friend during the first few decades of the 20th century. He also wrote under the pen names Atherley Daunt and Crutchley Payne. Many of his stories take place in the theatre.
George Hamilton Teed was a Canadian author who also wrote under the pen-names G. H. Teed, Hamilton Teed, Louis Brittany, Peter Kingsland, and Desmond Reid. Teed was born in Woodstock, New Brunswick. He specialized in adventure fiction and detective stories, but also wrote science fiction and the odd romance. He is best remembered for his tales of Sexton Blake, a popular, fictional British detective who featured in a wide variety of publications in the first half of the twentieth century. He wrote close to three hundred Blake tales, more than any other author, and his creations and writings are considered "the best in Blake history before the Second World War."
Nelson Lee is a fictional detective who featured in the Amalgamated Press papers over a 40-year run. Created in 1894 by Maxwell Scott he appeared in various publications including The Halfpenny Marvel, Pluck, The Boys' Friend, Boys' Realm, The Boys' Herald and the Union Jack In 1915 he was given his own story-paper series, The Nelson Lee Library, which ran until 1933.
Henry Thomas Blyth (1852–1898) was a British writer who also wrote under the pen-name Hal Meredith. Blyth was born in Greenwich, London. He wrote for many of Alfred Harmsworth's papers of the 1890s, and is mostly remembered for creating detective Sexton Blake.
Robert Murray Graydon was a British novelist who also wrote under the pen-names Robert Murray, Murray Hamilton, and Murray Roberts. He is best remembered for his Sexton Blake stories featuring the Criminals' Confederation, a global criminal organisation that featured prominently in the Blake magazines from 1916 to the 1930s.
William Murray Graydon was an extremely prolific American writer who also wrote under the pen-names Alfred Armitage, William Murray, and Tom Olliver. He wrote adventure, historical fiction and Sexton Blake detective stories for boy's story papers.
The Nelson Lee Library was a story paper of the first third of the 20th century, published by Amalgamated Press. It featured the adventures of private detective Nelson Lee and his boy assistant Nipper.
The Sexton Blake Library was a story paper of the first two-thirds of the 20th century, published by Amalgamated Press. It featured the adventures of private detective Sexton Blake, his boy assistant Tinker and their dog Pedro.
Sexton Blake is a fictional detective who has been featured in many British comic strips, novels, and dramatic productions since 1893. He was featured in various British publications from 1893 to 1978 in a variety of formats: single-issue adventures, short stories, serials, and comic strips. In total, Blake appeared in more than 4,000 stories by over 200 different authors. During its golden age (1920s-1940s), Blake's adventures were widely read and translated into at least twenty different languages, including Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian, French, Arabic, Hindi, and Afrikaans.
Sexton Blake is a fictional detective who has been featured in many British comic strips, novels, and dramatic productions since 1893. He was featured in various British publications from 1893 to 1978 in a variety of formats: single-issue adventures, short stories, serials, and comic strips. In total, Blake appeared in more than 4,000 stories by over 200 different authors.
During its golden age (1920s-1940s), Blake's adventures were widely read and translated into at least twenty different languages, including Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian, French, Arabic, Hindi, and Afrikaans.
Sexton Blake is a fictional detective who has been featured in many British comic strips, novels, and dramatic productions since 1893. He was featured in various British publications from 1893 to 1978 in a variety of formats: single-issue adventures, short stories, serials, and comic strips. In total, Blake appeared in more than 4,000 stories by over 200 different authors.
Sexton Blake is a fictional detective who has been featured in many British comic strips, novels, and dramatic productions since 1893. He was featured in various British publications from 1893 to 1978 in a variety of formats: single-issue adventures, short stories, serials, and comic strips. In total, Blake appeared in more than 4,000 stories by over 200 different authors.
mickey brantford sexton blake.