Edgar Wallace (1875–1932)
Author of The Four Just Men
About the Author
Among the most prolific of all authors of adventure fiction was the redoubtable Edgar Wallace. Born in London, Wallace received his early education at St. Peter's School and the Board School. Wallace served in the Royal West Kent Regiment in England and later as part of the Medical Staff Corps show more stationed in South Africa. During World War I, Wallace acted as a special interrogator for the War Office. As was the case with a number of successful popular authors, Wallace experienced a rich and diverse life before turning to professional writing. From 1886 to the 1930s, he worked in a printing shop, a shoe shop, and a rubber factory, and served as a merchant sailor and milk deliverer. Beginning in 1899, Wallace became a journalist and wrote variously for the London Daily Mail and the Rand Daily News, among others; he also worked with the racing periodicals, having founded two of them---Bibury's Weekly and R. E. Walton's Weekly. Like Sax Rohmer, Wallace earned a fortune from his writings, yet, because of a lack of business sense and a tendency to overspend, he died in debt. A prodigious writer of fiction, Wallace published, over the course of his professional life, some 173 books and wrote 17 plays. Many of his adventure narratives featured elements of crime or mystery, but they all thrived on action. Although Wallace's handling of plot was superb and he was respected for his ability to blend suspense with humor, he was less successful with his characters, who tended to be two-dimensional and stereotyped. One of his early crime adventures, The Four Just Men (1906), introduced what was to become a trademark for Wallace---lurid sensationalism coupled with dramatic violence. Wallace published in a wide range of genres, including poetry, short fiction, autobiography, and epic political history. Regrettably, much of what he wrote has lapsed into obscurity today. As sometimes is the problem with popular fiction, perhaps it was too hurriedly written---too intimately connected with its contemporary audience---to stand the ultimate test of time. But Wallace's work was highly influential, especially in the American pulp magazine markets of the Great Depression, and stands today, despite its many flaws, as some of the most effective literary adventures ever written. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Courtesy of the NYPL Digital Gallery (image use requires permission from the New York Public Library)
Series
Works by Edgar Wallace
King Kong Collection: King Kong / Son of Kong / Mighty Joe Young (2005) — Writer — 18 copies, 1 review
The Four Just Men / Eve's Island / The Clue of the Twisted Candle / The Man Who Knew (1985) 12 copies
The Flying Squad / The Coat of Arms / The Traitor's Gate / The Clue of the Silver Key / The Squealer (1973) 8 copies
The Clue of the Twisted Candle / The Door with Seven Locks / The Northing Tramp / The Man at the Carlton / White Face (1961) 6 copies
The Casebooks of Mr. J. G. Reeder, Book 2 (Red Aces, The Guv'nor, The Man Who Passed) (2008) 5 copies
Eve's Island / Kate, Plus 10 / The Crimson Circle / Double Dan / The Avenger / The Fellowship of the Frog / The Joker (1993) 5 copies
The Complete Four Just Men: Volume 1 (The Four Just Men, The Council of Justice, The Just Men of Cordova) (2008) 5 copies
The Crimson Circle / Number Six / Red Aces / Kennedy the Con Man / The Case of Joe Attymar (1983) 4 copies
Elk of the Yard: The Criminal Cases of Inspector Elk, Volume 3 (Silinski: Master Criminal & White Face) (2011) 4 copies
The law of the three just men 4 copies
Edgar Wallace Mystery Magazine 4 copies
The Edgar Wallace Police Van [The Green Archer; The Forger; The Double; The Flying Squad] (1930) 3 copies
The Door with Seven Locks / White Face / The Man at the Carlton / The Clue of the Twisted Candle / The Day of Uniting (1985) 3 copies
The Ringer / The Black Abbot / The Fellowship of the Frog / The India-Rubber Men / The Green Archer (2011) 3 copies
Elk of the Yard: The Criminal Cases of Inspector Elk, Volume 2 (The Twister & The India-Rubber Men) (2011) 2 copies
The Law of the Three Just Men 2 copies
Delitti impossibili 2 copies
Edgar Wallace, Die spannendsten Fälle. Vom Erfinder des modernen Thrillers: Der Hexer, Der Zinker, Das indische Tuch. Cosy Crime at it´s best (2025) 2 copies
The Fellowship of the Frog / The Ringer / The Dark Eyes of London / The Squeaker / The Black Abbot 2 copies
Agent Heine: The Man from the Stars, by Edgar Wallace: narrated by Michael Henrik Wynn (1918) 2 copies
Halley's Comet, the Cowboy, and Lord Dorrington: A Curious Story with a Cumbersome Title (1910) 2 copies
Mr. J.G. Reeder Mysteries 2 copies
The Complete Four Just Men: Volume 2 (The Law of the Four Just Men & The Three Just Men) (2008) 2 copies
The Stranger of the Night 1 copy
Il libro della potenza 1 copy
Four complete novels : 1 copy
Die Box 1 copy
Die Abenteuerin (mit Illustrationen): Vier Kriminalgeschichten (Edgar Wallace Illustriert) (German Edition) (2016) 1 copy
P G reader 1 copy
Il volto della notte 1 copy
MYSTERY LEAGUE (21 VOLUMES) 1 copy
Code No. 2 1 copy
A King by Night / Penelope of the "Polyantha" / The Door with Seven Locks / The Double (1991) 1 copy
Il duca di Brockley 1 copy
L'idolo d'oro: L'isola d'Eva 1 copy
Omnibusbogen — Author — 1 copy
12 Hörspiele 1 copy
A morte procura um Homem 1 copy
Gangsters 1 copy
החמסן : רומן בלשי 1 copy
Folge 12: Das indische Tuch 1 copy
Parādnieks : romāns 1 copy
Asso di quadri Asso di cuori 1 copy
A rainha do crime 1 copy
Elk of the Yard: The Criminal Cases of Inspector Elk, Volume 1 (The Fellowship of the Frog & The Joker) (2011) 1 copy
Edgar Wallace Collection 1 copy
OLUM CICEKLERI 1 copy
The Ringer / When the Gangs Came to London / White Face / The India-Rubber Men / The Man Who Knew (2011) 1 copy
The Terror / Blue Hand / The Daffodil Mystery / The Crimson Circle / The Lady of Ascot (2009) 1 copy
The Standard History of the War, Volume 2: Ypres-Armentieres - The Battle for the Coast (1915) 1 copy
The War of the Nations : A History of the Great European Conflict : February 5 1916 : Vol 7 No 76 (1916) 1 copy
The Stretelli Case / In Thrall / Killer Kay / The Man Who Killed Himself / Circumstantial Evidence / The Treasure House (2020) 1 copy
Alarmklockan 1 copy
Slane-mysteriet 1 copy
Sanders & Bones: The African Adventures, 1 (Sanders of the River & The People of the River) (2011) 1 copy
The Man from Morocco / The Melody of Death / The Million Dollar Story / The Northing Tramp / Penelope of the "Polyantha" (1966) 1 copy
Den dödes check 1 copy
Sanders & Bones: The African Adventures, 5 (Sandi, the King-Maker & Bones of the River) (2011) 1 copy
The War of the Nations : A History of the Great European Conflict : February 12 1916 : Vol 7 No 77 1 copy
The Square Emerald / Penelope of the "Polyantha" / We Shall See! / Red Aces / The Forger (1959) 1 copy
The Flying Squad [annotated] 1 copy
Novelas de musterio 1 copy
Un bacio prima di morire 1 copy
A MÃO DO DIABO 1 copy
Wallace Edgar 1 copy
Svart magi 1 copy
Hans annet jeg 1 copy
The Stretelli Case / In Thrall / Killer Kay / The Man Who Killed Himself / Circumstantial Evidence (2015) 1 copy
Sanders & Bones: The African Adventures, 2 (The River of Stars & Bosambo of the River) (2011) 1 copy
Clarence - Private 1 copy
Gonsalez & C:o 1 copy
Associated Works
The Penguin Book of Gaslight Crime: Con Artists, Burglars, Rogues, and Scoundrels from the Time of Sherlock Holmes (2009) — Contributor — 197 copies, 6 reviews
101 Years' Entertainment: The Great Detective Stories 1841-1941 (1941) — Contributor — 111 copies, 1 review
Menace of the Monster: Classic Tales of Creatures from Beyond (2019) — Contributor — 42 copies, 2 reviews
The Dick Francis Complete Treasury of Great Racing Stories (1991) — Contributor — 34 copies, 1 review
City Sleuths and Tough Guys: Crime Stories from Poe to the Present (1989) — Contributor — 32 copies, 1 review
Detective Stories (The Treasure Hunt / The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim / The Necklace of Pearls) (1996) — Contributor — 20 copies
The Locked-Room Mysteries (The Four Just Men, The Mystery of the Yellow Room, The Hollow Man) (2017) — Contributor — 18 copies, 1 review
Sleuths: Twenty-Three Great Detectives of Fiction and Their Best Stories (1931) — Contributor — 7 copies
The Masterpiece Library of Short Stories Vol. XX: The War (with Index) — Contributor — 4 copies
Piirakkasota; valikoima huumoria — Contributor — 3 copies
Edgar Wallace Mystery Magazine Vol. 02, No. 12: July, 1965 — Contributor — 2 copies
The Fourth Crime Club Omnibus: The Devil Man / Mystery at Friar's Pardon / Death Comes to Perigord / Dead Man's Watch (1937) — Contributor — 2 copies
Detective Omnibus (The Melody of Death, The Bartenstein Mystery, The Rasp) (1936) — Contributor — 1 copy
The Door with Seven Locks / Voice Out of Darkness / A Well-Known Face — Contributor — 1 copy
The Dark Eyes of London | The Eight of Swords | The Iron Gates | The Second Confession | The Tragedy of Y (1965) — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Wallace, Edgar
- Legal name
- Wallace, Richard Horatio Edgar
- Birthdate
- 1875-04-01
- Date of death
- 1932-02-10
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- journalist
novelist
scriptwriter - Relationships
- Wallace, Bryan Edgar (son)
Wallace, Penelope (daughter) - Short biography
- Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at 12. He joined the army at 21 and was a war correspondent during the Second Boer War for Reuters and the Daily Mail. Struggling with debt, he left South Africa, returned to London and began writing thrillers to raise income, publishing books including The Four Just Men (1905). Drawing on time as a reporter in the Congo, covering the Belgian atrocities, Wallace serialised short stories in magazines, later publishing collections such as Sanders of the River (1911). He signed with Hodder and Stoughton in 1921 and became an internationally recognised author.
- Cause of death
- diabetes
pneumonia - Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- London, Middlesex, England, UK
- Places of residence
- South Africa
- Place of death
- Hollywood, California, USA
- Burial location
- Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
- Map Location
- England, UK
Members
Reviews
Billed as a thriller and maybe 100 years ago it was, but now it’s just hilarious. When I was still actively reading the book, I rooted for the villain because the victim is just stupid beyond reason. The titular Angel of Terror was more interesting, but dumb as well. Plus there’s a supporting character who acts as a bodyguard and his real identity is obvious. In the end I skimmed like mad, got to the end and I doubt I’ll read another of Wallace’s books. The whole contrived, safe and show more dated plot reminded me of the Harold MacGrath book, The Million Dollar Mystery which was also terrible. show less
OK, you got me. Did not see that coming, but wanted to slap myself for NOT seeing it coming. Would have given it three stars, but the ending bumped it up a little. Very slangy bit of zeitgeist that didn't age all that well, but good fun and a surprise ending.
Actually, a three-man committee who force a fourth to join them for his skills, they are self-appointed judges and executioners of malefactors who are outside the reach of the law. In this case their target is a British politician who is pushing a bill that will permit the expulsion of certain foreign residents. They oppose it because a Spanish revolutionary will be among those ejected and punished in his own nation, ruled by a corrupt and despotic government The four just men pride show more themselves on giving fair warning, so the plot of the book consists of their plans to execute the politician and of the efforts of Scotland Yard to protect him. Interesting in the history of the crime novel although I suspect that the science is a bit questionable. It was originally published in 1905. show less
Edgar Wallace and his Four Just Men stories were unfamiliar to me before stumbling across this reprint in a flea market stall. A quick scan of the jacket suggested some penny dreadful fun, perhaps even some insights into the origins of crime thriller / noir / espionage genres, and that's pretty much what I got.
It's notable that from the beginning, there are actually three Just Men, the titular fourth having died in a prior adventure. A new "fourth" seemingly rotates through the first two and perhaps later stories. Though Wallace endeavours to distinguish his three protagonists, I could never remember the names of any of them, and their characteristics resembled more than anything the skills of the prototypical heist crew. (Is Wallace perhaps the originator of that trope?)
A quick online search reveals the stories were adapted first as a silent film and later a B movie, before an updated treatment as an ITV series in 1959. The series featured a post-WWII setting and characters typically appearing solo in separate episodes, only keeping in contact by telephone between adventures. Interestingly, the ITV series came less than a decade after the appearance of Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, and just two years before the first Bond film.
The psychohistory surrounding both the stories's broad premise, and the popular reception given these stories and so many like them, is as compelling as anything Wallace writes.
THE FOUR JUST MEN (1905) | read 2023-07
Four vigilantes have been operating in Europe for some time (we are treated to a list of eighteen murders dating 1899-1904), but until recently went undetected. Their crimes were public and sensational, but were not linked together -- until the vigilantes themselves announce their next target, a British MP and Foreign Secretary. The Foreign Secretary is intent upon introducing a bill which the vigilantes are convinced will undermine the country. And so, they undertake an open letter promising assassination should he not desist, sincerely hoping this will dislodge the right honourable (but equally misguided) public servant from his course, and very much prepared to carry through with their own plan should he prove unequal to the moral task they set for him.
Interesting that this mission is so unlike the breathless descriptions of their prior adventures, each inspired to serve justice in cases of personal crimes done knowingly, deliberately, and for personal gain -- while here, the Foreign Secretary is doing only what he believes is best for the nation. But of course, none of those adventures were worthy of a novel, they are shared now only by way of establishing our heroes' bona fides. In a similar vein, even the current mission's rationale isn't persuasive: the entire objective is easily thwarted should another MP re-introduce the same bill later; alternately, the objective could be achieved more simply by assassinating the Carlist leader directly, though this would occasion less public moralising. Wallace's premise boils down to an exotic locked room mystery, the international and political intrigue more-or-less trappings, and he seems well aware of that. The perennial favour granted his formula proves he was onto something in the Zeitgeist.
THE COUNCIL OF JUSTICE (1908) | read 2023-08
The story is actually two. The first two-thirds of the novel is a story of the Red Hundred, an anarchist organisation and their dismantling by the Four. The novel's final third depicts one of the Just Men "captured", thereby rendering the Four no longer completely anonymous -- though his co-conspirators remain unknown, working toward the prisoner's escape. Across these two very different stories the reader is regaled with the extremely unlikely and the inexplicable.
The ending is the fun bit, the prisoner's bid for escape. The side plot with the Woman of Gratz being a rival to one of the Men, but ending up swooning for him is ... regrettable. Following on from my observations of the first novel, I can't help but wonder how much this served as a template for James Bond, up to and including the Red Hundred as inspiration for SPECTRE. Not having read any but one of Fleming's novels, the inspiration if any may be more for the films than the books.
THE JUST MEN OF CORDOVA (1918) | read 2025-04
In this installment, the public menace comes from a sociopathic financier lately of Lyon, now operating in London as Colonel Black. While the title hints the action should be in Spain, that is merely where the novel opens, and where one of the 4JM moonlights as a published authority on modern crime. Cordova is but background to criminal conspiracy in England, with Black fearing the attention of the 4JM and attempting to find them out, believing them to be in Spain. (So it is the criminal's belief, then, the 4JM are "of Cordova".)
The criminal story is told in parallel with a romance, that of a Constable (Frank) and his intended (May), and the resulting class comedy as she and the reader learn the extent to which the Constable is not, or not merely, a policeman.
As with prior installments, there is a large cast of characters, many locales mentioned including as far afield as the Continent and Australia, and scenes in public squares and businesses, back alleys and a charitable clinic. The 4JM ever keep one step ahead of everyone else, but the reader isn't any wiser on how they manage this than is their quarry.
The identify of the Fourth is revealed only at the end, I had supposed it was one character and suspect now Wallace intended for me to think that. It was not particularly contrived though in the end makes little difference to my experience of the overall plot or story.
to read:
THE LAW OF THE FOUR JUST MEN (1921)
THE THREE JUST MEN (1924)
AGAIN THE THREE (1928) show less
There had grown into being systems which defied correction; corporations beyond chastisement; individuals protected by cunningly drawn legislation and others who knew to an inch theshow more
scope of toleration. In the name of justice, these [four just] men struck swiftly, dispassionately, mercilessly. The great swindler, the procureur, the suborner of witnesses, the briber of juries -- they died.
There was no gradation of punishment: a warning, a second warning -- then death. [234-35]
It's notable that from the beginning, there are actually three Just Men, the titular fourth having died in a prior adventure. A new "fourth" seemingly rotates through the first two and perhaps later stories. Though Wallace endeavours to distinguish his three protagonists, I could never remember the names of any of them, and their characteristics resembled more than anything the skills of the prototypical heist crew. (Is Wallace perhaps the originator of that trope?)
A quick online search reveals the stories were adapted first as a silent film and later a B movie, before an updated treatment as an ITV series in 1959. The series featured a post-WWII setting and characters typically appearing solo in separate episodes, only keeping in contact by telephone between adventures. Interestingly, the ITV series came less than a decade after the appearance of Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, and just two years before the first Bond film.
The psychohistory surrounding both the stories's broad premise, and the popular reception given these stories and so many like them, is as compelling as anything Wallace writes.
THE FOUR JUST MEN (1905) | read 2023-07
Four vigilantes have been operating in Europe for some time (we are treated to a list of eighteen murders dating 1899-1904), but until recently went undetected. Their crimes were public and sensational, but were not linked together -- until the vigilantes themselves announce their next target, a British MP and Foreign Secretary. The Foreign Secretary is intent upon introducing a bill which the vigilantes are convinced will undermine the country. And so, they undertake an open letter promising assassination should he not desist, sincerely hoping this will dislodge the right honourable (but equally misguided) public servant from his course, and very much prepared to carry through with their own plan should he prove unequal to the moral task they set for him.
Interesting that this mission is so unlike the breathless descriptions of their prior adventures, each inspired to serve justice in cases of personal crimes done knowingly, deliberately, and for personal gain -- while here, the Foreign Secretary is doing only what he believes is best for the nation. But of course, none of those adventures were worthy of a novel, they are shared now only by way of establishing our heroes' bona fides. In a similar vein, even the current mission's rationale isn't persuasive: the entire objective is easily thwarted should another MP re-introduce the same bill later; alternately, the objective could be achieved more simply by assassinating the Carlist leader directly, though this would occasion less public moralising. Wallace's premise boils down to an exotic locked room mystery, the international and political intrigue more-or-less trappings, and he seems well aware of that. The perennial favour granted his formula proves he was onto something in the Zeitgeist.
THE COUNCIL OF JUSTICE (1908) | read 2023-08
The story is actually two. The first two-thirds of the novel is a story of the Red Hundred, an anarchist organisation and their dismantling by the Four. The novel's final third depicts one of the Just Men "captured", thereby rendering the Four no longer completely anonymous -- though his co-conspirators remain unknown, working toward the prisoner's escape. Across these two very different stories the reader is regaled with the extremely unlikely and the inexplicable.
The ending is the fun bit, the prisoner's bid for escape. The side plot with the Woman of Gratz being a rival to one of the Men, but ending up swooning for him is ... regrettable. Following on from my observations of the first novel, I can't help but wonder how much this served as a template for James Bond, up to and including the Red Hundred as inspiration for SPECTRE. Not having read any but one of Fleming's novels, the inspiration if any may be more for the films than the books.
THE JUST MEN OF CORDOVA (1918) | read 2025-04
In this installment, the public menace comes from a sociopathic financier lately of Lyon, now operating in London as Colonel Black. While the title hints the action should be in Spain, that is merely where the novel opens, and where one of the 4JM moonlights as a published authority on modern crime. Cordova is but background to criminal conspiracy in England, with Black fearing the attention of the 4JM and attempting to find them out, believing them to be in Spain. (So it is the criminal's belief, then, the 4JM are "of Cordova".)
The criminal story is told in parallel with a romance, that of a Constable (Frank) and his intended (May), and the resulting class comedy as she and the reader learn the extent to which the Constable is not, or not merely, a policeman.
As with prior installments, there is a large cast of characters, many locales mentioned including as far afield as the Continent and Australia, and scenes in public squares and businesses, back alleys and a charitable clinic. The 4JM ever keep one step ahead of everyone else, but the reader isn't any wiser on how they manage this than is their quarry.
The identify of the Fourth is revealed only at the end, I had supposed it was one character and suspect now Wallace intended for me to think that. It was not particularly contrived though in the end makes little difference to my experience of the overall plot or story.
to read:
THE LAW OF THE FOUR JUST MEN (1921)
THE THREE JUST MEN (1924)
AGAIN THE THREE (1928) show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 527
- Also by
- 177
- Members
- 10,131
- Popularity
- #2,343
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 233
- ISBNs
- 2,430
- Languages
- 24
- Favorited
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