E. Phillips Oppenheim (1866–1946)

. In the years between the World Wars Oppenheim was considered the Prince of Storytellers, yet quickly fell out of favor after 1945. This particular story was out of print from 1941 till this 2014 edition. The story revolves around American secret agent Martin Fawley who emerged from WW1 a broken man and decided to use his fortune to fund himself as an agent without a country who would fight for peace. Like Bond (who he clearly influenced as Fleming name checks Oppenheim in Moonraker) it’s show more a story of beautiful women, fast cars, daring exploits, high living and high society as Fawley navigates his way through Italian, French, German, and British government intrigues in an effort to prevent another war. Published in 1935 it is both naive and innocent in its depiction of European politics of the time, yet at the same time scarily prescient in some of its observations. show less

First published in 1915, when the world was poised at the brink of war, Mr. Grex of Monte Carlo gives a very Grand Hotel vibe, with strangers from all over the world crisscrossing at a watering hole for the world-weary rich amidst some thievery and intrigue.

The titular Mr. Grex — well, that’s not his real name. Almost nothing is as it seems in this spy thriller (with a happy dosage of romance). Sir Henry Hunterleys, a workaholic British member of Parliament whose party is out of power, show more comes to Monte Carlo on a mission. No sooner does he arrive than he runs into his estranged wife, Violet, who has been prancing across Europe with a German couple. We soon realize that Sir Henry is involved in some cloak-and-dagger espionage and that finding Violet — a beautiful but reckless, foolish woman — is complicating things. Although more than a century old, the fact that Mr. Grex of Monte Carlo remains in print reveals how well E. Phillips Oppenheim’s most famous work holds up. I’m going to see if I can find anything of Oppenheim’s other books. show less

1921. I had to read old reliable here, to get over my post Harry Potter malaise.

Okay I finished this. Written in the early twenties, before the stock market crash, it had a feel of limitless riches and possibility. And they were all still getting over the Great War.

Primarily it was a love story. The good guy gets the girl. In Oppenheim there is an Algeresque code. The good guys always win. Bad guys, cads, rogues, blackguards, are always punished. It's comforting, but why write that way? Life show more isn't like that and I don't believe it ever was. Still I love to read it. I guess it's wishful thinking. Wistful thinking. If only life were so easy. show less

Melodramatic but oddly touching story of the pursuit of a mad doctor and his wife, his former nurse. During WW I, they saved thousands of lives amid the horrors, but finally they both snapped and were committed to an insane asylum. After their release, he is determined to replace just a little tiny part of his brain that has gone bad! Naturally, this brings trouble. A near victim and the daughter of another victim team together as his chief pursuers, aided by Scotland Yard and others. But, show more as is stated more than once, a criminal who is only insane in one way but sane in all others is very difficult to catch! The 10 episodes that make up this collection have their share of contrivance, but over their course they achieve a little more than I expected. The mad doctor and his ex-nurse, now wife, are not your run-of-the-mill maniacs, and the author takes us down some paths we didn't expect to tread. This is a quick, highly atmospheric read for anyone looking for something a bit old-fashioned and definitely out of the ordinary. show less