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Revision as of 08:01, 15 February 2023 by Daranios (talk | contribs) (→1986: Correcting link)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) List of cases featuring Fictional British detective Sexton Blake | This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Sexton Blake bibliography" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Fictional character
| Sexton Blake Bibliography 1893-1911 | |
|---|---|
 The Sexton Blake Catalogue 1966 | |
| First appearance | The Missing Millionaire (20 December 1893) |
| Created by | Harry Blyth (as Hal Meredeth) |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Detective |
| Family | Henry Blake (brother) Nigel Blake (brother) |
| Nationality | British |
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.
In 1959 Fleetway Publications acquired the rights to Sexton Blake adventures and published the fourth series of The Sexton Blake Library until the title's demise in 1963. In 1965, Blake editor William Howard Baker licensed the character from IPC company. He published the fifth series of The Sexton Blake Library volume 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. There were a few attempts to publish new original Blake tales in the 1970s. Most of the works published from the 1980s onward consist of reprints of past works that were issued in anthologies or as single novels by various publishers.
Compiling the Sexton Blake Bibliography
The bibliography originated in the pages of Story Paper Collectors' Digest where collectors began recording and compiling the list of Blake tales that appeared in the The Union Jack and The Sexton Blake Library. A master corpus was assembled in the late 1950s and by The Sexton Blake Circle. Led Len and Josie Packman expansion and revision on the master corpus was ongoing throughout the early 1960s as research brought more titles to light.
The Sexton Blake Catalogue was published in 1966. The announcement in Story Paper Collectors' Digest read: "This long anticipated catalogue, prepared with loving care by members of the Sexton Blake Circle, is now awaiting you. It is a veritable encyclopaedia of Sexton Blake lore, listing all the titles, authors, and leading characters of the stories in The Union Jack and in The Sexton Blake Library from the very beginning till the present day. There is also a wealth of information on the Sexton Blake adventures which featured in other periodicals. Beautifully produced, it sums up to a magnificent job."
In 1970 Josie Packman announced the a reprint of the Sexton Blake Catalogue along with a "supplement of all the new information."
1893 The Beginning of The Victorian/Edwardian Era
Sexton Blake's career began on 13 December 1893, the same month that Sherlock Holmes appeared in "The Final Solution". Blake was one of many detectives created in the 1890s to fill the void created by the tale Sir Arthur Conan Doyle intended to be the final Holmes story.
| Publication | Title | Format | Author | Key Characters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halfpenny Marvel 6 | The Missing Millionaire | Complete Story | Hal Meredeth (Harry Blyth) | Detective Jules Gervaise |
Sexton Blake's debut adventure. By the end of the tale he partners with French detective Jules Gervaise. Gervaise was a tribute to the popular French detectives created by writer Émile Gaboriau. During that era it was considered an honour for an up-and-coming detective to work with a French "mentor." Blake fights against The Red Lights of London and puts an end to the machinations of Madame Dulk. |
| Halfpenny Marvel 7 | A Christmas Crime | Continuation of previous tale | Hal Meredeth (Harry Blyth) | Blake's second case and he is smitten with the heroine Lillie Ray – the first but not the last time he falls for a woman connected to a case. |
1894
| Publication | Title | Format | Author | Key Characters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illustrated Chips 225 - 226 | The Lamp of Death | Serial. Part 1 & 2) | Patrick Morris (W. De Montmorency) | Muriel Lane | The first Sexton Blake serial. Sexton Blake meets Muriel Lane a woman who would eventually become his wife. |
| The Union Jack (1st Series) 2 | Sexton Blake; Detective | Complete tale | Harry Blyth | Sexton Blake debuts in the story paper that will make him famous. The editor markets Blake as a real person. There is no sign of Jules Gervaise. |
1895
| Publication | Title | Format | Author | Key Characters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pluck 56 | Christmas Clues | Anon (Harry Blyth & Maxwell Scott (John William Staniforth)) | Detective Nelson Lee Detective Gideon Barr |
A team up of sorts. Sexton Blake spends Christmas (well Boxing Day actually) with two rival detectives: Nelson Lee (created by Maxwell Scott) and Gideon Barr (created by Harry Blyth). The three are great friends, the latter two detectives having made their debut in 1894. Gideon Barr faded into obscurity after five tales. Nelson Lee rivalled Blake in popularity and was perhaps even more popular than Blake during the Victorian era. |
1897
| Publication | Title | Author | Key Characters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Union Jack (1st Series) 147 | Chased Through China | William Shaw Rae | Notable character debut: We-wee |
This tale introduces We-wee, Blakes first boy assistant. We-wee is a key figure in the 1890s' renaissance of the child detective. |
1898
| Publication | Title | Author | Key Characters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Union Jack (1st Series) 194 | 'Twixt Gallows and Gold | Anon. (Harry Blyth) | The last tale by Blake creator Harry Blyth. Blyth died of typhoid fever in February 1898, aged only 46. |
1901
| Publication | Title | Format | Author | Key Characters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Union Jack (1st Series) 356-369 | Griff the Man Tracker | Serial. (part 1–14) | C. Stevens (Julian Rochfort) | Notable character debut: Griff the Man Tracker | Griff is perhaps one of the strangest of all the Sexton Blake sidekicks. |
1902
| Publication | Title | Format | Author | Key Characters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Union Jack (1st Series) 411 | Tracked Across the Sea | A. G. Pearson | Detective Maxwell Grey | Blake teams up with Maxwell Grey, the Sea Detective. Pearson "was reputed to be an ex-Naval man" and the detail he provides is quite authentic. Grey also appeared in Enemies of the King in Union Jack 426, The Sea Detective in Union Jack 455, and The Death Ship in Union Jack 473. |
1904
| The Union Jack (2nd Series) 53 | Cunning Against Skill | Anon. (W. J. Lomax) | Notable character debut: Tinker | Tinker is Sexton Blake's loyal assistant, an orphaned teenage boy that Blake has taken under his wing. |
1905
As can be seen by the title of these stories the early Edwardian phase of Blake's career consists of tales where he goes undercover in various jobs or travels overseas. As such they provide a window into life and attitude during those times.
| Publication | Title | Format | Author | Key Characters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Jester and Wonder 174-193 | Sexton Blake, The Clique of Death | Serial (Parts 1-20) | Maxwell Scott (John William Staniforth) | La Mascotte The Ring of Death |
Set in 1889, this serial tells of the case that made Sexton Blake famous. Blake matches wits with The Ring of Death, a powerful criminal organisation. Notable among its members is La Mascotte, arguably the deadliest of all of Blake's female foes to date. Blake lives in Fitzalan square and is assisted by Army Reserve man, an Irishman named Sergeant O’Flaherty. It is the only detective serial Maxwell Scott ever wrote where he did not create the main character. |
| The Jester and Wonder 216 | The Detective Club: Teddy Quicksilver | Short Story | Anon. (Unknown) | The Detective Club was a series of tales that featured the most popular detectives in the boys story papers. The detectives gathered at the 'tec club each Friday night and would listen to one of their members tell the story of a case they had worked on. | |
| The Union Jack (2nd Series) 97 | The House of Mystery | Anon. (William Murray Graydon) | Notable character debut Mrs. Bardell | Mrs. Bardell is Sexton Blake's landlady. | |
| The Union Jack (2nd Series) 100 | The Dog Detective | Anon. (William Murray Graydon) | Notable character debut Pedro | Pedro, Blake's faithfull bloodhound makes his first appearance. | |
| The Union Jack (2nd Series) 105 | Sexton Blake P.C. | Anon. (Norman Goddard) | Notable character debut Detective Will Spearing | Detective Will Spearing will become a close Blake ally and eventually appears in his own tales. |
1908
| Publication | Title | Format | Author | Key Characters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Answers Weekly 1,059 | A Confidential Report | Short Story | Anon. Maxwell Scott (John William Staniforth) | Sexton Blake begins to appear in Answers Weekly. These are very short tales and would continue to be published for the next four years. |
1937
| Publication | Title | Author | Key Characters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detective Weekly 251 | The Mystery of Senor Z | Warwick Jardine (Francis Warwick) |
1986
| Publication | Title | Author | Publisher | Notes | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthology | Sexton Blake Wins | Gwyn Evans George Hamilton Teed John Hunter Rex Hardinge Donald Stuart Anthony Parsons Anthony Skene (George N. Philips) Robert Murray (Robert Murray Graydon) Pierre Quiroule (W. W. Sayer) |
Everyman Paperbacks | Features: The House of the Hanging Sword The Treasure of Tortoise Island Under Sexton Blake's Orders The Man I Killed The Green Jester The Secret Amulet The Box of Ho Sen The Four Guests Mystery Sexton Blake Solves It |
978-0460024822 |
External links
- Blakiana, The Sexton Blake Resource
- The Sexton Blake Archive: Rebellion Publishing
- Sexton Blake Anthologies: ROH Press
- Issues of The Sexton Blake Library at ComicBooksPlus
- Sexton Blake at the British Juvenile Story Papers and Pocket Libraries Index
References
- Hodder, Mark. "THE SEXTON BLAKE BIBLIOGRAPHY". BLAKIANA. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
- Oxford Companion to Children's Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2015. ISBN 9780199695140.
- ^ Turner E.S. (1975). Boys Will be Boys The Story of Sweeny Todd, Deadwood Dick, Sexton Blake, Billy Bunter, Dick Barton et al. Faber and Faber.
- ^ Lofts, W. O. G.; Adley, D. J. (1970). The Men Behind Boys' Fiction. London: Howard Barker. SBN 093047703.
- "Amalgamated Press". Grace's Guide to British Industrial History. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
- Adrian, J. "W. Howard Baker" (May/June 1991 Million #3)
- ^ Turner, E.S. Old Boys' Papers, Weekend Telegraph #7, 6 November 1964
- Webb, W. Sexton Blake in The Penny Pictorial, Collectors' Digest Vol 23, #272, 1969
- Collectors Digest v20 #229, January 1966, p. 30
- Packman, J. Blakiana Collectors Digest, v24 #286, October 1970, p 10
- Duncan, Alistair (2011). An Entirely New Country: Arthur Conan Doyle, Undershaw and the Resurrection of Sherlock Holmes. MX Publishing. p. 90. ISBN 9781908218209.
- Panek, LeRoy (1979). Watteau's Shepherds: The Detective Novel in Britain, 1914-1940. Bowling Green University Popular Press. p. 126. ISBN 0-87972-131-6.
- ^ Turner, E.S. (1976). Boys Will Be Boys. Penguin. p. 129.
- LeRoy, Lad Panek (206). After Sherlock Holmes: The Evolution of British and American Detective. McFarland. pp. 53–54.
- Holland, S. Children's Books and Magazines, Story Papers Index
- ^ Packman, J. & Packman L. (1966) The Sexton Blake Catalogue
- Andrew, Lucy (2017) The Boy Detective in Early British Children's Literature: Patrolling the Borders Between Boyhood and Manhood, Palgrave MacMillain
- Leckenby, Herbert Before Tinker's Time, Collectors' Digest Vol 8, Number 95, November 1954
- Webb, W. The Story of Tinker, Collector's Digest Annual, Christmas 1955
- Leckenby, H. Blakiana Safe, The Collector's Digest Vol 8, #93, September, 1959
- Swan, G.S. Blake Tells the Tale, Collector's Digest Vol 30, #351, March, 1976
- Webb, W, The Women in His Life, The Collector's Digest Annual, 1957
- Webb, W. the End of the Trail: A Tribute to Pedro, The Collector's Digest Vol 8, #91, July 1954
- Swan, S.G. The Scotlabnd Yard Inspectors.The Collector's Digest Vol 21,#247, July 1967
- ^ Hodder, Mark. "THE SEXTON BLAKE BIBLIOGRAPHY". BLAKIANA. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- "Sexton Blake wins". Amazon. Retrieved 13 February 2023.