Richard Horacio Edgar Freeman est un ecrivain et journaliste britannique, egalement scenariste et realisateur de cinema. Il est l'auteur de nombreux romans policiers et recits d'aventures publies sous le pseudonyme de Edgar Wallace."

Étrange Expiation

A man stood irresolutely before the imposing portals of Cainbury House, a large office building let out to numerous small tenants, and harbouring, as the indicator on the tiled wall of the vestibule testified, some thirty different professions. The man was evidently poor, for his clothes were shabby and his boots were down at heel. He was as evidently a foreigner. His clean-shaven eagle face was sallow, his eyes were dark, his eyebrows black and straight.

He passed up the few steps into the hall and stood thoughtfully before the indicator. Presently he found what he wanted. At the very top of the list and amongst the crowded denizens of the fifth floor was a slip inscribed:

"THE GOSSIP'S CORNER"

He took from his waistcoat pocket a newspaper cutting and compared the two then stepped briskly, almost jauntily, into the hall, as though all his doubts and uncertainties had vanished, and waited for the elevator. His coat was buttoned tightly, his collar was frayed, his shirt had seen the greater part of a week's service, the Derby hat on his head had undergone extensive renovations, and a close observer would have noticed that his gloves were odd ones.

He walked into the lift and said, "Fifth floor, " with a slight foreign accent.

He was whirled up, the lift doors clanged open and the grimy finger of the elevator boy indicated the office. Again the man hesitated, examining the door carefully. The upper half was of toughened glass and bore the simple inscription:

"THE GOSSIP'S CORNER.

KNOCK."

Obediently the stranger knocked and the door opened through an invisible agent, much to the man's surprise, though there was nothing more magical about the phenomenon than there is about any electrically controlled office door.

He found himself in a room sparsely furnished with a table, a chair and a few copies of papers. An old school map of England hung on one wall and a Landseer engraving on the other. At the farthermost end of the room was another door, and to this he gravitated and again, after a moment's hesitation, he knocked.

"Come in, " said a voice.

He entered cautiously.

The room was larger and was comfortably furnished. There were shaded electric lamps on either side of the big carved oak writing-table. One of the walls was covered with books, and the litter of proofs upon the table suggested that this was the sanctorum.

The Secret House

Double Dan is a 1924 crime novel by the British writer Edgar Wallace. It released in the United States under the alternative title of Diana of Kara Kara.

In 1927 it was adapted into a stage play of the same name by Wallace.

Diana of Kara-Kara

MILITARY "crime" is not crime at all, as we law-abiding citizens recognize it.

The outbreak in the Anchester Regiment was not a very serious affair; from what I can gather, it mostly took the form of breaking out of barracks after "lights out."

But, explained Smithy, it got a bit too thick, and one of the consequences was that the guard was doubled, pickets were strengthened, and the ranks of the regimental military police were, as a temporary measure, considerably augmented. I explain this for the benefit of my military readers, who may wonder how it was that both Smithy and Nobby Clark happened to be together on Number One post on the night of The Adjutant's Madness.

Smithy

« L'Archer vert » recèle tous les archétypes du roman policier gothique: le château hanté, le pacte avec le diable, le mariage avec la mort, les bandits, l'usurpateur, le crime et le châtiment, personnages et situations diaboliques auxquels l'auteur oppose l'image du justicier. Abel Bellamy, milliardaire américain d'une laideur physique fascinante, est l'incarnation du mal. Face à lui, se dresse l'Archer vert. Réussira-t-il à mettre en échec ses ignobles machinations?

L'Archer vert

Les agissements de Harlow, millionnaire énigmatique soupçonné d'être « Le mystificateur », sont suivis de près par les inspecteurs Carlton, du Foreign Office et Elk de Scotland Yard ainsi que ceux de l'acteur-escroc Ingle, récemment libéré. Viendront-ils à bout de ce Mystificateur?

Le Mystificateur

Harry Stone, dit "Harry le larbin" est renvoyé de la police de Rhodésie pour malversations. Il part alors à Cape Town à la recherche de Lew Daney, véritable tueur et cambrioleur de banques réputé, opérant dans la région, pour lui proposer ses services.

Une série de cambriolages et de meurtres vont suivre. 

Le capitaine Jordan, homme riche, qui connaît bien ses deux hommes, est lui aussi de retour en Angleterre, s'installe au Carlton, puis entre en contact avec Benjamin Awkwright qui gère sa fortune. 



Imbroglios, mensonges, trahisons, exploits rocambolesques, retournements inattendus, des rougeurs de jeunes filles... avec l'art d'exploiter les fils du suspens, de l'angoisse et du thriller, Edgar Wallace nous invite à la découverte de la brume londonienne comme du mystère écossais et ses demeures ancestrales. Un charme si british que seul Wallace sait rendre si dépaysant et en même temps si proche de nous. Ou tout l'art d'écrire le polar « à l'anglaise ». 



Edgar Wallace est notamment connu pour avoir participer à l'écriture du scénario de King Kong (1933). Ses policiers et ses romans d'aventure ont été traduits dans 44 langues et se sont vendus à plus de 100 millions d'exemplaires.

L’homme du Carlton [édition intégrale revue et mise à jour]

Superbe roman policier gothique, l'un des plus passionnants qu'ait écrits Edgar Wallace, L'Archer vert recèle tous les archétypes du genre : le château hanté, le pacte avec le diable, le mariage avec la mort, les bandits, l'usurpateur, le crime et le châtiment, personnages et situations diaboliques auxquels l'auteur oppose l'image du justicier qui représente une des grandes forces de l'œuvre.
Le lecteur n'a des cesse de savoir quel crime horrible a bien pu commettre Abel Bellamy, ce milliardaire américain d'une laideur physique fascinante qui est l'incarnation du mal en personne. Un crime si parfaitement exécuté que la police officielle se montre impuissante à le mettre au jour. Un crime si odieux qu'il doit appeler un châtiment hors du commun. Avec une habileté diabolique, Edgar Wallace ne dissipe le mystère que peu à peu, par fragments.
L'intrigue de ce roman d'action, mené à toute allure, avec une science prodigieuse de la course poursuite et du temps, est si captivante qu'elle entraîne le lecteur, sans lui laisser le temps de souffler, jusqu'à l'ultime flèche verte.

L'archer vert

If a man is not eager for adventure at the age of twenty-two, the enticement of romantic possibilities will never come to him.

The chairman of the Ukraine Oil Company looked with a little amusement at the young man who sat on the edge of a chair by the chairman's desk, and noted how the eye of the youth had kindled at every fresh discouragement which the chairman had put forward. Enthusiasm, reflected the elder man, was one of the qualities which were most desirable in the man who was to accept the position which Malcolm Hay was at that moment considering.

"Russia is a strange country, " said Mr. Tremayne. "It is one of the mystery places of the world. You hear fellows coming back from China who tell you amazing stories of the idiosyncrasies of the Chink. But I can tell you, from my own personal observations, that the Chinaman is an open book in words of one syllable compared with the average Russian peasant. By the way, you speak Russian, I understand?"

Hay nodded.

Étrange Expiation

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