This early work by Edgar Wallace was originally published in 1929 and we
are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'Four
Square Jane' is a novel of a successful female crook who employs cunning
to outwit her victims and the police. Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was
born in London, England in 1875. He received his early education at St.
Peter's School and the Board School, but after a frenetic teens
involving a rash engagement and frequently changing employment
circumstances, Wallace went into the military. He served in the Royal
West Kent Regiment in England and then as part of the Medical Staff
Corps stationed in South Africa. Whilst in the Balkans covering the
Russo-Japanese War, Wallace found the inspiration for The Four Just Men,
published in 1905. Over the rest of his life, Wallace produced some 173
books and wrote 17 plays. These were largely adventure narratives with
elements of crime or mystery, and usually combined a bombastic
sensationalism with hammy violence.