This early work by Edgar Wallace was originally published in 1943 and we
are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The
Edgar Wallace Reader of Mystery and Adventure' is a collection of short
stories that include 'On the Witney Road', 'The Pick-Up', 'Kid Glove
Harry', and many more. 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.