''Bull-dog Drummond'' (later ''Bulldog Drummond'') was the first

Bulldog Drummond Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond is a fictional character, created by H. C. McNeile and published under his pen name "Sapper". Following McNeile's death in 1937, the novels were continued by Gerard Fairlie. Drummond is a First World War veteran who, ...

novel. It was published in 1920 and written by

H. C. McNeile Herman Cyril McNeile, MC (28 September 1888 – 14 August 1937), commonly known as Cyril McNeile and publishing under the name H. C. McNeile or the pseudonym Sapper, was a British soldier and author. Drawing on his experiences in the trenches ...

under the pen name Sapper. The following year it was adapted into a play of the same title starring

Gerald du Maurier Sir Gerald Hubert Edward Busson du Maurier (26 March 1873 – 11 April 1934) was an English actor and manager. He was the son of author George du Maurier and his wife, Emma Wightwick, and the brother of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. In 1903, he m ...

. In 1929, the book was adapted into a film of the same name starring Ronald Coleman.

Plot

The novel begins with ex-

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond, DSO, MC, a wealthy former

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

officer of the

Loamshire Regiment Loamshire Regiment is a placeholder name used by the British Army to provide examples for its procedures. For example, the Loamshire Regiment is provided by the British Forces Post Office to show how to write a British Army address, and is used ...

, dashing and strong, but not handsome, placing an advertisement in

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

stating his desire for an adventure. He receives a reply from a young woman, concerned about some business acquaintances of her father. It turns out that her father is being blackmailed by

archvillain In literature, an archenemy (sometimes spelled as arch-enemy) is the main enemy of someone. In fiction, it is a character who is the protagonist's, commonly a hero's, most prominent and most-known enemy. Etymology The word ''archenemy'' someti ...

Carl Peterson who is attempting to organise a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

to enable a pro-

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

takeover of Britain. This is being done for financial gain as Peterson is being paid by wealthy foreigners who will profit from this. Drummond is captured several times, and manages to escape several times, before eventually defeating Peterson and his henchmen, with the aid of ex-army friends.

References

External links

* *
Review: Bulldog Drummond by 'Sapper'
''The Guardian'' * 1920 British novels British crime novels Hodder & Stoughton books Novels about coups d'état {{1920s-crime-novel-stub