Sir Max Pemberton (19 June 1863 – 22 February 1950) was a popular English novelist, working mainly in the adventure and mystery genres.LeRoy Lad Panek, ''After Sherlock Holmes: The Evolution of British and American Detective Stories, 1891–1914.''McFarland, 2014. (pp. 66-7).

Life

He was educated at St Albans School, Merchant Taylors' School, and

Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...

. A clubman, journalist and dandy (

Lord Northcliffe Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (15 July 1865 – 14 August 1922), was a British newspaper and publishing magnate. As owner of the ''Daily Mail'' and the ''Daily Mirror'', he was an early developer of popular journal ...

admired his 'fancy vests'), he frequented both

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was n ...

and The Savage Club. Pemberton was the editor of boys' magazine '' Chums'' in 1892–1893 during its heyday. Between 1896 and 1906 he also edited ''

Cassell's Magazine ''Cassell's Magazine'' is a British magazine that was published monthly from 1897 to 1912. It was the successor to ''Cassell's Illustrated Family Paper'', (1853–1867) becoming ''Cassell's Family Magazine'' in 1874, ''Cassell's Magazine'' in 1897 ...

'' (se

, in which capacity he published the early works of R. Austin Freeman and

William Le Queux William Tufnell Le Queux ( , ; 2 July 1864 – 13 October 1927) was an Anglo-French journalist and writer. He was also a diplomat (honorary consul for San Marino), a traveller (in Europe, the Balkans and North Africa), a flying buff who officiat ...

His most famous work ''The Iron Pirate'' was a best-seller during the early 1890s and it launched his prolific writing career (see below). It was the story of a great gas-driven iron-clad, which could outpace the navies of the world and terrorised the Atlantic Ocean. Other notable works included ''Captain Black'' (1911). Pemberton's 1894 collection ''Jewel Mysteries: From a Dealer's Note Book'' was a series of Mystery stories revolving around stolen jewels. Pemberton also wrote historical fiction. Pemberton's ''I Crown Thee King'' is set in

Sherwood Forest Sherwood Forest is a royal forest in Nottinghamshire, England, famous because of its historic association with the legend of Robin Hood. The area has been wooded since the end of the Last Glacial Period (as attested by pollen sampling cor ...

during the time of

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She ...

. His novels ''Beatrice of Venice'' (1904) and ''Paulina'' (1922) centre on

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

's military campaigns in Italy. During January 1908, Pemberton had a story entitled ''Wheels of Anarchy'' published by Cassell & Company (London). This story was based upon notes that were written by his friend Bertram Fletcher Robinson shortly before he died in January 1907. It is an adventure tale about

anarchists Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...

and

assassins An assassin is a person who commits targeted murder. Assassin may also refer to: Origin of term * Someone belonging to the medieval Persian Ismaili order of Assassins Animals and insects * Assassin bugs, a genus in the family ''Reduviid ...

that is set across Europe. The novel's

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...

and narrator, Bruce Driscoll, a recent Cambridge graduate, appears to be modelled upon Fletcher Robinson. Max Pemberton 005

Pemberton was member of a criminology literary society known as 'Our Society' along with eleven other notable members including Bertram Fletcher Robinson and

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

. In 1920, Pemberton founded the

London School of Journalism The London School of Journalism (LSJ) is an independent journalism school based in London, England, which offers qualifications in journalism, freelance journalism and creative writing. The LSJ provides both on-site and distance learning to it ...

, wrote a biography about

Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (15 July 1865 – 14 August 1922), was a British newspaper and publishing magnate. As owner of the '' Daily Mail'' and the '' Daily Mirror'', he was an early developer of popular journ ...

. He was married to Alice Tussaud, granddaughter of Madame

Marie Tussaud Anna Maria "Marie" Tussaud (; née Grosholtz; 1 December 1761 – 16 April 1850) was a French artist known for her wax sculptures and Madame Tussauds, the wax museum she founded in London. Biography Marie Tussaud was born 1 December 1761 in ...

and daughter of Joseph Tussaud. Pemberton also wrote a biography of Sir Henry Royce published in 1934 shortly after Royce's death.

Honours

Pemberton was knighted in the

1928 Birthday Honours The 1928 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were p ...

, gazetted on 1 June 1928.''

The London Gazette ''The London Gazette'' is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are ...

'' Issue 33390, 1 June 1928 (Supplement)
p. 3846
/ref>

Selected works

A puritan's wife by Max Pemberton LCCN2015646274

*'' The Iron Pirate'' (1893) *''

The Sea Wolves ''The Sea Wolves'' is a 1980 war film starring Gregory Peck, Roger Moore and David Niven. The film, which is based on the 1978 book ''Boarding Party'' by James Leasor, is a fictionalised account of Operation Creek during the Second World War. In ...

'' (1894) *'' Jewel Mysteries I have Known. From a Dealer's Note Book'' (1894)
''The Impregnable City'' (1895)
*'' The Little Huguenot: A Romance of Fountainebleau'' (1895) *'' A Gentleman's Gentleman'' (1896)]
''Christine of the Hills'' (1897)''The Phantom Army'' (1898)''A Woman of Kronstadt'' (1898)''The Signors of the Night: The Story of Fra Giovanni'' (1899)''Féo'' (1900)''The Footsteps of a Throne...'' (1901)''The Giant's Gate: A Story of a Great Adventure'' (1901)''Pro Patriâ'' (1901)''I Crown Thee King'' (1902)''The Garden of Swords'' (1902)''The House Under the Sea'' (1902)''A Puritan's Wife'' (1902)''Doctor Xavier'' (1903)''The Gold Wolf'' (1903)''Beatrice of Venice'' (1904)''A Daughter of the States'' (1904)''Red Morn'' (1904)''Mid the Thick Arrows'' (1905)''The Lady Evelyn'' (1906)''My Sword for Lafayette'' (1906)''Aladdin of London'' or, ''Lodestar'' (1907)''The Amateur Motorist'' (1907)''The Diamond Ship'' (1907)''Love, the Harvester: A Story of the Shires'' (1908)''Sir Richard Escombe'' (1908)''Wheels of Anarchy, the Story of an Assassin'' (1908)''The Adventures of Captain Jack'' (1909)''The Mystery of the Green Heart'' (1910)''The Show Girl'' (1910)''White Walls'' (1910)
*'' wikisource:Captain Black (Pemberton), Captain Black: A Romance of the Nameless Ship'' (1911)
''White Motley'' (1911)''The Hundred days'' (1912)''Swords Reluctant'' (1912)''Two Women'' (1914)
*"The Donnington Affair" (The Premier, November 1914; a

Father Brown Father Brown is a fictional Roman Catholic priest and amateur detective who is featured in 53 short stories published between 1910 and 1936 written by English author G. K. Chesterton. Father Brown solves mysteries and crimes using his intui ...

story written with G. K. Chesterton)

Sources

''New General Catalog of Old Books and Authors''

References

*''The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes: Early Detective Stories'', ed.

Hugh Greene Sir Hugh Carleton Greene (15 November 1910 – 19 February 1987) was a British television executive and journalist. He was director-general of the BBC from 1960 to 1969. After working for newspapers in the 1930s, Greene spent most of his later ...

(Penguin, 1971)

External links

* * * *
Three plays by Max Pemberton on Great War Theatre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pemberton, Max 1863 births 1950 deaths 19th-century British novelists 20th-century British novelists People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood People educated at St Albans School, Hertfordshire Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Knights Bachelor London School of Journalism British male novelists 19th-century English male writers 20th-century English male writers English mystery writers English historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period Burials at St Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Kensal Green