Peter Saxon is a

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

used by various thriller authors from the 1950s to the 1970s.

History

The pseudonym "Peter Saxon" was originally used by Irish

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rhame ...

writer and journalist W. Howard Baker at

Amalgamated Press The Amalgamated Press (AP) was a British newspaper and magazine publishing company founded by journalist and entrepreneur Alfred Harmsworth (1865–1922) in 1901, gathering his many publishing ventures together under one banner. At one point the ...

, mostly for novels in the

Sexton Blake Sexton Blake is a fictional character, a detective who has been featured in many British comic strips, novels and dramatic productions since 1893. Sexton Blake adventures were featured in a wide variety of British and international publications ...

series. One of these Sexton Blake novels, ''Crime Is My Business'', was made into the 1958 film, ''

Murder at Site 3 ''Murder at Site 3'' is a Hammer movie from 1958, featuring the character of Sexton Blake. It stars Barbara Shelley, Geoffrey Toone and John Warwick. Plot Sexton Blake tracks down a gang who have stolen secrets from a rocket site. Cast * Ge ...

'', by

Hammer Film Productions Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve clas ...

. In 1965, Baker moved to a different publisher, Mayflower Books, and continued writing Sexton Blake novels as "Peter Saxon", but Mayflower also began to use this pen-name as a house pseudonym for works by other authors. ''The Disorientated Man'' was a Peter Saxon

conspiracy thriller The conspiracy thriller (or paranoid thriller) is a subgenre of thriller fiction. The protagonists of conspiracy thrillers are often journalists or amateur investigators who find themselves (often inadvertently) pulling on a small thread which unr ...

mainly written by Stephen Frances and edited by Baker; it was adapted as the 1970 film, ''

Scream and Scream Again ''Scream and Scream Again'' is a 1970 British science fiction conspiracy thriller film starring Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Alfred Marks, Michael Gothard, and Peter Cushing. It is based on the novel ''The Disorientated Man'' (1967) attributed ...

'', starring

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...

Alfred Marks Alfred Edward Marks OBE (born Alfred Edward Touchinsky; 28 January 19211 July 1996) was a British actor and comedian. In his 60-year career, he played dramatic and comedy roles in numerous television programmes, stage shows and films. His self- ...

Michael Gothard Michael Alan Gothard (24 June 19392 December 1992) was an English actor, who portrayed Kai in the television series '' Arthur of the Britons'' and the mysterious villain Emile Leopold Locque in the 1981 James Bond film '' For Your Eyes Only''. ...

, and

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...

. The

occult detective fiction Occult detective fiction is a subgenre of detective fiction that combines the tropes of the main genre with those of supernatural, fantasy and/or horror fiction. Unlike the traditional detective who investigates murder and other common crimes ...

series ''The Guardians'' was another Peter Saxon title, with writers including Baker, Rex Dolphin, Wilfred McNeilly, and Thomas Martin.

References

Fantasy shared pseudonyms House names Occult detective fiction Pseudonymous writers Pulp fiction writers Science fiction shared pseudonyms Authors of Sexton Blake {{writer-stub