Victor Rousseau Emanuel (born Avigdor Rousseau Emanuel; January 1879 – 6 April 1960,
Tarrytown, New York
Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North ...
) was a British writer who wrote novels, newspaper series, science fiction and pulp fiction works. He was active in Great Britain and the United States during the first half of the 20th century.
During the first 20 years of his career, Emanuel wrote predominantly under the pen names Victor Rousseau, H. M. Egbert, and V. R. Emanuel. In the 1930s, he only created pulp fiction under his own name. He wrote racy stories under the pen name Lew Merrill.
Early years
Born in England, Emanuel enrolled at
Harrow School
(The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God)
, established = (Royal Charter)
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school
, religion = Church of E ...
in 1892 and
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...
in 1896. However, he soon let Balliol and sailed to
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
. For the next two years, Emanuel travelled
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, working odd jobs. While in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
, he obtained a journalist job with the ''Standard and Diggers' News'' and then the ''Transvaal Leader''.
In 1899, during the
Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...
, Emanuel enlisted with
Edward Cecil Bethune
Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant General Sir Edward Cecil Bethune, (23 June 1855 – 2 November 1930) was a British Army officer who raised and led his own regiment, Bethune's Mounted Infantry, in the Second Boer War and directed t ...
's Mounted Infantry, a
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 ...
unit. However, he was discharged after 35 days. Several weeks later, Emanuel registered with the Natal Colonial Scouts at
Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...
. He was officially discharged from the Scouts in April 1900.
Early works
Emanuel returned to London, wrote and published his first novel, ''Derwent's Horse''. It was a humorous account of two recruits serving with Bethune's Mounted Infantry. With the proceeds from this novel, Emanuel sailed to New York City, in June 1901.
While between jobs in 1902, Emanuel began writing his second novel, ''Spartacus''. It was inspired by
Gustave Flaubert
Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flauber ...
's novel, '' Salammbo''. In September 1905, Emanuel submitted ''Spartacus'' to
Houghton-Mifflin
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults. The company is based in the Boston Financ ...
They rejected it for publication, saying it was a weak novel with poor characterisation. That same year, Emanuel assisted with the ''
Jewish Encyclopedia
''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...
'', published by
Funk & Wagnalls
Funk & Wagnalls was an American publisher known for its reference works, including ''A Standard Dictionary of the English Language'' (1st ed. 1893–5), and the ''Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia'' (25 volumes, 1st ed. 1912).Funk & Wagnalls N ...
in 1905 and 1906.
Emanuel's earliest known fiction output appeared in late 1905, in the form of children's
vignettes
Vignette may refer to:
* Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy
* Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters
* Vignette (literature), short, i ...
, syndicated nationally, carrying the byline V. R. Emanuel.
From early 1906 through 1907, Emanuel wrote regional Florida special articles for the '' Baltimore American.'' He took on an editorial post with Will Carleton's ''Every Where'' magazine in mid-1907. Here, he also created the alias Egbert Prentice. This name morphed into the H. M. Egbert alias.
Emanuel made his first official professional magazine sale, with a short story about the
Canadian North
Bradley Air Services, operating as Canadian North, is a wholly Inuit-owned airline headquartered in Kanata, Ontario, Canada. It operates scheduled passenger services to communities in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Nunavik region o ...
, "The Last Cartridge," in ''The Munsey'' (1907 September).
''Harper's Weekly''
In 1908, Emanuel started working as an editor for ''Harper's Weekly,'' a position he retained for three years. It is here that H. M. Egbert makes its earliest known debut, within the edition of 26 December 1908, attached to an article, rather than a fiction story.
Whilst employed by Harpers, Emanual wrote special articles and the occasional
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
. Stories he or the staff deemed unfit for publication by ''Harper's Weekly'' were sold to the ''Illustrated Sunday Magazine,'' a nationally syndicated publication''.'' Stories that failed to meet with this editor's approval were likewise circulated to lesser syndicates.
Newspaper series
In 1909, Emanuel started his series ''The Surgeon of Souls.'' This series featured Dr. Ivan Brodsky, a man who believed in faith and
hypnotism
Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...
as the cure toward laying ghosts, etc. The stories were syndicated amongst the big-city newspapers under the alias H. M. Egbert, but sold poorly. Fifteen years later, 11 of the surviving tales were reprinted as original fiction in '' Weird Tales'' magazine, bylined under Victor Rousseau.
Emanuel's first
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
series was ''The Devil Chair''. John Haynes, an Englishman, stripped of inherited land in America, is paralysed by a bullet to the spine and falsely imprisoned. While in the prison workshop, he fashions a gyroscopic device, that whilst adhered initially to a boot, propels him a couple hundred miles per hour. While affixed to any object, the device cannot be removed, until he deactivates it. Once free from prison, Haynes uses his device to exact retribution on all his enemies.
Canada
In 1913, Emanuel, his wife and two children moved to Canada. He wrote the Canadian-themed serials ''Jacqueline of Golden River'' and ''Wooden Spoil''. Both serials eventually become hardcover books and sold extremely well.
In early 1914, Emanuel began the popular series ''Tales of the St. Lawrence Riverway''. Set in the village of
St. Jean, Quebec
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu () is a city in eastern Montérégie in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec, about southeast of Montreal. It is situated on the west bank of the Richelieu River at the northernmost naviga ...
, the central character was Father Sebastian, the village priest. Nine ''Riverway'' stories appeared in ''Blue Book'' magazine (1914 September through 1915 May), whilst others, unaccepted here, were sold elsewhere over the ensuing years. In the 1930s, the series was reprinted by the ''
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'' and the ''
Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
''.
In early 1914, Emanuel finished, ''The Messiah of the Cylinder'', a novel influenced by
When the Sleeper Wakes
''The Sleeper Awakes'' is a dystopian science fiction novel by English writer H. G. Wells, about a man who sleeps for two hundred and three years, waking up in a completely transformed London in which he has become the richest man in the world ...
''. Despite acceptance by '' Everybody's Magazine'', the story lingered for three years (1917 June, July, August, September). In the summer of 1915, Emanuel produced a science fiction series, ''The Sea Demons.'' It was printed by '' All-Story Weekly'' and serialised in three instalments (1916 January 1, 15, 22).
Emanuel also wrote screen adaptations of syndicated fiction stories for Universal Film. His first screenplay was for the film ''
The Truant Soul
''The Truant Soul'' is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by Harry Beaumont and starring Henry B. Walthall, Mary Charleson and Patrick Calhoun.Connelly p.424
Cast
* Henry B. Walthall as Dr. John Lancaster / Dr. Lawson
* Mary Charleson as ...
'' (25 December 1916). A decade later, several of Emanuel's pulp western stories were adapted into films.
Emanuel's other science and fantasy serials for the Munsey publications included:
*''Fruit of the Lamp'' (''The Argosy'', 1918 February 2, 9, 16, 23)
*''Draft of Eternity'' (''All-Story Weekly'', 1918 June 1, 8, 15, 22)
*''Eric of the Strong Heart'' (''Railroad Man's Magazine'', 1918 November 16, 23, 30; 7 December 14)
*''The Eye of Balamok'' (''All-Story Weekly'', 1920 January 17, 24, 31)
*''My Lady of the Nile'' (''Argosy All-Story Weekly'', 1921 May 7, 14, 21, 28)
England and New York
In December 1919, Emanuel and his family returned to England. However, he struggled to sell his works, resulting in periods of homelessness and hunger for his family. In early 1922, Emanuel wrote a new Canadian-themed serial, ''The Home Trail.'' It was printed in ''People's Story Magazine'' (1922 August 25; 4 September 11, 18, 25) and sold for $1,000.
In July 1922, Emanuel returned to New York. He sold another Canadian serial for $1,000, ''Lee of the Northwest Mounted''. It appeared in ''People's Popular Monthly'' (1923 January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August). Later that year, he sold another serial for $1,000, ''Sergeant Forbes, Alias''. It appeared in four instalments of ''People's'' magazine (1923 August 15; 1 September 15; 1 October).
From 1923 to 1925, Emanuel produced three "serious" novels under his own surname. The first novel, ''The Story of John Paul,'' was suppressed as libelous; largely because his brother, Montague, is named in the novel as the protagonist's father; additionally, the novel was anti-Semitic. In late 1924, Emanuel sold the second novel, ''Middle Years.'' Released in early 1925, it dealt with a middle-aged man's life insecurities and fancy for a younger woman. The third novel, ''The Selmans,'' attacked England's Jews as hypocritical.
Emanuel continued to write Canadian-themed works until 1942. He also wrote heavily during this period for the various self-proclaimed True magazines. However, since they were reportedly "true" tales, none of the tales sported a byline. Confirming which stories are his is nearly impossible, unless he used Canada or South Africa as background colour as potential clues.
With the re-release of ''The Surgeon of Souls'' in ''Weird Tales'' (1926–1927), Emanuel re-entered the fantasy field courtesy of Bernarr MacFadden's ''Ghost Stories'' magazine (1926–1929). He created a series of psychic investigative tales featuring Dr. Martinus. He also sold five science fiction stories in 1930 to the newly launched ''
Astounding Stories of Super-Science
''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William Cl ...
'', and two novelettes in 1931 to ''
Miracle Science and Fantasy Stories
''Miracle Science and Fantasy Stories'' was an American pulp magazine, pulp science fiction magazine which published two issues in 1931. The fiction was unremarkable, but the cover art and illustrations, by Elliott Dold, were high quality, and ...
''.
End of career
By the mid-1930s MacFadden had stopped buying stories from Emanuel. He then wrote for Clayton's ''
Strange Tales of Mystery and Terror
''Strange Tales'' (cover-titled ''Strange Tales of Mystery and Terror'') was an American pulp magazine first published from 1931 to 1933 by Clayton Publications. It specialized in fantasy and weird fiction, and was a significant competitor to '' ...
'', supplying three stories (1931–1932). In 1932, he officially entered ''Weird Tales'' with two stories, and in 1933, one last science fiction story in ''The Argosy''.
To obtain more work, Emanuel now started writing so-called "spicy pulps", creating hundreds of sexually suggestive short stories. He added sexual content to stories he had never sold and published them. From 1940 to 1941, Emanuel wrote the first dozen "Jim Anthony, Super Detective" novels for ''Super-Detective''; Jim Anthony was a pulp hero created in imitation of the popular Doc Savage. After 1947, Emanuel produced a few more stories before retiring.
Works (as Victor Rousseau)
*''Derwent's Horse'' (UK: Methuen, 1901)
*''Messiah of the Cylinder'' (USA: A.C. McClurg, 1917) and ''Apostle of the Cylinder'' (UK: Hodder and Stoughton, 1918)
*''Wooden Spoil'' (USA: George H. Doran, 1919) unauthorised edition
*''Wooden Spoil'' (USA: Grosset and Dunlap, 1919)--(UK: Hodder and Stoughton, 1919)
* ''The Eye of Balamlok'' (The All-Story, 1920)
*''The Big Muskeg'' (USA: Stewart Kidd, 1921)--(UK: Hodder and Stoughton, 1923)
*''The Lion's Jaws'' (UK: Hodder and Stoughton, 1923)
*''The Home Trail'' (UK: Hodder and Stoughton, 1924)
*''The Big Man of Bonne Chance'' (UK: Hodder and Stoughton, 1925)
*''Golden Horde'' (UK: Hodder and Stoughton, 1926)
Works (as H. M. Egbert)
*''Jacqueline of Golden River'' (USA: Doubleday Page, 1920)--(UK: Hodder and Stoughton, 1924)
*''My Lady of the Nile'' (UK: Hodder and Stoughton, 1923)
*''The Big Malopo'' (UK: John Long, 1924)
*''Draught of Eternity'' (UK: John Long, 1924, reprinted by Steeger Books)
*''The Sea Demons'' (UK: John Long, 1924, reprinted by Armchair Fiction)
*''Eric of the Strong Heart'' (UK: John Long, 1925, reprinted by Steeger Books)
*''Mrs. Aladdin'' (UK: John Long, 1925)
*''Salted Diamonds'' (UK: John Long, 1926) 2nd imprint circa 1927–28
*''Winding Trails'' (UK: John Long, 1927)
Works (as V. R. Emanuel)
*''The Story of John Paul'' (UK: Constable, 1923)
*''The Selmans'' (USA: The Dial Press, 1925)
*''Middle Years'' (USA: Minton, Balch, 1925)
Works (as Victor Rousseau, reprinted posthumously)
*''The Surgeon of Souls'' (USA: The Spectre Library, 2006) Dr. Ivan Brodsky series
*''The Tracer of Egos'' (USA: The Spectre Library, 2007) Dr. Phileas Immanuel series
*''The Devil Chair'' (USA: The Spectre Library, 2009) John Haynes series
Further reading
*Wallace, Morgan A. ''His Second Self: The Bio-Bibliography of Victor Rousseau Emanuel'', The Spectre Library, 2011