Sir Max Pemberton (19 June 1863 – 22 February 1950) was a popular English

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

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, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges an ...

. A clubman, journalist and dandy ( Lord Northcliffe admired his 'fancy vests'), he frequented both

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...

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. Max Pemberton 002

His most famous work ''The Iron Pirate'' was a best-seller during the early 1890s and it initiated 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 shipping of 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 the remnants of an ancient royal forest, Royal Forest in Nottinghamshire, within the East Midlands region in England. It has association with the legend of Robin Hood. The forest was proclaimed by William the Conqueror and ...

during the time of

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous a ...

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

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's military campaigns in Italy. During January 1908, and just one year after the death of Pemberton’s friend and fellow Crimes Club member,

Bertram Fletcher Robinson Bertram Fletcher Robinson (22 August 1870 – 21 January 1907) was an English sportsperson, sportsman, journalist, editor, author and Liberal Unionist Party activist. During his life-time, he wrote at least three hundred items, including a ser ...

, he had a story titled ''Wheels of Anarchy'' published by

Cassell (publisher) Cassell is a British book publishing house founded in 1848 by John Cassell (1817–1865), which became in the 1890s an international publishing group company. In 1995, Cassell plc acquired Pinter Publishers. In December 1998, Cassell plc wa ...

. This book includes the following book dedication in the form of an 'Author's Note': ' The ''Wheels of Anarchy'' is an adventure tale about

anarchists Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or hierarchy, primarily targeting the state and capitalism. Anarchism advocates for the replacement of the state w ...

and

assassins An assassin is a person who commits targeted murder. The origin of the term is the medieval Order of Assassins, a sect of Shia Islam 1090–1275 CE. Assassin, or variants, may also refer to: Fictional characters * Assassin, in the Japanese adult ...

, which is set across

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...

. The novel's hero, Bruce Driscoll, is a recent graduate of Jesus College, Cambridge and he appears to be modelled upon Robinson. In December 2010, ''Wheels of Anarchy by Max Pemberton'' was compiled, introduced and republished in

facsimile A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from other forms of r ...

form by Paul Spiring and Hugh Cooke. During the autumn of 1914, Pemberton published a

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

story titled ''The Donnington Affair'' by G. K. Chesterton in an obscure British

periodical Periodical literature (singularly called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) consists of Publication, published works that appear in new releases on a regular schedule (''issues'' or ''numbers'', often numerically divided into annu ...

named ''The Premier''. This

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single 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 old ...

was reprinted in the ''Chesterton Review'' in 1981. In 1920, Pemberton founded the London School of Journalism, and 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 journal ...

. He was married to Alice Tussaud, granddaughter of Madame Marie Tussaud and daughter of Joseph Tussaud. Pemberton also wrote a biography of

Sir Henry Royce Sir Frederick Henry Royce, 1st Baronet (27 March 1863 – 22 April 1933) was an English engineer famous for his designs of car and aeroplane engines with a reputation for reliability and longevity. With Charles Rolls (1877–1910) and Claude J ...

published in 1934 soon after Royce's death.

Honours

Pemberton was knighted in the 1928 Birthday Honours, gazetted on 1 June 1928.''

The London Gazette ''The London Gazette'', known generally as ''The 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, i ...

'' Issue 33390, 1 June 1928 (Supplement)
p. 3846
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Selected works

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

Sources

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 lat ...

(Penguin, 1971)

External links

* * * *
Three plays by Max Pemberton on Great War Theatre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pemberton, Max 1863 births 1950 deaths 19th-century English novelists 20th-century English 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 English 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