Sydney Horler
Sydney Horler (18 July 1888 – 27 October 1954) was a prolific British novelist specialising in thrillers. He was born in
His first job was with Western Daily Press and Allied Newspapers in Bristol started in 1905. This lasted until 1911 when he left to become a special writer on the staff of
He decided to become a full-time writer. He became a popular author with the publication, in 1925, of his first
Political views
Horler frequently used his work to put forward his opinions. He was a supporter of the
Horler also expressed a disapproval of casual sex, especially homosexuality. Horler wrote to the British police demanding a crackdown on what he saw as "the alarming increase in sex perversion" in London, claiming the city's streets were full of male prostitutes.[2] In his fiction, Horler spent a large amount of time emphasising how "virile" and "masculine" his heroes are. One of Horler's characters, the gentleman thief "Nighthawk", only steals jewels from women he sees as sexually immoral, pausing in his work to scrawl the word "Wanton" on their pillowcases.[1]
Critical reception
Literary reviewers of the time, such Dorothy L. Sayers and Compton Mackenzie, generally gave negative opinions on Horler's fiction.[2] Horler's novels have not been popular since his death. Critics have taken issue with Horler's plots, described by William L. DeAndrea as "unbelievable" (Horler himself claimed to "give old man coincidence's arm a frightful twist") and characters seen as clichéd.[6] David Stafford describes Horler as "among the worst" of British thriller writers.[7]
Selected works
Horler wrote some 158 novels including:
- Standish of the Rangeland (1916)
- Goal! A Romance of the English Cup-Ties 1920
- The Breed of the Beverleys (1921)
- A Legend of the League (1922)
- Love, the Sportsman (vt: The Man with Two Faces) 1923
- McPhee, a Football Story (1923)
- The Ball of Fortune (1925) – adapted into a film The Ball of Fortune in 1926
- The Mystery of No. 1 (1925)
- School! School! (1925)
- False-Face (1926)
- The House of Secrets (1926)
- The Man Who Saved the Club (1926)
- On the Ball (1926)
- The Black Heart (1927)
- The Fellow Hagan! (1927)
- In the Dark (1927)
- Vivanti (1927)
- Chipstead of the Lone Hand (1928)
- The Curse of Doone (1928)
- Miss Mystery (1928)
- The Thirteenth Hour (1928)(novelization of 1927 film w/Lionel Barrymore)
- Heart Cut Diamond (1929)
- Lady of the Night (1929)
- The Secret Service Man (1929)
- The Worst Man in the World (1929)
- Checkmate (1930)
- Danger's Bright Eyes (1930)
- The Evil Chateau (1930)
- The Exploits of Peter (1930)
- The Murder Mask (1930)
- A Pro's Romance (1930)
- The Screaming Skull (1930)
- Tiger Standish (1932)
- Beauty and the Policeman: A collection of stories (1933)
- Tiger Standish Comes Back (1934)
- The Secret Agent (1934)
- The Vampire (1935)
- They Called Him Nighthawk (1937)
- Terror on Tip-Toe (1939)
- Tiger Standish Takes the Field (1939)
- The Return of Nighthawk (1940)
- Tiger Standish Steps on It (1940)
- Nighthawk Strikes to Kill (1941)
- Tiger Standish Does His Stuff (1941)
- Danger Preferred (1942)
- Now Let Us Hate (1942)
- Tiger Standish Has a Party (1943)
- Springtime Comes to William: A Comedy (1943)
- The Lady with the Limp (1944)
- The Man with Dry Hands (1944)
- Nighthawk Mops Up (1944)
- Sinister Street (1944)
- A Bullet for the Countess (1945)
- Marry the Girl (1945)
- Murder for Sale (1945)
- Virus X (1945)
- Terror Comes to Twelvetrees (1945)
- The Man Who Did Not Hang (1948)
- Nap On Nighthawk (1950)
- The Cage(1953)
- The Man Who Died Twice (1954)
Non-Fiction
- The Umpire Adventure Book (1922)
- Black Souls: Narratives of crimes (1933)
- Excitement: An Impudent Autobiography (1933)
- Strictly Personal: An indiscreet diary (1934)
- London's underworld : the record of a month's sojourn in the crime centres of the metropolis (1934)
- More strictly personal (Six Months of My Life) (1935)
- Malefactor's row : a book of crime studies (1940)
- I Accuse the Doctors (1949)
He researched London's underworld by spending a month in the most crime-ridden parts of London.
References
- ^ a b Marvin Lachman, "Horler, Sydney" in Twentieth Century Crime and Mystery Writers, edited by James Vinson and D.L. Kirkpatrick. (p.474-77).
- ^ ISBN 0413284204(p.85-93)
- ^ a b c Turnbull, Malcolm J. Victims or villains: Jewish images in classic English detective fiction. Popular Press, 1998 (p. 62-4, 118–9)
- ^ Pronzini, Bill. Gun in Cheek: A Study of "Alternative" crime fiction. Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1982, (p. 121)
- ^ Dalrymple, Theodore, "Another Look at Sydney Horler," October 7, 2021.
- ^ DeAndrea, William. "Horler, Sydney", in Encyclopedia Mysteriosa. MacMillan, 1994 (p.174)
- ^ Stafford, David. The Silent Game: the real world of imaginary spies Lester & Orpen Dennys, 1988 (p.115).
External links
- Works by Sydney Horler at Faded Page (Canada)
- A Sydney Horler tribute site
- A complete bibliography (157 books)