Charles Beadle (October 27, 1881 – 1944?) was a novelist and

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...

writer, best known for his adventure stories in American

pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 until around 1955. The term "pulp" derives from the Pulp (paper), wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed, due to their ...

s, and for his novels of the

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

life in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He was born at sea. His father, Henry Beadle, was a ship captain, and traveled with his wife Isabelle. Charles grew up in Hackney, in greater

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, attending various boarding schools. He left home as a teenager to travel. He served in the

British South Africa Police The British South Africa Police (BSAP) was, for most of its existence, the police force of Southern Rhodesia and Rhodesia (renamed Zimbabwe in 1980). It was formed as a paramilitary force of mounted infantrymen in 1889 by Cecil Rhodes' Britis ...

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

, doing duty in the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

. After the war he traveled up

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

. He was in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

from 1908 to 1912, and began his writing career. His first known published work was an article, "Our Trip Down the Zambezi," in ''

The Wide World Magazine ''The Wide World Magazine'' was a British monthly illustrated publication which ran from April 1898 to December 1965.

'' (May 1907). His first known published fiction was the novel ''The City of Shadows: A Romance of Morocco'' (1911). He sailed to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, arriving on November 14, 1916. He established himself as a pulp adventure writer, publishing authentic stories of Africa for ''Adventure'', ''Argosy'', ''Short Stories'', ''The Frontier'', etc. He also wrote sea stories. His most successful work was probably ''Witch-Doctors'', a four-part serial in ''Adventure'' (issues of March 15 to May 1, 1919). It was published as a book in 1922, both in the U.S. and London. By 1920, he was living in Paris, which appears to have been his residence for the rest of his life. He published at least one book, ''The Esquimau of Montparnasse'', on the bohemian scene in Paris. He evidently returned to England circa 1939, possibly due to the war, as Charles Beadle, novelist, born Oct 27, 1881, is registered as residing at Homewood, Hazel Road, St Albans, Hertfordshire, England in the 1939 Register of England and Wales, which was conducted on 29 September 1939. He is presumed to have died in France, although his date of death is unknown. His last known published work was "Nameless Spy," a ten-page story in ''Short Stories'' (June 10, 1947).

Books

*''The City of Shadows: A Romance of Morocco'' (Everett & Co.: London, 1911) *''A Whiteman's Burden'' (S. Swift & Co.: London, 1912) *''A Passionate Pilgrimage'' (Heath, Cranton & Ouseley: London, 1915; reprinted Dominantstar, 2024) *''Witch-Doctors'' (Jonathan Cape: London, 1922; Houghton Mifflin: Boston, 1922) *''The Blue Rib, etc.'' (P. Allan & Co.: London, 1927) *''The Esquimau of Montparnasse'' (John Hamilton: London, 1928) *''Expatriates at Large'' (Macauley Company: New York, 1930) *''The White Gambit'' (Palais-Royal Press: Paris, 1933) *''Dark Refuge'' (

Obelisk Press Obelisk Press was an English-language press based in Paris, founded by British publisher Jack Kahane in 1929. Manchester-born novelist Kahane began the Obelisk Press after his publisher, Grant Richards, went bankrupt. Going into partnership wit ...

: Paris, 1938)Pearson, Neil. ''Obelisk: A History of Jack Kahane and the Obelisk Press'', Liverpool University Press, 2007. *''Artist Quarter'' by "Charles Douglas" (with

Douglas Goldring Douglas Goldring (7 January 1887 – 9 April 1960) was an English writer and journalist.Glenn Hooper,''The Tourist's Gaze : travellers to Ireland, 1800–2000''. Cork University Press, Cork, Ireland, 2001. (pp. 171–5). Stanley J. Kunitz and ...

) (Faber & Faber: London, 1941) *''The City of Baal'' (Off-Trail Publications, 2007) *''The Land of

Ophir Ophir (; ) is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its wealth. Its existence is attested to by an inscribed pottery shard found at Tell Qasile (in modern-day Tel Aviv) in 1946, dating to the eighth century BC, which reads "''go ...

'' (Off-Trail Publications, 2012) *''Dark Refuge'' (Dominantstar, 2024) ontains up-to-date bio

Selected articles

*"Our Trip Down the Zambezi," ''

The Wide World Magazine ''The Wide World Magazine'' was a British monthly illustrated publication which ran from April 1898 to December 1965.

'', May 1907. *"A Talk With the New Sultan of Morocco," ''

The Pall Mall Magazine ''The Pall Mall Magazine'' was a monthly British literary magazine published between 1893 and 1914. Begun by William Waldorf Astor as an offshoot of ''The Pall Mall Gazette'', the magazine included poetry, short stories, serialized fiction, and ...

'', October 1908. *"My Narrow Escape From a Lioness," ''

Brooklyn Eagle The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''Kings County Democrat'', later ''The Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' before shortening title further to ''Brooklyn Eagle'') was an afternoon daily newspaper published in the city ...

'', August 7, 1910.

Selected pulp stories

* "The Christman," ''Adventure'', May 15, 1918. * "Through Rabat's Eyes" (3-part serial), ''Argosy'', August 2,9,16, 1919. * "The Alabaster Goddess," ''Adventure'', January 1, 1920. * "Buried Gods," ''Adventure'', September 3, 1921. * "The Land of Ophir" (3-part serial), ''Adventure'', March 10,20,30, 1922. * "The Lost Cure," ''Adventure'', January 30, 1923. * "The Blond Spiders," ''Adventure'', December 20, 1924. * "The Mark of the Leopard," ''Short Stories'', May 10, 1926.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beadle, Charles 1881 births 1940s deaths Year of death missing English expatriates in France Writers from the London Borough of Hackney Pulp fiction writers 20th-century British novelists British short story writers Maritime writers English male novelists English emigrants to the United States British expatriates in Southern Rhodesia English expatriates in Morocco English male short story writers 20th-century English short story writers 20th-century English male writers British South Africa Police officers People born at sea