Sir Max Pemberton (19 June 1863 – 22 February 1950) was a popular English novelist, 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 Merchant Taylors' School may refer to: *Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood (founded 1561), is a British independent school originally located in the City of London and now located in Northwood in Middlesex . * Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosb ...

, and

Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

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

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was n ...

and

The Savage Club The Savage Club, founded in 1857, is a gentlemen's club in London, named after the poet, Richard Savage. Members are drawn from the fields of art, drama, law, literature, music or science. History The founding meeting of the Savage Club took ...

. Pemberton was the editor of boys' magazine '' Chums'' in 1892–1893 during its heyday. Between 1896 and 1906 he also edited '' Cassell's Magazine'' (se

, in which capacity he published the early works of

R. Austin Freeman Dr. Richard Austin Freeman (11 April 1862 – 28 September 1943) was a British writer of detective stories, mostly featuring the medico-legal forensic investigator Dr. Thorndyke. He invented the inverted detective story (a crime fiction in wh ...

and William Le Queux. Max Pemberton 002

His most famous work ''The Iron Pirate'' was a best-seller during the early 1890s and it launched 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 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 a royal forest in Nottinghamshire, England, famous because of its historic association with the legend of Robin Hood. The area has been wooded since the end of the Last Glacial Period (as attested by pollen sampling cores ...

during the time of

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She ...

. His novels ''Beatrice of Venice'' (1904) and ''Paulina'' (1922) centre on Napoleon's military campaigns in Italy. During January 1908, Pemberton had a story entitled ''Wheels of Anarchy'' published by Cassell & Company (London). This story was based upon notes that were written by his friend

Bertram Fletcher Robinson Bertram Fletcher Robinson (22 August 1870 – 21 January 1907) was an English sportsman, journalist, author and Liberal Unionist Party campaigner. Between 1893 and 1907, he wrote nearly three hundred items, including a series of short stories th ...

shortly before he died in January 1907. It is an adventure tale about

anarchists Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...

and

assassins An assassin is a person who commits targeted murder. Assassin may also refer to: Origin of term * Someone belonging to the medieval Persian Ismaili order of Assassins Animals and insects * Assassin bugs, a genus in the family ''Reduviid ...

that is set across Europe. The novel's

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero ...

and narrator, Bruce Driscoll, a recent Cambridge graduate, appears to be modelled upon Fletcher Robinson. Max Pemberton 005

Pemberton was member of a criminology literary society known as 'Our Society' along with eleven other notable members including

and Arthur Conan Doyle. In 1920, Pemberton founded the London School of Journalism, 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 Anna Maria "Marie" Tussaud (; née Grosholtz; 1 December 1761 – 16 April 1850) was a French artist known for her wax sculptures and Madame Tussauds, the wax museum she founded in London. Biography Marie Tussaud was born 1 December 1761 in ...

and daughter of Joseph Tussaud. Pemberton also wrote a biography of Sir Henry Royce published in 1934 shortly after Royce's death.

Honours

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

The London Gazette ''The London 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, in which certain statutory notices are ...

'' Issue 33390, 1 June 1928 (Supplement)
p. 3846
/ref>

Selected works

A puritan's wife by Max Pemberton LCCN2015646274

*'' 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)
*"The Donnington Affair" (The Premier, November 1914; a

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

story written with

G. K. Chesterton Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English writer, philosopher, Christian apologist, and literary and art critic. He has been referred to as the "prince of paradox". Of his writing style, ''Time'' observed: "Wh ...

)

Sources

''New General Catalog of Old Books and Authors''

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 later ...

(Penguin, 1971)

External links

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